A few years ago, George asked me to make sure the bags and shoes were stacked and cleared out of the way at the hombu before Sensei arrived so that he wouldnt have to climb over the stuff to get into his own changing room. This was mentioned on the "guidleines for training in Japan" sheet the everyone was supposed to have read. It hasnt happened. Not only that, it's getting worse. I used to only give up the first five minutes of my own training to cleaning up the wooden floored areas of the dojo. It has grown to ten. Furthermore, people have expressed anger that their bags were not in the same place when thy came back during the break. (Some people were very understanding, though) Please dont bring what you dont need to the hombu. (you can take that any way you like) Stack those bags high, but not where Sensei stands and not in front of the bathroom door or the stove. Put your shoes in your bag or on the shoe shelf. Please. Pictures to come tomorrow..
One more thing George just asked me to add this: More and more people are starting to say "May I pay after the class because I can't find my bag soon?" I can't help it and this means we have to make Soke wait longer before he can leave. So I would like to suggest they show up a bit earlier and pay their fees first. Their training has already started then. There may be some people who arrive late, but that's OK. The more people are prepared, the better the situation will be. The keyword is awareness, I think. Soke's class shouldn't be a kindergarten.
I just love stacking everyone's shoes up near the door (especially 3 weeks ago when we had around 100 people come on a Friday night). That is why I came to this country...to stack up shoes.
Think of it as practical training for da street three guys beat the cvrap out of you at a bar and steal your cash, but as they go to run off with it...WOOPS they stumble and trip at the shoes you stacked at the door... Maybe you should have studied... ahem... WU SHU
HAPPY YOU SAID THAT. Wish more people who visit the Hombu thought the same way as you do! I remember that Norman did ask us many times if there was something he could do. People are ALWAYS watching in Japan...and they NEVER forget.
I bet they don't treat their own houses like it(or maybe some of them do!!!), IMO there are too many senior grades coming to Japan and TAKING and i don't mean stealing, it's not difficult for ANYONE to offer their help but the senior grades should set an example, especially with turning up to class 5 minutes before it starts and they've been there a week or so already, one group finished Sennou Sensei's class on Saturday morning, stayed in the area and turned up 5 minutes late for Oguri Sensei's class,wtf!!!!, you know what time ALL the classes start so there's NO excuse for getting there late(except as in Dale Seago's case he touched down in Narita airportand went straight to Budokan!!). This is for the senior grades who regularly train in Japan, if you think it looks a mess at the Hombu, THEN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!, if you think Joji needs some help with collecting the money THEN ASK IF YOU CAN HELP HIM!. Arnaud goes to Japan at least 3 times a year, on 2 of those occasions he organises people to clean the Hombu, ie wash the mats, clean the Kamidana etc, it takes a couple of hours and he supplies the drinks and food at the end!. Over the years people have taken a lot from Soke and the Bujinkan, it's about time they started giving something back not stand there trying to look cool hoping Soke will notice them, he sees a damn sight more than you realise.
This was mentioned a few years ago over on Kutaki. It seems no one likes to read about the afters from training and just want to go off and do other things. Maybe if Soke passed out the bags and demanded people to clean up first, people may realise that they need to look after the areas as they are visitors to another country and someone elses training area.
To be fair to the 'offenders', most of them think they are doing what is appropriate. They do their best to stack their stuff up with everyone else's. However, due to severe over-crowding, it is not enough. That is why you see people like CCS and co. stacking bags into ridiculously large piles. Most visitors don't wish to disturb other people's belongings (and who can blame them, they are just visitors after all) but it's something that needs to be done due to the stupid amounts of people showing up there now. Add to this the people that are bringing things like gifts (sometimes large ones) and taking up even more space... Hombu is not designed to hold the crowds that are now packing in there.
I concur with this. When I went it is obvious that building is not designed for the number of people or bags, add the things that people bring Hatsumi Sensei as well. Now you can avoid the going to get the money thing by stuffing it in your tabi etc. Not to also mention that alot of people go to Japan without having etiquette in their dojo. The Bujinkan is pretty relaxed as a whole, not always a bad thing but it can go against you in Japan. IMO There were alot of things that shocked me there, in the honbu. People sitting on there backsides in their underwear on the mat, I saw a Yudansha eating some chicken in a tupperware container on the mat. Are those things OK in the Kan? I know that you'd be getting other arts a little upset in their schools. Thats just a question not a prod.
This happens far too often at the Saturday Hombu double. There was a couple of people ranked high enough to know better who stayed for about two weeks and turned up to either Sennou Sensei's or Ogiri Sensei's class 10-15 minutes late EACH TIME! Some people think that because Sensei is smiling everything is ok, but in my experience it most defnitely is not that simple.
I took some pics this morning. Of course, this is the smallest crowd we've had for a long time, so the pics make it look like i am exaggerating. http://new.photos.yahoo.com/takflet/album/576460762399788351
