Before I came to Japan, I did this thing called BodyRock. It is an online workout program that you can do in your home. It uses minimal or no equipment and usually takes no more than 12 minutes. It was awesome and it is what has kept me in shape the past four years of my life. I also participated in other running and obstacle course events, but I knew those weren’t going to happen in Japan. Many other JETs who are workout conscious join a gym or take up running as their main form of fitness since most apartments are too small to contain much, if any, workout equipment. I, on the other hand, on top of joining in on the occasional club activities (karate, soccer, etc.), continued my BodyRocking in my apartment. I used valuable suitcase weight to bring my empty sandbags and jump rope so that I could continue these workouts in Japan. And I have. It took me moving some furniture around for me to get enough room for my jump rope to swing without hitting anything, but I have a space! It is great to be able to do a workout in my living room any time I feel the need to release some stress or get a jump start on my morning. I bought a yoga mat to protect my tatami floors from getting damaged by my jump rope or my indoor shoes that I wear. I also purchased two small three-kilogram weights to supplement my workouts. The only issue I had was what to fill my sandbags with since I did not have immediate access to sand and I did not want to pay money to buy sand or rice to fill them with. That left me with the option of going outside to the abandoned apartment building next door and collecting enough rocks to fill the sandbags. I was very self-conscious during my time of collecting those rocks and putting them into the bags; thinking all the while that the neighbors were watching me from their windows and wondering what the crazy foreigner was doing with the rocks. But after a month of humming and hawing over my lack of willingness to be embarrassed, I finally filled both sandbags and now have them to use in my workouts. The thing that prevails in my mind when I am doing the workouts is what the person below me is thinking when I do them. I try not to do them too early in the morning or too late at night, but other than that, I feel that I am free to do what I want. Plus, I have the old “I’m a foreigner” card that can get me free of pretty much any pinch I find myself in (notice: I have not used it yet and do not plan to). On top of doing home workouts, I also try to participate in as many club activities as I can. I had started going to the karate club at my travel school on Tuesdays, but after several weeks of students not talking to me or allowing me to punch the targets while they are holding them or not wanting to punch the targets that I hold, I decided to stop going. Then, one of the English teachers invited me to the swimming club winter weight training practice after school. I have never looked back. It has been wonderful. Another English teacher also started participating occasionally in the practices and the students actually talk to me! Plus, I get good muscle training in, as well. It is very similar to the Body Pump classes I took when I went to the gym back in the US. And since the coach is an English teacher, he uses English songs—to help the students learn more English while they are also training their bodies. Before the new first year students arrived, there were about 6 or 7 students that would attend the winter training sessions. Then, about8 new members joined when the new year started! Needless to say, it was a bit crowded in the room we were using. So, at first they alternated in with using the weights or doing balance training off to the side. Then, I switched my role from participant to form-instructor, since I could tell many of the students had never done any sort of weight training before and their form was so terrible I thought they were going to hurt themselves. Finally, May rolled around and we transferred to the outside pool. Still a bit chilly, but since their first competition was less than a month away, they needed to get in the pool to practice. So, now that they are in the pool, I mostly just watch from the sidelines and give encouragement. But that is okay since now the students are more familiar with me and will talk to me when they are taking breaks from the pool.
Besides the swimming club, I also occasionally participate in my main school’s girls’ soccer club practices. It is usually more difficult for the students to talk with/to me since we are running around the field and I am more focused on trying not to look incompetent since it has been many years since I have participated in a soccer practice. But there are many clubs that I wish I had time to go and visit and just watch their practices. Rugby, badminton, tennis, dance, etc. It is just so interesting to see how each one operates and how the students teach each other when their coach is not there to encourage them or give them pointers. Which leads me to the point of coaches here in Japan. Teachers take the role of coaches here. Although they may not even know a thing about the club, the teachers are asked to choose a club to help coach. Sometimes they are rotated around, but if the teacher wants to stay with a club, they can—for example the soccer coaches are all men who have played soccer before and are very knowledgeable about the sport. But sometimes the teacher just sits in on the practice and makes sure nothing bad happens. They also have to accompany their club to their competitions, too, as a regular coach would.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Myself
Video blogger and now a blogger as well. My life in Japan has changed me for the better. However, it wasn't easy... Archives
September 2016
Categories
All
|