CJ Loves Tae Kwon Do

CJ signed up Tae Kwon Do classes back in June of last year (2012). His friend Davis had been taking TKD classes so CJ wanted to check it out. Of course, he wanted to take classes with Davis but Davis does not live close to us, so I did some research and signed him up for a trial at a studio close to our house. After a few weeks, he was hooked, so I signed him up for a year. I made him swear to me that he would stick with TKD for at least a year. I needn't have worried.

From the very beginning, CJ loved TKD. The studio is incredible. Master Yun is fairly strict but he adores the kids and he is a really good TKD master.

The classes are 45 minutes long. Each class starts with jumping jacks, then stretching. Then there's cardio (running, jumping, burpees, etc.) and core exercises (lots of sit-ups and variations thereof). Then the students spend time learning and practicing their kicking combinations and forms. You start out a white belt and are able to test every 2-3 months after you've shown that you know your kicking combination, know your form and can break a board with your kicking combination.

For every element (kicking, form, board), you get a stripe on your belt (red, blue, yellow). The final stripe (white) is achieved when your parent submits a form that proves to Master Yun that you are respectful, helpful, neat, disciplined and a good student. It's a terrific system because the kids have physical achievement milestones but there is also emphasis on discipline and respect.

In fact, Master Yun is quick to chastise a student when he or she is acting up in class, whether he's talking too much, making rude comments, or not showing interest in the class. Love it.

It's April now and CJ has just achieved his 6th belt, which means he's now a blue stripe, after passing white, orange, yellow, green stripe and green. I can tell that CJ is gaining strength, flexibility and speed. His kicks are higher, his shouts are louder, and his form is more streamlined.

Leaving Japan

We had a noon flight out of Tokyo and we decided to take the bus to Narita Airport. We considered taking the Narita Express, which is a train to the airport, but that would have meant taking a taxi to the subway, taking the subway to Tokyo Station, and then catching the Narita Express from there. With 2 large suitcases, a stroller and two boys, we punted and decided to take the bus, even though it would take longer.

Turns out the bus was a great choice and it didn't take longer to get to the airport. Maybe we just got lucky but it only took 1 1/2 hours to get to the airport and it was painless getting there. Alex and Christine got up early to help us with our luggage (they had a later flight, leaving at 4pm, mom and dad were leaving around the same time.)

It was sad to leave Japan after such an incredible trip but it was time to go. I feel so lucky that we had a nearly flawless trip, the boys had a great time, MJ didn't have a single meltdown, nobody got sick, the weather was nearly perfect, and we visited all the sights we wanted to visit.

Flying business class on the way back was really nice. MJ struggled to nap but he finally fell asleep. We arrived home before lunchtime and that gave us enough time to unpack, relax, take showers and go to the grocery store.

For good measure, I gave the entire family some melatonin before bedtime and it really helped. MJ and CJ were asleep within minutes around 8pm. Maki and I were asleep not long after. We kept taking melatonin for a few more nights and I'm convinced it helped us get over the time difference. It usually takes Maki a couple of weeks to get adjusted to the time but this time around, he was back on the schedule within a couple of days. CJ went to school on Wednesday morning and his teachers said he was just fine. Sunshine and melatonin work great together to reset your body's clock!

 Here's sleeping MJ. I got him up at the very last minute.

Saying good-bye to Alex and Christine.

Look at the different kinds of KitKat bars. We bought every kind!

Checking in at Narita. Flying ANA is really great;
they even gave us a loaner stroller!

It was nice having so much legroom. Thank you, Amex miles!

One of the meals on the flight.

CJ wanted noodles so he got a steaming bowl of udon!

Here's a cute photo of the boys, asleep on CJ's bed, our first night back.

The Final Chapter of Our Japan Trip

Okay, it's only taken me four months to finish blogging about Japan. I need to close out the trip so that I can blog about all the other things that the family is up to!



On our last full day in Japan, we visited Sensoji Temple in Asakusa. This is probably my favorite temple complex in Japan. We go there every time we visit Japan and it's always neat and interesting. On this trip, it was raining so it wasn't as much fun to wander the grounds and the gardens, but I just find it so terrific to enter the templex complex via the giant gate, go through the long corridor of food stalls and shops, bathe in the smoke close to the temple (for good luck) and then visit the actual temple.

 

 Here's the crew walking to Asakusa from the subway

 

Here's the corridor with shops and food stalls.

Here's a view of the temple gates from Sensoji Temple.

Here's a view of one of the gardens.

I guess Sensoji means so much to me because it was one of the first temples I visited with Maki after we got married and visited Japan for the first time in 2001. We also brought CJ there during his first trip, back in November 2004.

This time around, I bought a couple of woodblock print posters of the Sensoji Temple and the Kaminarimon Gate. These prints now hang proudly in our stairwell from the first floor to the second floor.

After visiting Sensoji, we had lunch at a local restaurant, then the Kato family headed back to the hotel and Alex and Christine visited the Studio Ghibli museum. We are all Miyazaki fans and Alex said the museum was incredible and worth visiting.

After naptime, for our last dinner, we went to the Ueno District and met up with Takashi, a boyhood friend of Maki's and Takashi's wife and son, Aim. We had dinner at this incredibly, fancy, sukiyaki restaurant with tatami mats, lots of courses, and incredible service. We always have dinner with Takashi when we go to Japan and it's always a treat. CJ and Aim played together and seemed to get along really well, even though CJ doesn't speak Japanese and Aim doesn't speak English. Funny how that works.

Two servers would come in periodically during the meal to cook the food and serve us.

Here's the sukiyaki, cooking away. The food was delicious!

Here's a picture of CJ's meal.

 Here's a photo of Takashi, his wife Sunao and his son Aim + Maki, MJ and CJ.

After dinner, it was back to the hotel to get the boys off to bed and then finish the night by completing our packing. I try to stay pretty organized during trips so that packing isn't a nightmare. Nevertheless, it's always work to get everything ready for the morning and then make sure we don't forget anything.