THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2009

Kumite

Kumite is, from what I understand, sparring ones adversary. A great name for a great problem. Check out the video here: Kumite - http://www.kevinjorgeson.com/Japan/Kumite  

Enjoy!
 
KJ

I've made it back from Japan. What a trip! Simply awesome. The Five Ten Cup was a blast to compete in. I've cut together a quick video the comp:

Finals (small): www.kevinjorgeson.com/Japan/Finals

Saturday was a sightseeing day around Tokyo with Naoji. I have been in a constant state of being lost since I arrived in Japan, despite seeing plenty of signs like this one.

We began our day by going to the Asakusa shopping market tourist spot. It was quite overwhelming, with shops everywhere. It was cool to pick up some gifts to bring home however.

I made it!

After 12.5 hours on a rather empty plane, I'm in Japan. I'll let the video tell the story, but I had a great dinner last night where I ate some Ebi, Tai, Squid and Octopus, all the for the first time. That's what coming to Japan is for, right? When else am I going to get to do this?

Check out the first video: Japan Day 1

Whew...

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of airports, rental cars, slideshows, clinics, climbing and good times. Lets rewind three weeks. On April 26th, Rocky Mountain Highball had its World Premiere at the Boulder Theatre.

Working abroad isn’t always easy on the stomach and after ten relatively sickness-free years in Nepal, I developed a good and robust case of typhoid fever. I was trapped in the throes of a high fever, headache, and stomach cramps that kept me delirious and in bed for over a week, and will take weeks or even months more to fully recover.

The southern belt of Nepal – the Terai – has been closed for a week now by a political group advocating for the rights of ‘Madeshis’ or Nepalis that live along the Indian border and who often have closer cultural and social ties to India than to the middle-hill dominated political scene in Kathmandu. The Madeshis have stopped all motorized transportation along the major highways in the Southern third of the country, effectively sealing off the entire country from any goods and stranding thousands of people.

So what does 4 feet of new snow look like in Rocky Mountain National Park?

While sitting in a t-shirt and flipflops this morning, enjoying a proper English breakfast (bacon, eggs, baked beans and toast, along with lots of french press coffee), I thought perhaps it was time for a dispatch with pictures. Important to do a bit of work even on a much deserved rest day!

This morning, the United Marxist-Leninist political party - one of the four leading political parties in Nepal -threatened to pull out of the government in reaction to the death of a young member of the party’s youth wing, the curiously named ‘Youth Force.’ The young man was allegedly shot by members of the ruling Maoist party’s youth wing, the ‘Young Communist League’ in the far western district of Rupandehi.