Alex Brick

Time for me to update the world about life here in Seattle.

So things have been going very well for me.  As you can see from most of my posts, Kendo is keeping me in shape and happy.  However, sadly, most of my time is not spent at Kendo, but rather at work.

But work is highly excellent!  I have been working on my project, and it is finishing up its code review right now.  By the end of the month, it should be in production.  It’s a purely internal tool, so I can’t brag to my friends about the cool new piece of the Amazon site, but it is pretty cool in its own way.  I’ve also heard a little bit about my second project, which promises to be quite a learning experience for me.

Most of the other interns are finishing up their time, but I’ve been doing stuff with them.  Friday of last week, 4 of us went up to the Wayward Coffeehouse to see the Goonies, which I hadn’t seen in a long time, and was quite good.  The next day (that’s Saturday for those of you following along), a group of us had Indian food and then went to see Adventures in Mating at the Theater Schmeater.  Small theater, but the show was hilarious.  Basically, whenever a decision in the show has to be made, the audience votes on what happens, and it continues from there.  So that was pretty fun.

This weekend, Friday night, Mo was in town.  Her sister got married on Thursday, and Friday was a big shindig at her house.  I headed up there and hung out, ate, and watched the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics (which was AMAZING).  That was fun, and I even got a ride back home, so I didn’t have to catch a midnight bus.  Yay.

And finally, yesterday was a good day.  It started off with me finally buying a kilt, which was amazing.  SO COMFORTABLE.  I then wore it to the EMP and the Sci-Fi Museum with Jonathan and Drew.  The EMP was alright: the exhibits about guitars and the Seattle music scene were both interesting, but the labs were both completely full, and it wasn’t the best in the world.

However, admission to the EMP also gets you into the Sci-Fi museum, which was pretty cool as a one-time thing.  Lots of cool and interesting exhibits of different settings and stories, as well as some of the history of sci-fi.  So that was pretty cool.

Anyway, after that, we all went back home.  Jonathan and I got changed for a game of…CTFWS!  I had never played before, but apparently it originated at CMU, and there’s a CTF club at UW, so they were hosting it (technically, although it was run by a CMU intern at Amazon).  It was a lot of fun, even if we lost the second game horribly.

Anyway, at one point during the game, I fell and slid on wet sharp pavement, so I came back with two layers of gauze taped around my leg, which was less fun.  But around noon today I took them off, cleaned everything up, and it turns out that it’s not as horrible a cut as I thought originally. But I am skipping out on Kendo today, since I’m not really feeling up to trusting it with my footwork.

Alrighty then.  Back to work tomorrow, and the rest of the interns can leave on Friday.  Yay!  Should be fun times until I next write.

It seems that Kendo is all I post about these days.  Maybe I will post tomorrow about non-Kendo topics.

Anyway, we’ll start with Tuesday’s keiko.  It was the four of us new people and Jim, who has just received his uniform.  We spent the practice under the tutelage of Imanishi-sensei, who worked with us primarily on using the left hand to strike.  We did a lot of exercises to strengthen the left hand and to see what a proper strike feels like, and at the end of the day, we were much improved from the beginning, it was easy to see.  That practice, I stayed late along with another new person (she has apparently a month of Kendo experience, but she is new to our dojo) and Eric, who has had his uniform for a little bit of time.  We actually stayed through the full end of the practice, and I helped deliver water to the sensei and spoke with Eric for a time.

Today’s keiko was also excellent.  It was actually spent entirely in kata.  I was paired up with a student who has had his uniform for a short amount of time (as I had done kata before), and the other four new people paired up amongst themselves.  There were only three sensei today, but Tanimura-sensei worked with us the entire time, though a different sensei (whose name I still have yet to learn) actually helped just me and my partner.  We only did Kata 1, and I began in the uchitachi role, then switched to shidachi, then returned to uchitachi.  It is amazing how much you can learn by having a sensei watching only you and your partner, and we did learn a lot.

After a lot of that, we were dismisse.  However, my partner, Spencer, and I all stayed to practice more.  Spencer and I began to practice the kata, but when we had a question, Tanimura-sensei (who was suiting up to spar) came over and helped us even further, even after we had been dismissed.  We spent until the end of the full session with him helping us with Kata 1.

Well, the full session ended, and we all lined up to meditate and bow to the sensei.  Then, knowing what to do from Tuesday, when Eric showed me, I had Spencer follow me and we brought water to the sensei.  Then Tanimura-sensei and the sensei who had helped me and my partner performed 10 kata in front of us, which was absolutely amazing.  We then brought the taiko back and took down the banner.  It was highly excellent for me.

Well, as I say, it was a good time, and Kendo is going very well.  I look forward to each class to an incredible degree, and this is true of Sunday’s.  It can’t come soon enough.

Today was yet another Kendo class.  Things are going very well, and I can feel myself improving and learning more with each lesson.

We began the class as normal, and then began with kata.  I was paired up with a more senior student, and one of the sensei stood by to assist us.  We did each of the first two kata (see my last post), and basically, I just learned a lot.  We worked on my distance a lot, as well as the way that I move and strike.  I came out of this a lot more knowledgeable, I think.

Next was group drills.  Footwork up and down across the floor, men strikes, charging, etc.  I had never done these in a group before, and I was certainly not the best there, but I was okay.  Imanishi-sensei noticed some of my poor swinging and berated me about it, but he was correct: I was using my right hand too much.

Finally, Jim (he’s been there for about 3 months or so) and I were taken to the side and paired up with another sensei, who instructed us until the end of class.  And I learned a lot.  We worked on footwork a little bit, then moved into men strikes.  Each time across the floor, we would focus on something different.  We worked on correct grip and use of the left hand, correct striking height, striking and stepping simultaneously, how to swing properly (you don’t swing over, but rather come out at almost a straight line), and it was excellent.

I can feel a possible blister developing on one part of hand, but that’s okay!  Because Tanimura-sensei told us that a blister there means you’re gripping the shinai properly .  So it won’t be too terrible.

But as I say, this was an excellent class, and I am very much looking forward to Tuesday.

I realized that I didn’t post about my Kendo lesson on Sunday.  Blasphemy!

So the class started rather like most classes, and then we moved into kata, which was my first time.  I was paired up with the senpai of the class, and he taught me the first two kata.

In the kata, you have two sides: the uchitachi (the teacher), and the shidachi (the student).  The uchitachi begins everything, the shidachi only responds.  Both kendoka will play each role, but the more experienced starts in the uchitachi role.

So Kata 1 is essentially all about men uchi.  You rei to each other, and then raise bokken and come together.  The uchitachi performs a men uchi; the shidachi dodges backwards, and then counterattacks with a men uchi.  The uchitachi is then forced to retreat, and the shidachi raises his blade for the next strike.

Kata 2 is about the kote uchi, or wrist strike.  The uchitachi and shidachi come together, and then the uchitachi strikes at the shidachi’s wrist.  The shidachi dodges to the side, and then comes back in and strikes the uchitachi’s wrist.

Obviously, the kata begin slowly, but the point is that they allow the kendoka to practice good technique and form in the context of actual strikes.  I really appreciated these.

Also, because I don’t think I’ve mentioned it, I will say that there are 4 strikes in Kendo.  The first is the strike to the men, or head.  Then there is the kote, wrist.  Next is the doh, or breastplate (the strike slices along the side).  Finally, for only very advanced kendoka, there is the tsuki, or thrust to the throat.  I have practiced men uchi in Kata 1 and with my shinai, but kote uchi with the bokken only.  That’s okay: I have enough to learn at the moment anyway .

After finishing with the kata, we moved into footwork practice again.  We soon added the shinai, actually pairing up and striking the partner’s shinai as he held it at head height.  I’m learning a lot about proper striking: it should be a fluid motion, not tensing the shoulder or forcing the blade down.  Very difficult, though I notice that Tanimura-sensei, who has been helping us, is very good at it (though of course, he has far more experience than I).

Finally, we ended the class with 200 straight men uchi (in addition to a string of 150 that we had done before), so that our hands were in a fair amount of pain.  However, it’s true that doing it for so long does force you to find a more natural way to strike, as otherwise, you simply cannot keep it up.
That is going very well.  Sadly, I cannot attend tomorrow due to an Amazon Intern event, but I am looking forward to Sunday’s class, and you may be assured that I will be practicing on my own.

So I’m writing this at 1:40 in the AM.  Tonight, I attended my very first rave, the Midsummer Night’s Rave.  I met a bunch of other interns today, and they invited me to come, so I did.

Well, of all of us who went, only one had ever been to a rave before, and he’s rather into them.  So we got to The Little Red Theatre at about 9:00 (when doors opened).  We waited outside until around 11:00 or so, when we finally got in.

So basically, it was alright.  I had three kandi on, glowthingies (not the sticks, but the long bendy ones) around each of my arms, and one in each hand.  And you basically kind of dance to the beat.  Fun enough, I guess.  The guy who has raved before was going to stay until 4 AM; I personally left at 12:15 (due to bus issues).

So as I say, I didn’t think it was amazing.  Many people there who were really enjoying themselves seemed to fall into one or more of the following three categories:

1. Drunk
2. High on Ecstasy
3. Attending with a girl who started with very revealing clothes who gradually removed them as the night went on

The prevalence of obviously high people was rather staggering.  Also, my idea of a raver had always been semi-punky kid with glowsticks.  Some of these people were downright scary-looking, but yeah.  Most of the girls were dressed in interesting outfits, as anything from a fairy to bra-and-panties.

It was fun at first, but I can’t imagine I’ll be attending too many more.  Not really my thing…

So first off, life at Amazon.

Amazon is a crazy cool company.  I really like the way that they operate and their core values.  My team is also very chill and nice, which helps.  And small, so I’ve gotten to get to know all of them a bit.

My current status is that I have been working on my design document for what I will be developing as my first project.  It has been interesting, as new things have come up and it has to fit into an existing framework.  But it has been a definite learning experience, and I should be close to actually beginning work on it, which is exciting.

I’ve also been attending several talks.  We have a tech intern talk every week, and then there are weekly talks from people in Amazon about what they’re working on, and then the Friday Learning Series, where you basically learn something.  And then next Tuesday, I’m taking an actual full day class on TCP/IP networking, which will be very interesting.

We also have a ton of e-mail lists at work, one of which is for Amazonians selling things.  I bought a pretty snazzy tea maker the other day, and tomorrow I will be picking up an autobiography of a karate master, which should be interesting.

And speaking of martial arts (nice segway, huh?), Kendo!  Today was my second class, and it was a good progression from the first.  I arrived very early (as I come straight from work), so I ended up working on my footwork.  One of the more senior students who was practicing came over and helped me a great deal, which I am very appreciative for.

So then class started.  There were less people there today (less sensei, even), but still a fair size.  We did the basic warmups, and this time, the four new students were allowed to do strikes with the rest of the class.  After that, we were taken to the side and practiced with our bokken.  The bokken (aka bokuto) is a solid wood sword used for practicing kata and strikes, never for actually striking.  It is heavier than the shinai, but also shaped more like an actual katana.

Anyway, we began with jogeiburi, a big strike.  Basically lift over your head and slice all the way down.  It was basically an introduction to gripping the bokken and using the arms correctly (the left arm is actually in control, which I’m having some difficulty with).

After that, we moved on to the first of the five strikes in Kendo, the men uchi.  The men is the head, so this is the “head strike”.  We began with shomen, the basic strike, cutting through the opponent’s head.  After working on this, we moved to sayumen, striking at angles from the side.  Finally, we did a little bit of fast striking, which is a change to the footwork where you are almost skipping back and forth, striking each time you move forward.

Well, my arms are sore and my feet hurt, but it was an excellent practice.  I believe that my footwork is a lot better than it was the other day, and to practice with an actual weapon was very interesting.  I am very much looking forward to Sunday’s practice!

So last night, I placed an order on e-bogu.com.  I ordered a bokken set as well as a shinai bag and a bokken bag.  The bag situation was not ideal (two separate bags, and you apparently need to remove the tsuba on each blade before it fits in the bag, and the shinai bag had no carry strap), but the prices on other options weren’t too great.

Anyway, this morning, I received an e-mail from the woman from the dojo who has been helping me through everything, and she suggested that I instead purchase a different bag which I had looked at, which was more expensive, but better.  So I went to the website to change my order, but it was already in the final processing stage (that was fast!), so no such luck.

Not sure what to expect, I called e-bogu.  And this was fantastic.  They picked up, and after verifying my order, I simply told them the changes, and they made them.  They removed the old bags, added the new one, and charged me the difference.  And they’re still shipping today!

Well, I was blown away.  I was expecting to have to order the items and then return the old bags when they arrived, but no!  This was excellent.  I had heard of their support, but now I’ve seen it.  And you may rest assured that I will be happily purchasing future gear from them as well (they’re the major Kendo retailer in the US).

So today, as you might have gathered, was my first day of Kendo.  I arrived about 45 minutes early, changed, handed in my forms and check, and received my shinai.  When Imanishi-sensei arrived, the four new students introduced ourselves to him.  He was fairly busy, but he did greet us and made an announcement at the beginning of class that we were new.

Soon enough, class began.  We all lined up (the four new students are ranked by age, I am the second youngest, so second-to-last in line) in seiza, and began with a short meditation (mokusou).  We then bowed to the head of the dojo, then to the sensei.  Then came basic stretches and exercises.  At this point, as the rest of the class began to practice drills, Tanimura-sensei took the four of us outside and explained to us the basic etiquette of the dojo: bowing in and out, seiza, how to place the shinai, etc.  He then showed us some basic footwork, and handed us off to another sensei to drill us in footwork.  The footwork is very different from anything I’ve done before, and does involve some slight cramping of the back leg, but I’m sure that I will get over it.  We were also introduced to the kiai.  Of course, we are just shouting ichi, ni! over and over, but it is still an excellent introduction.
Anyway, after drilling basic footwork for a while,  the sensei declared the class over for us.  We all sat facing him, and had one more meditation.  We then bowed to the sensei, and then to the head of the dojo.

So yes.  One day down.  The footwork is difficult to internalize, so I understand why we were released after so short a period of time.  However, I am definitely looking forward to Thursday’s practice.  I’m not sure exactly how I’m going to get my shinai there, but it will be fun: of that I’m sure.

So today, I observed a Kendo class.  It turns out that Seattle Kendo Kai, the oldest Kendo dojo in the Pacific Northwest, is about 15 minutes from where I’m living out here.

I’ve seen Kendo demonstrations before, but I’ve never seen live practice.  This was actually quite cool.  There is a level of ritual, which is rather interesting, and then the practice.  Today’s practice began with kata using a bokken: basically non-contact pair work that involves practicing the motions of a strike.  For instance, one partner attacks, the other dodges and strikes the attacker’s head (not actually, but coming close).  Obviously, the most senior students do more advanced kata.

After this, the students who wear bogu put them on, and class moved to the shinai and Kendo drills.  At first, everyone was doing basic footwork and basic strikes.  Then, the class split into three groups: the beginners (there were three very new beginners who don’t have a gi), the little kids (by virtue of their being little or by only recently getting a gi, I don’t know), and the other students.  Now they actually did strike, but still drilling.

Finally, for the last several minutes of class, four of the sensei put on their bogu and the students rotated amongst them, striking, and depending on the skill of the student, doing some sparring.

One thing that did strike me a lot was that Kendo practice is very loud.  This is because of the kiai, a feature of most Japanese martial arts, I believe.  This is what Westerners know as “Hi-yah”, but it is not actually.  It’s more of a scream or an exclamation.  The point is to focus all of your energy on a particular motion.  In one of the wushu forms I know, we use this very technique, so I can say from experience that it does work.  You are able to put a lot more energy into a strike when you add a kiai to it.  But with people doing exercises at their own pace and kiai’ing with each strike, the practice hall gets extremely loud.  It’s okay.  Adds to the excitement.

In any event, I have decided to join the dojo.  As one of the other observers pointed out to me, we don’t get to do hardcore sparring for several years, to which I pointed out that it’s even longer if we don’t start now.

So my first class will be on Tuesday, and I am very excited about this.  With any luck, I will be able to continue this when I return to Boston.

So it’s been a long time since I posted anything.  Mostly because I haven’t been up to anything too particularly exciting.  I was in San Francisco with my family for vacation a little while back, then I had 1.5 weeks before coming out here to Seattle.

So yes!  As I say, I am now here in Seattle, which is pretty spectacular.  The weather is actually fantastic: clear skies, stays light til late, good temperature, and other excellentness.  I’ve been here for 4 days so far, and I’ve begun to get a good measure of the city.  There is no subway here, but buses cover every square inch, and I get a free pass from Amazon, which is quite excellent.

And of course, Amazon!  I’ve just finished my second day with them, and it’s a great company.  Everyone here is very chill and laid back, in addition to being brilliant.  I am on the Platform Analysis Team, and I am 1 of 5 members, which is kind of cool.  I’ve so far just been learning my way around the place and the history of Amazon, but today I began learning about some of the tools that we use, and hopefully tomorrow I will begin to dive into some of the actual code.

I’ve also been getting briefed on my particular project, which seems very cool and interesting.  I’m not allowed to give any details (it’s a purely internal project), but trust me that I’m enjoying it.

I’ve been doing some cooking, and I almost poisoned both my roommate and myself tonight with dinner, as the chicken didn’t fully cook (damnable hells).  But that has been fun.  There’s a newly-opened, independent grocery store downtown, and I’ve also found a huge Asian market right next to the building where I work, so I’m excited to maybe try mochi again or try some new Japanese recipes.

Finally, I’m going to go and observe a class at the Seattle Kung Fu Club tomorrow night, and I’ll hopefully check out Kendo next week.  It’s going to be a lot of fun!

So yes.  That’s all for now: as more details and interestingnesses occur, I will write more.