Sports Day and Kendo Moms

So Saturday was Sports Day for the elementary schools here in Nishihara. My lessons at the elementary schools were put on hold these last two weeks so that the kids could train for this Day of Athletic Prowess. Allow me to describe the schools and their respective celebrations.

Let me first say, there is a National Sports and Health Day, which is a holiday with time off work. That day will be October 11. This was an event that each elementary school held that was a combination of what I would call "Field Day" and Japanese TV. The students in grades 1-6 competed in two teams, red and white, in various races. Some were obstacle courses, some were 50 m dashes, and some were relays. I was invited to both elementary schools' Sports Days, so I, along with my supervisor Tomoko, spent the morning at the smaller school and the afternoon at the bigger school.

The event opened with a marching procession of the students. Next followed a series of speeches, lots of bowing, and warm-up exercises for everyone, including the guests. Then began the races. Every 5 events or so, the guests were invited to participate in a relay or activity of some sort. I joined everything I could, since someone was always saying, Rebeca sensei Rebeca sensei, anytime they asked for volunteers. Sure, why not. There was a push-a-metal-wheel-with-a-stick relay, a mini-golf type game with bigger balls and mallets, and a running relay where a pair of rubber boots were the baton. There was a teacher's relay race where we pushed 5 foot tall inflated balls around a track. There were other silly games which the kids did - components of obstacle courses included crawling under a net, wheelbarrow racing, piggy back rides (many parents took part in this, some of them riding on their kids' backs!), and an interesting thing called "The Caterpillar" in which the kids get into a huge floppy circle of cardboard and push it along. They ran segments of the track while inside a hula hoop with an older guest from the crowd, they led their parents blindfolded to dip their faces into trays of white powder, they ran three legged races and rode small tricycles and did synchronized dancing and cheering.

But the craziest thing by far that these kids did was their final Series of Acrobatic Stunts, or SAS (this is not what they called it, btw). First, they did simpler things, like side plank. Yea, I know - it's not that simple. Then they went on to do the following (pictures courtesy of the internet, they're not actually mine to publish):

Bridge. Every single 5th and 6th grader did this.

Shoulder Sits

Four-Layered human pyramid. Remember, these are 10 and 11 year olds.

Standing human pyramid. The kids on the bottom two layers were standing, not bending over.
Hence: Japanese Kids > Iraqi Police Officers.
(No political commentary implied)

And other various combinations of these and other things. It was crazy!

Now on to the Kendo Moms. They are so sweet! I've been going to the kids' kendo practice, since it takes place across the parking lot from me and I can hear them screaming anyway. What's nice is that the moms and a couple of their smaller kids also watch the practice. They practice their English with me and  teach me some Japanese. I do some easy origami with the kids sometimes. The weekend before last I was invited to watch their tournament. I understood them when they said they would meet at 6:30, but somehow I missed the morning part. Sooo, at 6:30 Sunday morning, I heard the doorbell and lots of kids laughter, answered the door with bed-hair and pajamas on, apologized profusely in Japanglish, and changed to go. After the rough start, though, the rest of the day was quite fun :D

So now the Kendo Moms know me pretty well. This apparently means they must feed me. Yesterday, I was late to go watch practice, and two of the moms showed up to see if I was okay, bearing yogurt, fruit snacks and apple juice as gifts. Today there was no practice, but one of the moms showed up anyway with a plate of food! She just delivered the food, then drove off in a creepy white van... After I ate the food, I found out it was a Cookie Monster plate. Cute!

On one final note: the kids here do a ridiculous amount of exercise. The 5th and 6th graders at the elementary school have P.E. class after school from 4-6. Then, some of them go on to practice volleyball in the gym. Almost every kid in middle school practices tennis, baseball/softball, track, or volleyball every day after school. It seems like the trend only continues into high school. Exercise, and tons of it, is almost universal among the young. Then it basically stops once they get a job. Except for the morning exercise routine, which a lot of people do, but it's a sharp drop from the athletic training of their youth.