THE YEAR OF SPORTS VOLUME 2

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1 THE YEAR OF SPORTS VOLUME 2 Dear Cornerstone parents, This month s Year of Japan focus is on Sports and the Japanese value of Kyoryoku, or cooperation. During P.E. the children participated in their own mini Undokai, or Japanese Sports Day, and at lunchtime on Friday, Cornerstone parent, Eran Conforti, presented a demonstration of the Japanese Ninja form of Martial Arts known as Ninjutsu! DOMO ARIGATO (thank you very much) for reading on! HIGHLIGHTS Japanese Sports Day UNDOKAI! The official start of Undokai begins with a march or run through the Undokai archway. Kids all over Japan participate in a whole day long sports day, called Undokai. It is an opportunity for teachers, parents and friends to watch students in all grade levels showcase their physical growth and development. Children play games, and do routines of acrobatics and dance, often accompanied by music. At our Cornerstone mini Undokai, the children participated in two traditional games called Tamaire, the basket target game, and Tsunahiki, or what we know as a tug-o-war. Although this is a game we are familiar with, in Japan it takes on greater significance. The Tsunahiki rope is made of the fibers of the rice plant, and the tug-o-war is the focus of a special festival in October to bring good luck for a successful rice harvest!

2 RAJIO TAISO The Japanese Way to Start your Day! In Japan, everyone from businesspeople at work to children at school, starts their morning with exercise stretches known as Rajio Taiso. Here Mrs. Schroeder and Mrs. Bossard lead the children in Rajio Taiso in preparation for Undokai! You can try it out at home! Here s the link: _continue=2&v=d9yw2wvzlwm The Spirit of Undokai KYORYOKU - COOPERATION Undokai has elements of competition and cooperation. There are red and white teams. Aka gumi is the red team, and Shiro gumi is the white team. Competition can help us focus on the task at hand, and motivate us. The kids cheered gambatte a Japanese term that encourages someone to do their best, and to not give up! Gambatte Aka gumi! Students keep trying and never give up! Although the two teams competed, there is a lot of collaboration and cooperation when it comes to working together. Kyoryoku is the Japanese term for cooperation, and it is cooperation that the children needed to demonstrate to succeed in their competition at Undokai. In the Tsunahiki, the children learned the term yoisho which the Japanese say when they need the strength to move mountains. The most successful teams were the ones that best coordinated their yoisho yell and pulls with their teammates! The children yell yoisho as they pull in unison with their team!

3 FOCUS ON NINJUTSU with Cornerstone Parent, Eran Conforti Ninjutsu developed as a method of survival techniques during a tumultuous time in feudal Japan. Unlike other martial art forms, historically, the ninja combined a variety of traditional martial art skills with various espionage techniques. Cornerstone parent and Ninjutsu Master, Eran Conforti who holds a 10 th Dan Black Belt presented the children with a brief history, and show and tell about Ninjutsu on Friday. He also performed a small demonstration on how we all have the innate power to defend ourselves. THE TRADITIONAL SPORTS OF JAPAN MARTIAL ARTS Judo is known as the gentle way and is based on grappling and throwing an opponent. Aikido utilizes a flowing style, that uses the attacker s momentum to defend and protect both people from injury. Historically, martial arts have been the most dominant type of sport in Japan. Many of the martial art forms have roots in, or were highly influenced by the samurai, a class of military nobility that existed in Japan from the 1200s until the mid- 1800s. Japanese martial arts are equally, if not more about spirituality, discipline, morality and strengthening the mind, as they are about using physical strength and skill to attack and defend against an opponent. There are several forms of Japanese martial arts that are practiced today, including Karate, Judo, Aikido, Kendo, Kyudo and Ninjutsu. MARTIAL ARTS WITH SAMURAI ROOTS Kendo, the way of the sword originated with Samurai swordsmanship. Today, this style of Japanese fencing utilizes bamboo swords. Karate incorporates kicks and punches from a fixed stance, combining elements of indigenous fighting styles and Chinese kenpo. Source: m/culture-traditions/nationaltraditions/japanesetradition10.htm Kyudo, the way of the bow also descended from the Samurai. It is a Japanese form of archery that emphasizes perfect technique to achieve accuracy.

4 SUMO THE NATIONAL SPORT OF JAPAN What is Sumo? In sumo, two people who are wearing nothing but a mawashi (loincloth), face each other in a dohyo (circular ring) and push, grapple, and try to throw each other. The one who forces his opponent to the ground or pushes him out of the ring is the winner. Sumo began many centuries ago and developed into its present form in the Edo period ( ). Rikishi (wrestlers) wear their hair in a top knot, which was a normal hairstyle in the Edo period. The referee wears the same kind of clothes as a samurai of 600 years ago. Many aspects of Japan s traditional culture can be seen in sumo. For example, the wrestlers throw salt into the ring to purify it before they begin their match, as the dohyo is considered a sacred place. There are six basho (tournaments) a year, each featuring bouts over 15 days. The wrestlers rank, which is called banzuke can change depending on their performance in each tournament. The top rank is yokozuna. Source of article: web-japan.org/kidsweb/virtual/sumo/sumo01.html SUMO LIFE The daily life of a sumo wrestler is highly structured, from where they live and how they wear their hair, to how they train and what they eat. Chankonabe is the sumo hot pot stew that is a large part of the sumo diet because of all of the nutrition it provides. To learn how to cook Chankonabe at home, watch the Japanese Cooking 101 You Tube video, or for an authentic taste of Chankonabe, visit the Shin-Sen- Gumi Chanko restaurant in Gardena. And if you want to learn even more about the sport of sumo, check out the National Geographic video Sumo Wrestling 101. LINKS FOR MORE INFO ON SUMO: Sumo Wrestling Japanese Cooking 101 Chankonabe Shin-Sen-Gumi Chanko South Western Ave. Gardena, CA

5 ANNOUNCEMENTS DOMO ARIGATO GOZAIMASU - ARIGATO TO TONY AND DEE VULA Alumni parents who graciously offered to make our Year of Japan archway gate sign! - ARIGATO TO MR. ERAN CONFORTI FOR HIS AMAZING NINJUSTU PRESENTATION! Please look out for more opportunities to learn Ninjutsu, and self-defense with Mr. Conforti at MCN! - ARIGATO TO ALL OF THE MANY UNDOKAI SPORTS DAY VOLUNTEERS! With a special shout-out to Yasu and Sayumi Nishio for their Undokai knowledge and coordination with Nishiyamato Academy, Miss Jessie for her infection enthusiasm, and for getting all of the pennies, Mr. Manny for prepping the equipment, Mrs. Berlin for being our teacher liaison-go-to person, Gail Dardashti for securing dates and communicating with the parent board, Annabel Ogikubo for her organization and write-up, Lia Iihara for music coordination, Jenn Ng, Maya Iwamoto and Minako Speck for making tissue flowers for the archway, Wendy Stevens, Lori Goodman, Gayley Louie and Stacey Nozaki for their photography, Kanako Matsumura, Mitzi Burack, Miki Shinozaki, and Miho Yamamoto for help with the games, and Miyako Schroeder and Emi Bossard for always being there to keep it all together! A VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO NISHIYAMATO ACADEMY OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE USE OF THEIR UNDOKAI SPORTS EQUIPMENT! Nishiyamato Academy of California, located in Lomita has been educating children for over 25 years, and is the only private school on the West Coast accredited by Japan s Ministry of Education. NOVEMBER MINI LESSON Elements of Japanese Food 11/15 in the MPR VISIT JAPAN! An exciting, child-oriented trip to Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka) 3/31-4/8 is being offered this Spring Break! Ridgecrest Science Teacher, Scot Oschman, who has many years of organizing school travel, has opened up this opportunity to all of our Cornerstone families. Dr. Oschman will be at our November GPM to answer questions. This opportunity is not associated with Cornerstone PTA and/or Booster Club. HELP THE YEAR OF JAPAN If you like the cultural studies program at Cornerstone, please consider helping as a volunteer! You DO NOT have to have any prior knowledge of Japan, just an interest in cultural studies, and a willingness to get involved! Nina Ota at ninaota.cs@gmail.com or Tricia Tamashiro at triciashop@gmail.com.