Aotea arch

Back to Auckland today. Among other things, I went to Auckland Martial Arts Supplies, looking for another karate-gi; my Shureido, while excellent in many respects, is too small. I think it probably started out a bit too small, and then shrank, to boot.

Tried on a Tokaido kata gi. Felt good, looked good quality. Jacket was just the right length and size. I felt really pleased ... except the sleeves were ridiculously short. I blame sport karate/tournament karate. So many weird stylistic decisions about the form of karate itself - and about the gi (uniform). Oh, it also had the Tokaido logo on the right breast; in Chidokan we are not ok with markings on our gi - other than the Chidokan emblem sewn on the left breast.

So that was a bust.

But I snapped this in Aotea square, which was ok.

And later I had a fantastic training session at the dojo, and exchanged contacts with a sempai (senior grade) there who is fantastic, and really helpful too.