Katsumura-san
So Katsumura-san had emailed me that there’d be an ‘interviewer’ coming to Ground Slam this morning, and if I happen to go, I should ‘apee-ru.’ (appeal) I’m not sure what that meant in this case… I know it means, “show off” or “represent” something. I decided that I wouldn’t really be able to practice because of my neck, so I chose not to go. Now I regret it because it wasn’t for a single fighter like Omigawa (who has a fight coming up) like I thought. It was about the whole ‘pro practice’ and if I had gone, I would have shown that women go, too. X_X I’m kind of mad….
Anyway, I made a decision so no use regretting it, but I made an uninformed decision. ~_~; Well, so I went to Gold’s Gym from 7:30 to 8:30, and did shadowboxing/jump rope and rounds on the heavy bag. Then I went to the Immigration office, where I had to wait a long time and got hit on by this weird older dude. Anyway. After I applied for my visa, I went to visit Katsumura-san in his hospital after his knee surgery. He had told me that if I come before 3, I could see him. As I was walking there from the train station at 1:25, he emailed me and said, “My rehabilitation got changed to 1:45!”
Gosh damnit. ~_~ So I ran a little bit.
I got to talk to him for a bit. We talked about my fighting. He said, “Well, you’ve just joined Ground Slam, so I want to get you to train hard here, learn a lot at Ground Slam, and get to know you. I want to get to know you as a fighter, and share ideas about fights with you. Every fighter has their own way they think about fighting, right? Then you can go into fights strong and with a good game plan.”
I agree. I was moved he said that.
He seems to really want to help me grow. Like the other day he held the mitts for me and showed me that punch….He told me about how Ishikawa-san first came to Ground Slam and she couldn’t do grappling, so he made her do a lot, but helped her shape her style around her striking strength.
Katsumura-san has this mysterious gravity about him. I feel like I want to do my best. I feel like I can be anything and that he can help me be anything. He inspires me. He inspires me a lot.
“Imagine every person you see is different from every other person in the world. Some can do some things. Some can do others. Did you ever think of the many things you’ve learned to do? There are so many people who can help us learn. Did you ever grow anything in the garden of your mind? You can grow ideas in the garden of your mind. All you have to do is think, and they’ll grow.” Mr. Rogers…