Dojo Leaving Ettiquette

[nodachi]

My stay has come to a premature end due to unpredictable emergencies at home. What is the ettiquette for leaving a dojo/club? Is there anything I should be prepared to do at the last practice or lunch after (such as giving a speech, although I already had to do that, but what other sorts of things should I expect)?

Also, I am thinking over some sort of thank you gift in my head, but suggestions are welcome. It is difficult to find something to thank multiple people without spending a fortune or tons of time getting something for everyone, ne?

I owe a great deal to these people and want to thank them in the most honorable and appreciative way that I can. I doubt a day will pass by in my Kendo experiences that I will not think of them for starting me on this journey and being so kind.

[Neil Gendzwill]

You should decide on what day will be your last practice, and let your sensei know. They may decide to give you a "special" practice that day. A small gift for your sensei would also certainly be appropriate.

[Charlie]

My (Japanese) buddy said to bring whiskey and maybe some paper cups - because they might break out the whiskey right there in the dojo and all have a drink!

[nollaig]

Make it Irish whiskey!!

Blackbush or Bushmills are some of the best!
DO NOT DRINK JAMESON!!!!!!!!

[JSchmidt]

Whisky was also what I was recommended...present it to the sensei and most likely everyone will get to taste it!.

Jakob

[Neil Gendzwill]

If you're going to bring whiskey, make it scotch, it's popular with Japanese people. They even tried unsuccessfuly to make their own (suntori).

[nodachi]

Thank you for the suggestions, but the practices are on Sunday mornings with children as well, so openning up something to drink may not fit the atmosphere... :)

[Old Warrior]

Why not, kids have got to learn good habits sometime. You surely can't rely on their parents to teach them.

[alexpollijr]

:D

Gotta love these guys

[Karaken]

I agree with OW. The old Korean Tradition is for father to teach son ( nothing against ladies but this is OLD Days ) how to drink properly as early as possible and many times in front of the ancesters during the ceremony to remember and honor them.
The theory is that if you learn to drink in front of your father you learn how to behave even when you're drunk. If you learn on your own, you learn bad habits.

I believe at least the former case is very true.. ( In old days, Korean fathers were feared and respected in stead of being loved. They were like Hachidan for you guys:-)

Center - even drunk!

[kendomushi]

if the practice is sunday morning, make your drink a good nihonshu. Sake is used for ceremonail purposes afterall. But also bring a good bottle of whiskey to give sensei privately at the end of class. And nallaig is right, do not drink Jamesons. However, sometimes the label is as important as the taste. For example lots of Japanese I know like Glenn Fiddich (spelling?) but they love it when they hear it in Japanese as shika no tani (valley of the deer). Gives it an identity they can understand.

[Jerry Wellbrock]

A gift is appropriate and Sake and Sunday are fine. When we have someone leave our dojo it is tradition that at their last practice as many as possible show up to say good-bye. The "special practice" is that we really have a hard class and then the person leaving is put in the middle of a circle to do a minute of free practice with everyone present starting with the lowest rank and working up to the highest rank. After practice is a little food and drink to celebrate and wish them well. Good Luck!:old_man:

[Neil Gendzwill]

The special practice in our club (and others) is tachi-giri-keiko. The person in the middle does keiko with everyone in the club, from lowest rank to highest. The rub is that everyone is going all out with this guy for the minute or two they have with them, and he has to carry on. Also, normal rules of polite kendo are chucked out and anything goes - tripping, hip throws, tsuki into the wall, whatever. We normally work it out so that it goes for about 30 minutes, but if the person is strong it can go longer and harder.

[kendokamax]

yey!

I will have my tachikiri keiko on this thursday...

so many people want to beat me up....what did I do wrong?

[Charlie]

We also do this kind of thing on someone's birthday - kakarigeiki for, like, 5 minutes.

I must say something here. WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE THAT DON'T LIKE JAMESON'S!!?? It is my favorite whiskey of all, and I will not tolerate it's being insulted here - even by an Irishman!

That said, a lil' Johnny Walker red is nice on a Sunday...

[Neil Gendzwill]

No wonder you like Jameson's if you think Johnny Walker Red is a good whiskey.

[Charlie]

Hahaha! We shall have words, sir. Words, I say!

I like Mr. Walker in red or black, I assure you. My favorite scotch of all time is Lagavulin.

Mmmmmm... Lagavulin... *drools*

[Neil Gendzwill]

How can a man who likes Lagavulin possibly stomach JW in any colour? I also like Lagavulin, but I'm most partial to Tallisker.

[JSchmidt]

Ardbeg or MacAllan :D

[Neil Gendzwill]

MacAllan is nice for a mellower whiskey, as is Oban. Lagavulin and Tallisker are a little more <ahem> colourful. As in, "ye gods I've just swallowed a mouthful of burning peat".

[Charlie]

Which I LOVE, by the way. Yes, my dad and I go back and forth on this often. He likes the Macallan, I like Lagavulin, my brother ridicules us both for not drinking bourbon like Knob Creek.

BTW, Neil, I went home last night and got into the Lagavulin and toasted you, then had another.

As for Mr. Walker, well, what can I say? Don't you ever take a break from the gourmet restaurants and just eat "fast food" when it's convenient? I like a McWhopper now and then. Call me a plebian.

BTW, I find Tallisker a little too firey for my taste. Lagavulin is smmmmoooove.

[Karaken]

LAPHROAIG - 10 Year - all the way - talk about burning peat - Woof!

Back to center - dizzy already talking about it

[KhawMengLee]

Mekong-all the way from Thailand...you drink it, you pass out, you wake up in a bathtub full of ice...seriously though, its a solid whisky.

If not give me a lychee martini :D

[Neil Gendzwill]

My wife likes Laphroig, I don't care for the vaguely medicinal taste. I find the opposite for Tallisker and Lagavulin - Tallisker is the (relatively) mellow smooth one of those two.

As for the McDonalds of whiskey - Glenfiddich. OK, so it's more like the TGIFridays of whiskey. If you absolutely must have a cheap blend, Ballantyne's is the best of a bad lot.

The only blend I care for is Chivas, actually if you get the older versions (like Royal Salute) it's a smoooooooth whiskey. Unfortunately Royal Salute is $CDN175 a bottle here. I've gotten a couple as gifts, lovely stuff.

[Karaken]

Neil, that was my first impression of Laphroaig as well. However it grows on you. By the time I finish the bottle ( month or so ) I got to like it. I still don't know why.. I normally don't like blatantly strong taste.

Center - bottle - drink

[sminki]

Laphroig or MacAllan.

If you must have a blended scotch, try Abelour. At 59.9% alcohol content, will give you a nice buzz too.

[Old Warrior]

I getting tired of all this "off thread Scotch" talk - I thought this was the Tequilla thread.

[kendomushi]

Just be careful on what we advise nodachi to get, any and all imported booze here in Japan is awfully expensive. Even a pint of Gunniess in a so called "Irish pub" here costs about US$7.50, and its not quite a pint, and Guinness just doesn't travel all this distance well. :(

[Neil Gendzwill]

Actually despite me slagging JW Red, it's a good choice as it's a well-known brand in Japan. Or at least, visiting Japanese that I've met have indicated that they consider it a high quality scotch. They may have just been being polite. I wouldn't give most of the brands we've been talking up here (especially Tallisker, Lagavulin or Laphroig) to a casual Scotch drinker, you'd have to know that they're a fan.

[Charlie]

Correct. JWalker or Glennfidditch would be a good, middle-o-the-road choice to bring to a send-off, I think.

What about Suntori? I've never had it. I'm not sure you can even get it in the states.

[Kenshi]

Dalmore is distilled in my home town (www.dalmoredistillery.co.uk) so try some of that (if you can get it). Of-course, I never drink whisky.... being Scottish and having Japanse sensei this has - sometimes - ended up in oddness.... I'll have the sake/shochu/etc evertime!

[gill]

I'd recommend a nice single malt. Most of the Japanese Sensei I have met have been very clued up on their Whisky.

I used to love Knockando and Bunnahabhain, but now, like George I don't drink the stuff - I did until a very drunken night with the Kendo club, and a visiting Sensei. Now the smell of it makes me sick! :(

G

[GrandCentral9]

Sorry to bring up an old thread... but I was wondering what were people's impressions of Glenlivet? For some reason, I absolutely love the stuff, but that might be just because I'm used to drinking it. I also really like Lagavullen, but not for "chilling at the bar" type drinking... I have to be in a serious scotch drinking mood for that stuff. My default is Glenlivet, and where it's not available, Johnny Walker Black or Glenfiddich. Dewars is palatable, though not my favorite. Anyone have recommendations? (Tallisker sounds interesting, gotta give it a try sometime). I want to become a scotch connoisseur!

I was at the Ritz in Boston once, and they had a scotch tasting set with some interesting ones... wish I could remember the names. They ranged from really smooth and mild, to super smokey... they even had one that tasted like the sea, which was an interesting experience.

[bullet08]

Dalmore is distilled in my home town (www.dalmoredistillery.co.uk (http://www.dalmoredistillery.co.uk/)) so try some of that (if you can get it). Of-course, I never drink whisky.... being Scottish and having Japanse sensei this has - sometimes - ended up in oddness.... I'll have the sake/shochu/etc evertime!
i thought japanese love scotch whisky, specially well aged single malt. i know koreans do.

warm sake has its place .. but personally prefer good stout and whisky. ale and whisky.. or.. any beer.. irish whiskey and stout.. don't like cold sake, and hate wating for sake to warm up. and the after taste.. urgh..

[Marine_Boy]

My fav is Balvenie 12yrs, single malt, double barrel and Glen Ord 12yrs.

[Charlie]

I'm getting a buzz just reading this thread!

[Neil Gendzwill]

Glenlivet's OK, kind of bland - I'll take it if I'm not in the mood to have my palate beat on too harshly. Better variations on the smooth single malt are Cragganmore, Oban and the MacAllan. I still lean towards the peatier ones like Tallisker and Lagavulin.

[GrandCentral9]

I guess the smooth blandness is why Glenlivet is my default drink of choice... Don't have to concentrate too hard on it, and it's preferrable to drinking shots of tequila or something like that :)

I was at a bar the other night and asked for Talisker. The waiter gave me a funny look, asked me to repeat it, and then said, "oh... talisar..." or something to that effect. So I may or may not have had Talisker, but the one I got was nice... smokey, peat flavor... not something that i'd go for on a regular basis, but as a variation. A little milder than Lagavulin, if I recall.

Will have to try:
Cragganmore, Oban, MacAllen, Balvenie, and Glen Ord. (Balvenie and Glen Ord sound pricey?)

[Marine_Boy]

Balvenie around $30.

Check here

http://www.missionliquor.com/Store/Qstore/Qstore.cgi?CMD=009&DEPT=000002&CAT=000010&BACK=A0007A1B0000002B1

[Neil Gendzwill]

Yeah, Talisker is like a detuned Lagavulin. It's for when you want that taste without the feeling of having an actual peat fire in your throat.

[JSchmidt]

If you haven't tried it yet and like a malt with character, you *have* to try Ardbeg.
It's definitly not for the novice, but man, it's good.

Jakob

[litige]

I'll get a beer just reading this thread!
A Nice Boreal Noir. Something brewed up in here, its a black one, not like guiness. Taste a bit like coffee....wished I knew more about whiskeys and stuff, so I could add up. But hey anyone here tried some high quality tequila?
Never had the chance, damn I love this drink!
oo and barley wine, did someone tasted this?

[Lloromannic]

Sorry to bring up an old thread... but I was wondering what were people's impressions of Glenlivet?
Glenlivet, ahh that brings back memories. My dad used that to "teach me to drink", he reasoned that if I developed a "resistance" I wouldn't get drunk so easily during my "teenage party years". Probably a good concept but it was not implemented very well, the first time he gave it to me it was disguised as Coke (it was a 50/50 mix) which I swallowed in one go, he laughed his ass off for 5 seconds and then stopped when my face went red, then very white and I vomited on his shirt.

Ahh the good old days

[Erikku]

wished I knew more about whiskeys and stuff
Hehe... It'll be a pleasure to have you taste a Lagavulin some day... But I'll start you with something else than an Islay... just so you can apperciate what Neil referred to has the "burning peat" taste a lot more....

As for Boreal beers, never tasted the black, but the red has a strong "metal" taste and I don't really appreciate. Try the fruit stout at La Barberie down near St-Roch mall in Quebec city...

[litige]

Hehe... It'll be a pleasure to have you taste a Lagavulin some day... But I'll start you with something else than an Islay... just so you can apperciate what Neil referred to has the "burning peat" taste a lot more....

As for Boreal beers, never tasted the black, but the red has a strong "metal" taste and I don't really appreciate. Try the fruit stout at La Barberie down near St-Roch mall in Quebec city...

Whenever you want eric! just tell me, we'll go to a great pub I know, with lots of beer (around 250) and lots of whiskeys and stuff.
I'll be sure to check the fruit stout.

[Erikku]

I'll be sure to check the fruit stout.
Sorry.... for some reasons, they have a different set of beers they brew every few months... And I stopped by yesterday to find out they don't have it at the present time... But their Imperial Stout is great :)

[litige]

Sorry.... for some reasons, they have a different set of beers they brew every few months... And I stopped by yesterday to find out they don't have it at the present time... But their Imperial Stout is great :)

Well looks like I'll just stop by and drink what they have!!
hehe