Wadaiko Bootcamp

The Tokara Wadaiko Bootcamp was fantastic!

Each day we would have breakfast all together at the ryokan at 8am - this was a traditional breakfast with rice, soup, cooked fish, usually some ham or fried egg with salad, cooked vegetables, and if we wanted we could also have toast. We were using so much energy that we usually did!

This was served with water, coffee or Japanese tea.

Always different, always beautifully presented and delicious :)

Breakfast

All of us on Day One!

At 9:50 the ryokan "papa" would drive us to the community centre where the workshops were held. On the first day we had introductions and rules etc, but after that we started at 10am usually with "uchikomi" these are basic drill patterns that test your endurance! The idea is to keep going past the point where you can't do it anymore....it really did test us!

We also learnt how to tie and tighten the rope shime - this is very hard and made me glad that the shime we use are bolt tightened!

We would stop for lunch at about 12 and all head to the supermarket or the convenience store nearby to get something to eat. This was always fun as it is always exciting picking something and discovering what it is only when you are eating it!

The range of food is so completely different to what we have at home!

After lunch we would do a number of different things designed to improve our coordination and ambidexterity (working on developing left and right hand control), learning a new song which is one of Art Lee's original compositions, and kakegoe / kiai practice. (This was always done last and usually ended in giggles!).

It was very hot and we would always end up soaked with sweat, with new blisters and our hands and every day a different muscle group was aching! It was fantastic!

The practice place

After class we would help to load the drums into the vans for them to take to the performance venue for the summer festival performances in the village where we were staying.

Each afternoon Tokara performed there and even after watching the performance everyday for a week I was still enthralled by them. The performances were so energetic (even though I knew they were all really tired!) and so lively and dynamic with funky rhythms....they were mesmerising!

Each time they would get people from the audience to come and have a little turn on the drums. There was always a mix of very small children that could barely reach the drum right through to grandmothers and grandfathers, but you could see the joy they got from having a go themselves!

Afterwards we would pack up the drums again and head back for our evening entertainment..... :)