Yesterday all the JETs in the prefecture were invited to Aomori City to participate in Culture Day:  an educational event organized by our prefectural advisors designed to inform us about the culture of Japan.  Julie and I learned about the tsugaru shamisen, taiko drumming, karate, shogi, cooking, wooden horse painting, and how to make a decorative goldfish.

In this post I will talk about the forums I attended (shamisen, taiko, karate, and shogi) with an emphasis on the shamisen.  Julie is actually in Tokyo right now and will post her own entry on the forums she attended, and probably a few thoughts and photos from the trip she embarked on today, when she returns.

A Brief History of the Human Race

Julie and I attended the first session together, a 70 minute presentation on the history of tsugaru shamisen.  The shamisen is a three-stringed banjo-like instrument that is plucked with a pick (bachi) that resembles an ice scraper.  The tsugaru style is distinguished by a few characteristics, including a more percussive style of strumming.

After playing two songs, the performers put down their instruments and the man on the right began speaking in English.

"Hello!  My name is _________.  You can call me __________.  I don't know English, but I like English.  I hate Nihongo (Japanese)."

The last sentence genuinely surprised the audience and we responded with laughter.  He then went on to explain that Japanese is a hierarchical language.  For instance there are many forms of "I" depending on where you find yourself.  English on the other hand, he said, is very friendly.  There is only "you" and "I."  Therefore, he concluded that when we teach our students English we also teach them the friendliness of our culture, whether we are aware of it or not.  His insight gave me a completely new perspective of my job.

The man then walked over to a nearby table, grabbed a dry erase marker and said, through a translator this time, "It is written that we will learn about the history of tsugaru shamisen, but..."

He then proceeded to sketch a map of Africa on the dry erase board and informed us that we would instead learn about the history of humans.  It turns out this guy's other passion is archaeology.  Over the course of the next hour he brilliantly weaved together indigenous cultures, war, peace, snakes, religion, rope, music, art, archaeology, and mythology in a way only a seasoned college professor could do.  It was as if when he planned the presentation he said to himself, "if it's culture they want, it's culture they'll get."

I took notes on the lecture.  Here's a summary.  Please take it with a grain of salt as I have not taken the time to verify it with other sources.  If this happens to be your area of expertise, please correct my understanding by leaving a brief comment on this post.

If the entire history of our species is represented by 7 meters of length, then according to his calculations, a length of 3 centimeters represents the duration of time we have been at war with each other.  He demonstrated this with a volunteer and an actual tape measure.  The man said we are wildly off track, but he remains optimistic that we can get back on the road to peace.

What caused us to fall so far?  Snakes!  It turns out we can gain insight by exploring the role of snakes in ancient cultures.  The man said that snakes used to be revered in just about every ancient culture.  In Japan this is made evident in the pottery of the Jomon culture.  The Jomon era is the earliest in Japan's pre-history and the string-style pottery that the people created is famous.  Apparently their inspiration for the pottery came from the way snakes reproduce.  The man insinuated that it is a symbol of a time when we lived in peace with our environment -- a time when we didn't hate snakes.

The oceanic currents off the Eastern coasts of China and Korea drift towards Japan which meant eventually new people settled into the region.  Thus we enter the Yayoi period.  The man said that the new inhabitants, mostly people from modern day Korea, brought with them rice, iron, war, and a hatred of snakes.  His teacher, a man ten years his senior, proved they brought war by discovering motes, people buried with weapons, and a dramatic increase in the size of arrowheads dated during this period.

"The Yayoi and Jomon have two different faces and two different cultures," he said.  Whereas the Jomon people had large circular eyes, the Yayoi were more narrow.  The Jomon settled in the North and South and the Yayoi landed in the space inbetween.  He said if you look at eyes of some of the people in these regions today you can see evidence of this.

He went on to talk about the music of the two cultures and how they differed.  Basically Jomon art was more robust.  He also said that Japan's first name, Asaka, means "great fantastic place."

He concluded the lecture by reiterating that our world is in trouble.  As evidence he sighted continued war, global warming, and habitat destruction.  Yet he is optimistic.

"Remember," he said, "the most important thing is snakes!"

We clapped.  It was a great, informative, and entertaining lecture that made me realize just how ignorant I am when it comes to the history of Japan.  I have decided I need to do something about this and plan on reading more than just the occasional interesting article on Wikipedia.  If you have any book recommendations, let me know.

After lunch I attended sessions on shogi (Japanese chess), taiko (traditional drumming), and karate.  Taiko was my favorite of the three.  I hope to have a longer post dedicated to it in the near future that will involve a popular arcade game.  Shogi was interesting, but I still prefer Go.  I spent most of my time in the karate session reminiscing about my two years in taekwondo when I was in elementary school.

Before I sign off, here is a brief video of one of the shamisen performances.  It's our first attempt at embedding video on the blog.  Enjoy!

The show ended a year ago (it's only now being aired here), but here be spoilers, so be warned. Also remember that all in all, I prefer technique over force and self-defense disciplines, so my opinions are not supposed to impose on anybody, and do not reflect anything regarding the Krav Maga, Marine Corp MA, and MMA episodes.

In all honesty, reading up on the hosts' past in martial arts made me wonder how well fitted they were to do this. Bill is a towering fridge of a defensive tackle, and Jason, with backgrounds only in BJJ and MMA (two disciplines I find highly questionable in my ever-the-technical-utopist-mindset), made me doubt he'd be able to utter the humility to start from blank again every time the camera started rolling.

Surprisingly, Bill pulled through for me: somewhere beneath that gruff exterior, there was a happy sort of anxiety that he'd get to learn something new, the kind you normally see only in children. Bill WAS, in the end, a human wall, and therefore learning to unstick his limbs from his body was rough on him, particularly on flexible and fast martial arts like tae kwon do and muay thai, but he'd made an effort to adapt. That, if I may say so myself, is an admirable trait in any martial artist. I don't know if the shows were also recorded in the sequence they were shown in, but by the tae kwon do episode, Bill had become incredibly flexible for a guy of his complexion (although he remained mortally slow--which cost him a kick to the face and a TKO in the same episode).

Jason, however, was... in a completely different page as Bill, for lack of better description. Everything, in his opinion, was related to MMA, and he'd show it by becoming utterly useless when fighting in any discipline that did not involve falling on his back and choking his adversary or pounding his lights out. Even in judo, an art so closely related to the BJJ he started in, he did not realize that MMA routines on the floor are not an end-all, and it lost him the match. He also struck me as the kind that is all talk and no action--something closely related to the "my years of MMA training have..." line he'd say basically every show.

I found that although the show was nicely researched and produced, the things they'd demand of Bill and Jason were unreasonable in many cases; it was almost as if they purposedly ignored the basics of every martial art in favor of the showiest techniques. Bill, as a wrestler, had almost no kicking experience and could've really hurt his knees doing what it was suggested that he did--in tae kwon do, you don't start from flying kicks, you start from the floor doing roundhouses, hitting the side of the gut and the head, working on your accuracy. It wouldn't take 2 hours off their training schedules to have taught them the basics AND THEN flying kicks.

Jason, used to being on his back rather than on his feet, had many positioning mistakes that would eventually work against him. For one, they did not once show that they taught them to break a fall, the very basis of judo, and I recall Bill'd got winded once or twice.

They'd also, for sure, not get the rules of their matches drilled into them from day 1--such a mistake cost Bill the pancrateion match (as he lost point after point because of fouls he didn't know he'd had). One'd think this aspect is important, as they're holding a match on day 5, aren't they?

The funny part is, they are not bad martial artists (although I must insist Jason could use with a little humility, not to mention detachment from MMA), and the amount of stuff they'd retain from their lessons was pretty awestriking. Although Bill is primarily a grappler and was pretty bad at striking arts, he kept his ground pretty decently in karate, and although Jason was terrible with a weapon in his hands, he tried his best in ninjitsu.

The history and real life application part of every episode was really interesting, though. I learned thing after thing I did not know about pancrateion and sambo, both of which I only had a vague idea of, and definitely reinforced my knowledge about karate, tae kwon do, muay thai, and judo. Learning of all the forms of kung fu was also interesting, as the forms of it that I had never seen before came to form a slightly fuller idea of the chinese martial arts than I had before.

I'd recommend it to anybody. If not the best show ever made on the topic of martial arts, this one certainly had a respectable attempt at completeness. It is a shame it did not continue on to it's second season, but it seems you can make up by watching Fight Quest, a more recent show by the Discovery Channel which works on the same model as Human Weapon.

Then on Monday, Good Day Sacramento came to the school and did a segment. Guess who is famous now? LOL. Here are the links to see Chase (and Alan Sanchez, the tv personality) in action. Chase is working on his black belt and will be testing early next year.

Segment 1

Segment 2

Espero sus comentarios..... y ya nos leemos luego ¬¬

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You should visit eBaum's WORLD if you like crazy stuff like...

1. Yachan The Karate Monkey
2. The Retro Encabulator - This video reminds me of listening to George Bush. note: Wikipedia defines this contraption this way: The Turboencabulator or turbo-encabulator is a fictional machine whose alleged existence became an in-joke and subject of professional humor among electrical engineers.

]]> http://ibiketowork.wordpress.com/?p=514 Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:06:03 +0000 plusran http://ibiketowork.nl.wordpress.com/2008/10/10/bike-to-work-day-100/ And what a beautiful day for it.  54F, high 70s no complains!

0:24'18, 6.74mi
avg 16.6mph, max 26.3mph
54ºF, Odo 2507.8mi
Cadence 67-100rpm

More later, including karate promotion.

--

What a wonderful, warm and productive day.

0:21'15, 6.76mi (total 13.51)
avg 19.1mph, max 29.9mph
71ºF, Odo 2514.6mi
Cadence 78-110rpm

At the karate studio, there are several levels of teachers.  In order to progress from 'Teacher' to 'Full Instructor' you must write out, in detail, all of the material.  Every form and every technique.  Some people excel at physical motion and have to struggle with words (myself).  Some people struggle with physical motion and excel with words (my aunt).  Last night, after years of working on this certification, I passed! I'm now a First Level Instructor of Kenpo!  Yay!

Un brano dal libro di Dave Lowry "Lo spirito delle arti marziali" (Oscar Mondadori 1999, senza link perchè fuori catalogo), capitolo 24, Kamae: posizioni da combattimento.

Tutte le moderne Vie marziali presentano dei Kamae, posizioni di combattimento. In ciascuna disciplina, il praticante assume un kamae concepito per mostrare forza e spirito combattivo. Nel kamae di un praticante di karate o di judo non è possibile trovare un singolo bersaglio vulnerabile. Allo stesso modo gli studenti di kendo e di aikido studiano e praticano per rendere inespugnabili i loro kamae.
Al contrario, i kamae delle arti classiche del Giappone feudale sono differenti. In queste antiche forme, i Kamae spesso mostrano evidenti brecce, aperture in cui la spalla, il torso o le mani serrate sull’arma sono esposte al pericolo. Osservando queste posizioni, si ha la tentazione di immaginare che questi guerrieri fosseo suicidi, quasi volessero farsi colpire. In un certo senso, i kamae delle arti antiche sono effettivamente un invito ad attaccare. Un’esca. Una trappola mortale è celata in questi kamae, perché le brecce nelle posizioni delle arti classiche non sono errori strategici, fanno deliberatamente parte della strategia. Il kamae del guerriero induce a un attacco che egli è in grado di controllare. Esponendo uno specifico bersaglio, egli sa da quale direzione l’assalto arriverà, e da ciò si può avvantaggiare.

Questi contrastanti usi del kamae riflettono la differenza tra le arti di combattimento del XX secolo e quelle delle loro controparti storiche. Il praticante di oggi cerca di evitare il conflitto violento: il suo atteggiamento è difensivo, combattere è l’utlima possibilità, ed egli cerca principalmente di proteggere se stesso e gli altri. La professione del bushi consisteva nell’affrontare la battaglia. Doveva essere aggressivo in duello, o almeno doveva incoraggiare un attacco in modo che il combattimento potesse avere inizio. L’autoprotezione era sempre secondaria rispetto alla difesa del clan al quale il samurai apparteneva. L’interesse del signore veniva prima di quello del guerriero; non è una coincidenza, allora, che gli opposti atteggiamenti di guardia, kamae, dei praticanti di epoche differenti rivelino diversi scopi e caratteristiche.

Il kanji usato per indicare kamae deriva da due caratteri che significano “costruire con il legno”. Un kame marziale si costruisce, al tempo stesso, sia con la posizione fisica sia con l’atteggiamento mentale. La costruzione del kamae di un moderno bugeisha può essere considerata alla stregua di una solida fortezza, concepita per proteggere. Il kamae del bugeisha classico è più un trabocchetto, ideato per attirare l’avversario e intrappolarlo.

L'immagine è di shavanni, su flickr qui

We found a great article from a Martial Arts School in Virginia and while we've talked about mental and physical benefits of TaeKwonDo on our website and in our literature we have not gone into as much detail. It goes to point out that no one is too young or old to reap the spectrum of physical and mental benefits that Martial Arts Provides.

Martial Arts Training Mental Sharpness And Better Health
By Z Bennett

Martial arts, is one of the best physical and mental activities that it also can help the mind grow and develop. Martial arts, is physical but it is also mental the martial arts can benefit the whole person it can help with flood development. It is not just a bunch of kicks, punches and throws. The mental art can plays a very large part on assisting a person to become better people. When I say better I am saying that martial arts is 10% physical and 90% mental. Please remember the mind guides the body. Martial arts like Karate, Jujutsu are outstanding not only for health but for self-defense, self-confidence, self-control, balance, stress reduction, social skills, and conditioning. This again is not just in the body it is very much in the mind.

Even if you are not yet ready to start your martial arts training but have a real desire to learn martial arts. You have to believe that you are ready in your mind first. You have to have a keep a positive outlook and create positive ways of seeing yourself in everything. Martial arts schools like the San Yama Bushi and Combination GoJu school of Self Defense (SYBCG) can help you. IMAGINATION - A mind once stretched by a new idea. Never regains its original dimensions. We are like fine wine. We can get better with age under the correct conditions. You control the conditions. In the martial arts, one of the first things that you have to do is find the right school and the right person to train with to assist you in your goal. Look for school and instructors with a positive feel and way of thing. I by no means, mean find a candy land school or instructor. I am also not saying find a school that has a kill or be killed mind-set. My goal here is to point you at a school that meets your needs and is real. Most of us are not actively in combat situations nor do we live in a prefect harmless world. Find a school with a good sound balance. Martial arts school can give you a great work-out, it should also be a place where you feel comfortable. The school and training should help you in many ways on your way to the goals. Once you start working out on any physical program at any level you should take it slow. Here is an area that we all should make sure we paid attention to that is stretching not just on the physical level but also on the mental level. We all have a lot to learn. Those that stop learning stop growing. Many people young and old do not open their mind to enough positive things. We need to surround ourselves with positives on all levels, that is people, places and things. It would also be to our benefit to us all to understand that being right is not always important. We could benefit from learning to let it go. As we get older, we lose flexibility in more areas then just our physical bodies. This lost of flexibility is on a mental level.

[caption id="attachment_80" align="alignright" width="209" caption="Healthy Lifestyle"][/caption]

This again does not have to happen, however we see ever day in traffic, online, at home and in our schools etc. Just look at the morning news in the morning can be seen across the world. I have an instructor who is over 73 years of age he is in better physical condition then many 25 years old that I know. His name is Grand Master Reno Morales, he prefers Reno he is very active, so active that at his present age he is still ACTIVE as a bodyguard and his is an ACTIVE bounty hurter. I am not kidding. His have over 60 years in the martial arts. Please understand he trains everyday, eats correctly, has a positive mind attitude and has a fantastic memory. Please understand I am not saying that the martial arts, is the key to the fountain of youth, or that everyone that training has a positive mental attitude but I am saying that it has helped many. You mind and body, are very complicated machines if you do not take care of them they may not be able to take care of you. Keep them well tuned and in great shape. We at the SYBCG school of Self Defense work to assist all our students in always. We offer training is karate, jujutsu, cardio kickboxing, rape aggression defense, resisting aggression defensively, positive self-defense, DT and more. We also do want to help you to be the best person you can be as a whole person. Our school, systems and instructor are well rounded. Our training is in martial arts, martial arts sciences, natural health, reiki, mediation, personal fitness, trigger-point therapy, CPR, first aid, positive self-defense, etc. Please remember you can be better and improve your overall wellness. Martial arts can be a great path to better and longer good overall health and abilities. Keep this in mind. The thing is not what happens. It is in the interpretation of what we believe has happened means.

Life and time are precious lets use it and enjoy it for as long as we can. You are where you are by your habits. Change your habits change your life. Now let us change it for the better. Most of these changes are small but there effect can be huge. My oldest son is 24 my youngest is 9 years old, they are both in great physical health. I can present at 45 plus years of age out run them both. I can also keep up with all of my 4 children along with nieces and nephews in most activities. This to me is priceless.

By Zurriane Bennett
http://www.sybcg.com

]]> http://dkwatson.wordpress.com/?p=397 Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:33:24 +0000 Dana http://dkwatson.nl.wordpress.com/2008/10/09/back-to-life/ I'm not dead, nor have I disappeared. Mark and I in fact returned from our honeymoon last Saturday, and we're working on getting back into real life. Some stuff I should blog about in more detail:

• the kitchen remodel
• the wedding
• both of these things together

And I do promise I will talk about them in great detail, with pictures! Probably soon to be followed with needing to talk about the yard, which is our next major house project. But first I need a chunk of time with my camera and my computer both in the same place.

In other news, the reason we came back from our honeymoon at Nags Head on Saturday instead of waiting until Sunday is that I've started teaching a women's-only karate class on Sundays, and this past weekend was the first class. We have a large Muslim population of students at our school, and the moms, older sisters, etc., can't take a class with men or boys there. As one of the only two female black belts at the school right now, I was nominated to teach. I'm kind of nervous about this, because I know I do some things quite differently from the way the owner of the school does, but as has been pointed out, he can't come to this class, so how will he ever know? And the other big black belts keep assuring me that I have a legitimate black belt in this style, whether I do everything exactly the same or not, so I need to be more confident in my opinions when asked for them. I never used to have this problem, but taking what ended up being an 8-year break from actual training and finding things had changed since then has been kind of disconcerting.

Anyway, for this class we now have some big curtains to cover all the windows along the front of the school, and I lock the door when it seems like everyone has arrived. There was only one woman at the first class, but it turned out that was because it was the day after the end of Ramadan, and most other people who had intended to come had forgot about it. I should have more students this coming weekend.

Speaking of the end of Ramadan, our sensei can now eat again, and as a result he seems to have decided to try to kill us on Tuesday. Why, yes, a high cardio class after I've been gone for most of month is just what I needed! In my defense, though, I wasn't the only one. There was one point in the class where I got dizzy first (probably due to dehydration), and then another student had to sit down right after me. His comment? "Two down! Let's see if I can get the other three of you! ... No, no, just kidding, everyone get some water." I go back again tonight; I wonder what we'll do this time.

Kampsport och kampkonst är en huvudsakligen manlig miljö. För unga killar är kampsporten något som kan hjälpa deras växande till manlighet, men för tjejer kan den bli en komplikation i deras relation till sin kvinnlighet. Karateträningens krav kolliderar med tonårstjejens krav på kvinnlighet. Att ta i för kung och fosterland, att skrika, att satsa allt i ett slag eller en spark - det skär sig mot tjejighetens bud.

När jag efter två års karate gick över till aikido slapp jag de mer extrema yttringarna av det här. På ett sätt är jag glad att jag stiftade bekantskap med det i karaten. Därmed har jag haft lättare att känna igen och etikettera fenomenen när de dykt upp i aikidon. I de hårdare kampmiljöerna finns ofta bara två roller för tjejer. Den ena är som tjejen som egentligen inte duger så mycket till, men som ändå är trevlig att ha i klubben för det vore ju synd om vi bara blev killar. Det andra är den supertuffa bruden som är hårdare än alla killar tillsammans.

Om man inte vill hamna i trevliga maskot-facket är tyvärr den supertuffa stilen ofta den enda som funkar. Dock kan inte ens de supertuffa brudarna vara säkra på att verkligen bli behandlade som en av grabbarna. Jag har hört alltför många historier som tjejer som är vårdslösa med och hänsynslösa mot sina manliga träningskamrater. Tacka för det, som hon aldrig får däng tillbaka i samma utsträckning som hon delar ut däng! Den kille som får ett för hårt slag av en tjej har ofta svårt för att klaga, eftersom det vore en prestigeförlust. Samma kille har oftast svårt att slå på allvar för en tjej, för tänk om han skulle träffa för hårt... det vore också en prestigeförlust.

Tänk så våra könsroller snärjer oss.

------

Andra bloggar om karate, kampsport, kampkonst, könsroller, träning

It wasn't busy enough to keep me mindlessly running, in fact, it was just busy enough to keep me on my feet and not really interested in anything. To feed my mind, I want to do a bunch of stuff: Work on Handbook, contact my editor about the next round of edits, finish my book, start a new project, tack down unanswered submissions, all that stuff. It's enough work for a few nights, really.

But it's Wednesday, and working on writing tonight means skipping karate and this is leading to tension. I love karate but, well, I'm toying with the idea of having a month off training all together. I trained hard in summer and in Spetember and I'm physically worn. And I really do need to play catch up with the writing work I left to one side when I finished the first draft of Handbook.

I took a break from writing in summer, I think I might need a break from training now.

Here's a link to their site - check them out, it's great exercise and fitness for you or the little ones.

http://www.usamartialartsfitness.com/martial_arts_training_locations.htm

Parents you & your child will LOVE our After School Karate Program.

Our rates are comparable to day care centers AND your child gets TaeKwonDo. The by products are greater self-esteem, self-confidence, self-control, and self-realization. Studies have shown that Martial Arts Training can help your child improved confidence and develop the leadership skills necessary to succeed in life.

Tae Kwon Do teaches values and leadership. When you visit our school you will find students addressing and interacting with each other respectfully. You will find here students with purpose that extends beyond class into their academics and home.

The tenants of Tae Kwon Do are: Honor, Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self-control, Courage, Community. These tenants, these values are taught in every class. They become part of your child's life and life skills.

As your child undertakes the program we partner with your child's teacher to ensure that these tenants go to school with your child as shown by academic effort and attitude.

If you're like most parents, you're probably on a budget. Kickin' Kids makes it easy for you to give your child TWO activities for the price of one.

Convenient after school care and exciting martial arts lessons. Call now 812-218-8000

• Free transportation - check with us to be sure that your childs school is within our pickup radius.

• Homework tutoring

• Snack

• Two activities for the price of one.

• Flexible program options.

• On-time payment discounts

• Family Rates

• ID Safety System

• Stranger Self-Defense

• End of Year Tax Statement (by request)

• FUN!

Many students find Tae Kwon Do a life changing experience.  Often we follow the crowd down the well-worn path not breaking out.  Tae Kwon Do causes you to think differently about yourself and your world.  As your self-defense skills increase you will feel more in control and more capable of handling whatever the day brings.  Consider this, the change in thinking that comes about as you learn to break boards and the other things that come with the training.  There is a life metaphor there - break through - you learn that you can do things that you didn't think were possible.

Taekwondo (Korean;태권도IPA: /thɛʔkwʌndo/; English;IPA: /ˈteɪˈkwɒnˈdoʊ/) is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. It is the world's most popular martial art in terms of number of practitioners.^[1] Kyeorugi, or sparring, is an official Olympic sporting event. In Korean, tae 태 跆 means "foot"; kwon 권 拳 means "fist"; and do 도 道 means "way"; so taekwondo is loosely translated as "the way of the foot and fist" but can be best translated as, "the art of kicking and punching."  --Wikipedia

Martial arts injuries

Martial arts injuries: When males and females take up martial arts, who gets hurt?

As crime rates have expanded in Great Britain and the United States, concerns about personal safety have increased, and many people have decided to learn self-defence techniques by studying the martial arts. In the United States, for example, the number of martial arts enthusiasts has climbed past 200,000 and is still rising, even though very little information has been available concerning the actual safety of the sport itself. Some critics, sceptical of the merits of martial arts training, have suggested that you're more likely to be seriously hurt during a martial arts workout than you are to be hit on the head by a mugger.

Click here for the remainder of the article.

:lol: ... :D

The martial arts have grown out of a human need for self-defense. While Westerners tend to think of martial arts as Eastern, there are paintings on the tombs in Egypt dating back to 3000 B.C. demonstrating hand-and-foot fighting. From another Western cultural center of the ancient world, the Greek philosopher Plato mentions skiamachia, fighting without an opponent (analogous to our TaeKwonDo forms), combining skills from boxing and wrestling so that the whole body is used as a weapon. Several times a year students from all the Tae Kwon Do schools in the region come together to demonstrate their proficiency in tournament.