Joining a Club at School

[irishjoe]

I guess you have to feel out your own school, and maybe check out each club individually.

If you have a sport you can already do, like basketball or running or something, then it will be easier to drop in once a week. I sometimes go to football practice and it's no problem with the students or the coach to not go all the time. Other sports with a lot of new things, like learning to fall in judo for example, would be harder to join once in a while. There are things ya need to know to be able to train. If your school's clubs as are serious as ones here, it's pretty serious and all the kids know the drills and exercises when they train. So if there are a lot of new things to learn and get used to, it would be easy to inconvenience their training, ya know what i mean? Which would be fine if ya stick with it and train every day like the students, cos it would only be difficult at the start; but going only once in a while would be more awkward. Does that make sense?

But if you want to start something new and not available at home, then just go for it! Going to watch a bit first will help a lot.

[Narcheska]

I floated between all the clubs at my JHS. I tutored the cello section of the orchestra, went to their concerts. Played tennis in the snow with the girls. Watched soccer. Got my butt kicked in badminton. I never got to go to the competitions because no one ever told me they were on or they were during school time and I was in class. But I hung out a lot.

After the first couple of practices the kids stopped bowing every time I entered the gym and started treating me like a first year. Made it much more fun. The teachers appreciated that I stayed behind at school most days for a couple of hours, and that I spread my time around between the clubs. I couldn't go to all of them (like baseball - boys only, and soccer - teacher didn't want me to) but I tried. Whatever you do will enrich the kids' experience: mine spoke more English at club than in class, and they were in hysterics some days from trying to explain sports exercises to me in English/Japanese/gestures.

[HerrKaiser]

I'm a little nervous to post here, as this is my first post. I am technically an aspiring JET, with an upcoming interview a week from today. I noticed that in the original post the sport of fencing was mentioned. I have been fencing competitively in Canada for the past four years and hope to be able to continue while teaching in Japan. I was wondering if anyone knew some more details about clubs in Japan? I have done my best to search online, but... 私の日本語は千代と。i hope that last bit was chyoto... yeah... my Japanese is not so great, so when I find a page that looks promising, it is usually only in Japanese. I have heard that many high schools have programs. However, I imagine that this only occurs in larger cities.

I was wondering if anyone knew if some of the smaller rural or sub-urban cities possessed clubs?

I am also looking to get some coaching certification prior to my departing Canada, so perhaps this might help my odds?

[Patryn]

unless you're an SEA, probably not.

Again, ESID. Depends on the school. All schools have clubs, but whether or not they have a fencing club... *shrugs*

[Gizmotech]

I'd like to add three things to this.

a) Be prepared for your school to flat out say NO. The clubs are for the kids primarily, and some schools take their clubs VERY SERIOUSLY. They will view (especially at the SHS level) a total beginner as a rather spectacular waste of time regardless how Genki stupid you are/pretend to be.

b) Also be prepared to waste A LOT of time. Though it might seem like these kids are doing a lot of things in these clubs, in many cases they are just dork around pretending to do things.... especially in winter. The clubs are as much of a social gathering as they are a competitive activity, and frankly if you're looking for exercise/training you're far better off doing in a community club rather than at the school.

c) Though some clubs might be okay with you randomly showing up and playing with the students, most of the serious clubs will expect you to be there every time the club meets, and some of these clubs meet 5-6 times / week (which usually includes weekends). If you're not ready to commit to that level of involvement, don't try to join the club as you will be a distraction more than a benefit.

Frankly, as far as ALTs are concerned, it's FAR more beneficial to just be present at as many of their meetings/matches as you can be involved in. Cheering them on, greeting them before they go on the field, being encouraging, this tends to be more than enough and I find is really appreciated. If you really want to learn a Japanese skill/sport, do it in the community centers and pretend like you're doing what CLAIR wants you to do by internationalizing with the rest of the town you live in.

[OdysseyOfNoises]

I'd like to add three things to this.

a) Be prepared for your school to flat out say NO. The clubs are for the kids primarily, and some schools take their clubs VERY SERIOUSLY. They will view (especially at the SHS level) a total beginner as a rather spectacular waste of time regardless how Genki stupid you are/pretend to be.

This first point cannot be stressed strongly enough. I think it's pretty much impossible to join a club at SHS level, in any meaningful way at least. I came out to Japan hoping to be involved in some fashion in the music club at my school, but I realised within about a week that this was neither feasible nor a good idea for a variety of reasons.

[Guiteau]

私の日本語は千代と。

"My Japanese is a thousand years and--" You're looking for ちょっと。

It's soups unlikely that you're school will have Fencing. I don't know of any schools in the area that have a fencing club. You may be interested in Kendo, however, which, as I understand it, is not entirely dissimilar to fencing. Again, as everyone said, ESID, etc., but I was able to join a club at one of my SHSs, and the club is a REALLY serious club, but they still let me go only once a week (as that's when I'm at the school). If your school knows in advance that you're an avid fencer, you like fencing, and you want to learn more about "traditional Japanese fencing" (Kendo), there's a fair chance.

[Patryn]

I wouldn't necessarily liken fencing and kendo... they are pretty different IMO (though I don't know much about fencing), but I would say that kendo would hurt a bunch more! xD

[Guiteau]

I wouldn't necessarily liken fencing and kendo... they are pretty different IMO (though I don't know much about fencing), but I would say that kendo would hurt a bunch more! xD

I don't really know much about either, actually, but all my English-speaking teachers refer to Kendo as "Japanese fencing," so I figured that there exists some congruity somewhere.

[Patryn]

probably coz they both use "swords" and it's 1v1? There's definitely some similarities, but I wouldn't expect that just because someone was good at fencing that they'd be good at kendo or the other way around. You'd definitely be starting from the start in both cases. I think I trained with the club for a few months before I was allowed to even try a practice strike with another person. Perhaps this is because I didn't understand most of what was said, but yeah, hahahaha. That's probably the biggest difficulty if you don't understand Japanese. xD

[jim]

I've got a bit of a strange issue along these lines. At an enkai a while back I said to one of the soccer coaches I'd like to come along to help with the soccer team, so I did. Turns out I'm nowhere near as good at soccer as I remembered from 10 years ago and due to the non-existent English level at my school ,could hardly communicate with the kids, all who were far better than me and in no way needed my coaching anyhow. I also got the impression from the other soccer coach that I wasn't as welcome with him as I was with his colleague. It was just awkward and pretty pointless.

Although I went along to watch the team in a game shortly after, I haven't been back to the club and I'm slightly worried that the first coach (the guy who wanted me to go) now thinks im an a***hole for not going back. He doesn't speak much English when sober, so I can't work out what the situation is, nor could I work out if he wanted me to help every day or just pop my head in now and then.

In short, clubs can be a minefield, so tread carefully if the situation requires it!

[HerrKaiser]

Well, first off, thank you Guiteau for the correction. When I saw it I was like... duh... small tsu... sigh its been a few years since I took an intro Japanese course.

As for the rest of the comments thank you very much for the feedback. I do take fencing quite seriously, and hopefully I am lucky and there is a SHS nearby with a program. My ultimate hope would be to have a community club nearby, but that is a longshot as fencing isn't nearly as big in Japan as Kendo... national sport and all. I know that there are some really good clubs in Tokyo and Osaka. I even heard there is one club in Sapporo, so if I am really lucky with placement it might only be a bus ride away. Mind you, I am not going to hold my breath on anything.

As for the comparison of Fencing to Kendo. I have done both, I tried out Kendo at the Kendo club in my hometown last summer. It was a lot of fun, and rough on the feet just like fencing, but in different ways. There are similar principles which carry over between the two, such as distance between you and your opponent, timing and reaction and reflex speeds. However, the actual figures or nuances of these similarities are worlds apart.

[hysan]

Actual JET here who was a former fencer so I guess I should chime in. There are some schools with fencing, but as mentioned, it is not as widespread. The closest ALT to me actually helps out with his school's fencing club so I know it is possible to join (not definite but possible). I even have an open invitation to join them, which I would if I wasn't helping with the basketball club at my ES all week (Literally. I get home at 7:30pm Tues-Fri and sometimes practice or have games on Sat or Sun).

Some tips on finding out if it's possible to join the school's sports club without actually asking straight up.

When you first get there and do your 自己紹介, always mention the sports you do and that you did it in school/competitively.

If/when you get interviewed by the local newspaper, always mention the sports you do.

At every enkai, when you inevitably get asked, "What do you do for fun? / What is your hobby?" Always mention the sport.

Ask your supervisor at the BOE if he knows of any places where you can practice said sport.

If one of your schools is ok with letting the ALT help out, then someone will eventually say, "Hey, why don't you stop by?" That's what happened with me and basketball. There is no basketball club at my JHS but I was told that the ES actually had a basketball club that practices in the town gym. Something I would never have figured out on my own. Heck, if the sport is semi-big/well known in the area, you will get random townspeople who tell you about it (assuming you are in a rural area). There were 2 people in my town who randomly saw me and struck up a conversation just so they could say, "I heard you fence. You should go help out with fencing at <school> in <town> if you can."

If you do end up helping out with a club, I personally find that it would be best to:

Be serious about helping, even when students goof off. You can play around with them but always remember that there are times when you should step in and help/teach them parts of the sport. This may vary depending on your head coach.

Learn Japanese. At least the stuff relevant to the sport. It will make explaining stuff easier.

Be prepared to sink a ton of time into it. Practices are after school and can last pretty late. You should make it a point to always go.

Try your best to go to every weekend practice/competition. It will make the students more comfortable around you knowing that you aren't just some random guy showing up to random practices.

If you want to bring the students treats (like candy), only do it at a competition. Never do this otherwise as the parents usually don't want you giving stuff to the kids randomly. Also, always give the candy to the head coach or the main parent in charge of lunches to distribute (don't do it yourself). The first time I wanted to do this at a competition, I asked if it was ok. They said yes but told me the above (probably so I wouldn't do it at the wrong time later on).

Edit - One other thing I'd like to mention. Fencing had a small popularity surge after Yuki Ota's performance in the '08 Olympics so there are some small communities where it is well known. Those two townspeople I mentioned each had a son who fenced and saw me mention it in the local newspaper. That's why they approached me. Of course, it will be down to luck whether or not you end up in one of the fencing areas.

[HerrKaiser]

Actual JET here who was a former fencer so I guess I should chime in. There are some schools with fencing, but as mentioned, it is not as widespread. The closest ALT to me actually helps out with his school's fencing club so I know it is possible to join (not definite but possible). I even have an open invitation to join them, which I would if I wasn't helping with the basketball club at my ES all week (Literally. I get home at 7:30pm Tues-Fri and sometimes practice or have games on Sat or Sun).

Edit - One other thing I'd like to mention. Fencing had a small popularity surge after Yuki Ota's performance in the '08 Olympics so there are some small communities where it is well known. Those two townspeople I mentioned each had a son who fenced and saw me mention it in the local newspaper. That's why they approached me. Of course, it will be down to luck whether or not you end up in one of the fencing areas.

Thank you, this is more than I had hoped to find! Also... I would give anything to fence Yuki Ota. I have watched just about every bout of his I can find. (I am a foilist)

I will most definitely be taking your advice. And am more than prepared to sink a lot of time into fencing if given the opportunity! Thanks so much!

[hysan]

No problem. I'm a foilist as well and also like Yuki Ota's style but only fence recreationally now (well not at all since coming to Japan since I didn't bring any gear with me). Sadly, I think it will just come down to placement luck and the dreaded ESID that you will hear repeatedly in JET =/