Created •
an online story
by Tommy Schmitz
Chapter 2 -- A workout, a day and a puzzle going home.
(here is the link to Chapter 1.
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"Why can't i get this!" Katie starts in a whimper and ends in a yell.
She is referring
to the running back flips she performs
with the intention of catching a hoop
thrown precisely 13 meters
at precisely 64 degrees.
It's the beginning of the tumbling sequence...
the final sequence, actually,
in her competition routine.
Katie's been working on this one for a while.
She catches the hoop with her right foot -
to forego the whimper and yell.
"I was doing it better three weeks ago!"
"Keep working Katie. You *will* be doing it
perfectly next week for the National Trials.
Again now. Concentrate." says the coach.
"You're almost there!"
Susan worked mechanically on a similar tumbling run,
with a ribbon instead of a hoop.
The final catch after throwing the ribbon
Susan does with her knees.
The coach is Inga Godotnova,
a Russian Federation National Champion,
Olympic medalist and one of the best in the world
ten years ago.
Katie and Susan have been with her for a year,
and feel like they've died and gone to heaven.
She's nice, Susan says.
And she's good, says Katie.
"Nice" goes a long way with these two O'Briens.
"Good", for the girls, is high recognition -- rarely a part of the deal.
In the past twelve months,
Katie and Susan O'Brien have gone
from the top tiers in Tokyo for their age group
to the top tiers in Japan.
Shintaiso is now their chosen life.
The girls like bragging on their coach to anyone.
"We are very lucky. Godotnova-sensei is taking us to the top."
Shintaiso is Rhythmic Sportive Gymnastics,
or simply Rhymic Gymnastics, these days.
Katie and Susan O'Brien began regular workouts nine years ago
at five years old.
Their father, Henry O'Brien, woult take them to a gym in Setagaya-ku every Saturday afternoon.
The girls said they enjoyed it.
Henry thought it was cute.
The girls could hardly bend to touch their knees, let alone their toes...
Now both mom and dad just shake their heads in wonder, at the progress the girls have made,
somewhat quietly,
without hype, without drama,
one workout at a time,
stacking up a tiny bit of progress each day, or maybe none...
now for at least 3,000 days,
Their parents never once talked to them about becoming champions.
They could simply look in their their eyes to see
the girls already knew what it is they'd be.
"Enough playing. back to work!"
said the voice of their coach. A short break to rest
was coming to an end.
and a dozen teenage girls, a few a bit younger
scattered and fetched
a slew of mallets, balls, ribbons, hoops,
and a headband or two,
and fell into a square
of four girls across. three back.
In rhythmic gymnastics as in dance as in sumo
you not only warm up
you warm down.
and now it was time to warm down -
not Katie and Susan's favorite thing
about shintaiso.
the day was already long
at warm-down,
now there was homework to do
a meal to help prepare
then eating and cleaning-up.
and more homework just before bedtime.
Time spent commuting
from home to school
to gym and then back home...
daily riding on rail,
or wallking to one,
or waiting at a station platform.
tallies to over three hours every day,
three hours that might be better spent
getting their homework done
allowing more time to sleep.
But standing up in trains and subway cars
crowded with people,
not just shoulder to shoulder,
but cheek to cheek, bellies to backs --
makes it kinda hard to spread out your stuff, your books and papers and
pens.
Susan O'Brien over e-mail recently corrected her cousin in America
who was comparing the riding of Tokyo mass transit
to getting canned like a mass of sardines.
"Not fair." Susan said.
Sardines don't have to listen for their station.
Sardines don't have to stand-up.
But tonight there was one more concern
going home.
One they usually didn't have.
Someone might be lurking,
and maybe living
in the thick bamboo forest
next to their home
near the Tama River,
Yes. A thick bamboo forest
right in the middle of Tokyo....
Hebi-yama, Snake Mountain
set aside and protected by the government
for ongoing archaeological research
into the Japanese culture that flourished there
by the very same river
two thousand five hundred
years ago.
(Chapter 3 - Sunday)
Return to Chapter Map.
