Interested (but concerned) about training in Asia?

[Chuck Johnson]

For anyone who is interested in training in Asia (in particular Korea or Japan), but has concerns about it (i.e. finding a job, getting a visa, dealing with the language)? I have been training out here for 12 years, and have lived in Hong Kong, Thailand, Korea and Japan. My longest stints were in Korea (4 years), and Japan (9 years). If anyone has any questions please feel free to drop a line.

Particularly those who are worried about safety in Japan after the Fukushima nuclear crisis, while Im not an expert in the matter, I can let ya know what is happening, and what the general conditions of things are in Tokyo right now.

By the way, I don't receive any email notifications when people respond to my threads... are we supposed to?

 

[Kinghercules]

Hey! Hows it goin over there?
I lived and trained in Busan for awhile. I went to Soul for a week and trained also.
I use to live in Cambodia, Thailand & Singapore. Did alot of Muay Thai trainin in Phuket. I fought and won in Singapore and Cambodia (had to represent).
I really miss it over there.

Although I dont know about that Japan Fukushima nuclear crap. I wouldnt take any chances. I dont even eat seafood that comes from over there. LOL!

 

[Chris Parker]

Helpful advice time! Go to your settings (top of the page), and go to General Settings. Make sure that "Default Thread Subscription Mode" is set to "Instantly, using email".

Next, I do have to ask why you're making this offer? You are, by your own admission here, not an expert on such things as safety in Japan after the Fukushima disaster, but can give general information on what Tokyo is like at the moment? There are a number of members who live in Japan, and many informed areas that information can be gained from.

 

[puunui]

For anyone who is interested in training in Asia (in particular Korea or Japan), but has concerns about it (i.e. finding a job, getting a visa, dealing with the language)? I have been training out here for 12 years, and have lived in Hong Kong, Thailand, Korea and Japan. My longest stints were in Korea (4 years), and Japan (9 years). If anyone has any questions please feel free to drop a line.

Cool. I am slightly jealous that you got to spend so much time in so many great places. How did you make a living while living in those countries? What martial arts did you study, and did you find it difficult to locate suitable teachers?

Particularly those who are worried about safety in Japan after the Fukushima nuclear crisis, while Im not an expert in the matter, I can let ya know what is happening, and what the general conditions of things are in Tokyo right now.

My wife is in Osaka right now for eight days, which far away from Fukushima, but still there is a little concern about radiation. What are the general conditions of things in Tokyo right now? Have you ever been to Jimbocho? They have hundreds of used bookstores there. I can spend weeks in that place, while bringing back a container load of books when I return home.

 

[Chuck Johnson]

I lucked out in that I did manage to find a lot of great teachers...Thats one nice thing about being out here and one of the reasons I came; incredible martial arts instruction is just everywhere. At times it was a struggle with the language barrier, but I wanted to learn the languages while I was out here, and having someone that you really want to communicate with is the best way to do it, so for me that actually worked out to be fine.

As for things in Tokyo, things are generally fine. In terms of ambient radiation from Fukushima, that isn't really an issue (which is something that most of the foreign sources and Japanese sources seem to agree on). Every so often you hear about a warning for a food that was found to have higher levels than usual, but it seems to happen with the same frequency of E. Coli breakouts in the states. Much like on the home front you just have to be careful about where your food is coming from. Jimbocho is awesome. Usually I would get my english language books in Ebisu, but yeah theres a ton of stores out there!

 

[Chuck Johnson]

Thanks. Will do just that. Im sure there are lots of informed members on this site in Asia (I was referred to this forum by one of them), but the reason I wanted to put this out here was 1) because when people contact me out of the blue, it is usually what they ask me about 2) because I hadn't seen anyone else talking about it and 3) because not every question you have about a place can be found on a website. Sometimes you just need someone who has done it to ask directly.

This applies to both training in Asia, and conditions in Tokyo. Particularly for the latter, being here allows me to take in news from both sides and in both Japanese and English, and I was one of the foreign volunteers who went up to Fukushima to assist with cleaning/rebuilding efforts, and have been here since the quake, so I can share what kinds of concerns people may have that may not have been in the news. (As well as things like how easy or difficult it is to deal find work, how to find affordable ways to live, where to get food, etc). Bottom line: Just trying to share dude.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

How do you support yourself living overseas so that you can train? I presume you're not wealthy? Just curious. I lived in Okinawa for a year, but the Marine Corps paid my way.

 

[Chuck Johnson]

Not too bad at all. There are still a lot of aftershocks at the moment, but other than that, no real complaints. Thats awesome that you lived in Cambodia. Ive been to Thailand and Singapore, but I still haven't made it out there yet? Did you do any indigenous martial arts there? I have a few friends who trained there (Antonio Graceffo- he's published a few books through Black belt) and I would love to see how they train there. Have you ever seen Art of Fighting? It was based in Thailand for a while (I knew the host while it was based in Japan) and it had a really good treatment of a lot of martial artistry in SE Asia. Here's a link to one of the shows if you wanna check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L6i...DvjVQa1PpcFObGWNVoDit0oo09p4FG8vtMYlPLPJX_mk=

 

[Chuck Johnson]

Well then, as a fellow American, first and foremost let me say thank you for your service. There's a lot of different ways to get by out here, but the main one is simply teaching English. Easiest way to get a job, visa etc, and actually make a decent income while you are out here as well. (That is especially nice at the moment because the exchange rate from Japan to the states is so good right now). Quite right that I am not wealthy. Nowhere near brother

Like a lot of people (Id venture to say most!) I just came as an English teacher, but after my first year I started working as a bodyguard. (Which you might could do as well if you come from a military background). That was nice because I got Krav Maga and Brazilian Jujitsu training for free Nowadays I still do security work occasionally, but Im also on a Japanese action team, so I do action films, live shows, theatre, television, etc. Because of my size Im usually the bad guy Most places in Japan aren't so expensive to train, and in Korea, oftentimes they won't charge you at all- but they will expect you to train hard and keep up. You start slackin and they will be sure to let you know they noticed. If you ever want to come out to either place just drop me a line, and I can recommend a few places.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Well then, as a fellow American, first and foremost let me say thank you for your service. There's a lot of different ways to get by out here, but the main one is simply teaching English. Easiest way to get a job, visa etc, and actually make a decent income while you are out here as well. (That is especially nice at the moment because the exchange rate from Japan to the states is so good right now). Quite right that I am not wealthy. Nowhere near brother

Like a lot of people (Id venture to say most!) I just came as an English teacher, but after my first year I started working as a bodyguard. (Which you might could do as well if you come from a military background). That was nice because I got Krav Maga and Brazilian Jujitsu training for free Nowadays I still do security work occasionally, but Im also on a Japanese action team, so I do action films, live shows, theatre, television, etc. Because of my size Im usually the bad guy Most places in Japan aren't so expensive to train, and in Korea, oftentimes they won't charge you at all- but they will expect you to train hard and keep up. You start slackin and they will be sure to let you know they noticed. If you ever want to come out to either place just drop me a line, and I can recommend a few places.

OK, I understand, thank you. I know a few people who have worked in Japan as English teachers. I don't think that is for me; I'm 50 years old, have a good job that pays well, and a wife and family, so that avenue is closed to me. I can see where it would be attractive for a young person, though. Glad you're having fun!

 

[puunui]

I lucked out in that I did manage to find a lot of great teachers...Thats one nice thing about being out here and one of the reasons I came; incredible martial arts instruction is just everywhere. At times it was a struggle with the language barrier, but I wanted to learn the languages while I was out here, and having someone that you really want to communicate with is the best way to do it, so for me that actually worked out to be fine.

I'm glad it is working out for you. One sensitive question: Do you perceive any sort of racism against while you are in these countries? If so, in what way? How do you respond to those situations? How are expats treated in general?

As for things in Tokyo, things are generally fine. In terms of ambient radiation from Fukushima, that isn't really an issue (which is something that most of the foreign sources and Japanese sources seem to agree on). Every so often you hear about a warning for a food that was found to have higher levels than usual, but it seems to happen with the same frequency of E. Coli breakouts in the states. Much like on the home front you just have to be careful about where your food is coming from.

I heard some early concerns about shortages of certain types of food products and/or dangers of radiation contamination, but I am glad to hear that everything is ok.

Jimbocho is awesome. Usually I would get my english language books in Ebisu, but yeah theres a ton of stores out there!

Wife comes home to today, along with some new books for me. Luckily, there was a bookstore right next to her hotel, so she took close up photos of the martial arts shelves with her ipad and I picked out a few that I wanted. My kendo shelf is a little light, so we concentrated on this this trip. Not many kendo books in english, so to fill the shelf I need to get japanese language books. Also got another Daito Ryu book.