Welcome the Hawaii JuJitsu KoDenKai JuJitsu Summer Camp
Malaekahana Beach Park - North Shore - Oahu, Hawaii
What to Bring
This should be called what "not" to bring. Don't
bring more clothes and stuff than what you would wear and use at
home for a week in the summer. The temperature here is 70 to 80 degrees
- day and night! Even the water is warm at night. Resist the
urge to pack for an adventure to Darkest Africa. You will probably
live in a pair of shorts, T-shirt, swim suits and 2 or 3 gi's.
Bring a couple of gi's! A light rain proof jacket or hooded sweatshirt,
a hat, another hat, then bring a big hat, a small umbrella for rain and
sun (this is a must in Hawaii), water proof sandals (for coral reef), and
one pair of casual dress clothes (this is Hawaii remember!). There
are washer and dryer facilities available in the towns nearby. Did
we mention bring a hat? A Big old' sun hat works wonders - rain or
shine. Bring a tent! It might be more fun!
If you are wondering about renting a car, they aren't cheap. We have an amazingly good bus system that will take you anywhere for $1 each way, from 6 AM to 10 PM. They do not allow people to get on with several suitcases. If you can pack light you can travel easily and cheaply for your whole trip.
Hawaii
The eight Hawaiian Islands are a state of the United States.
We have the same banks, stores, money, postage and drive on the same side
of the road. When discussing things here compared to back home, please
don't say "back in the US". You are still in the US! We say
"back on the mainland". Everyone here understands English perfectly,
whether they want you to know it or not. However they do use different
English, Hawaiian and Japanese words for things. Don't holler if you don't
think they understand. They probably do. They just need a minute
to figure out a way to tell you so you'll understand.
Hawaii is 2,500 miles from the nearest continent of any kind. Our islands are the farthest from any land mass than any other islands on earth. We are literally "half way to China"! You will cross two time zones to get here from California, getting earlier as you come. There is no daylight savings time in Hawaii. So sometimes California is 2 hours, or, 3 hours different depending on whether they are in daylight savings time! Your 7:00 AM call usually gets to us at 4:00 or 5:00 AM. It is not unusual to get calls at 2:00 or 3:00 AM from back east! To call the mainland before the end of the mainland business day we usually have to make sure we call before 12:00 noon our time.
Hawaiian Customs and Language
Time is different in Hawaii! We have a term here - "Hawaiian
Time". Nobody ever came Hawaii to hurry - and nobody does!
People here are not lazy - most work two full time jobs, but, things are
rarely on time. And that is simply the way it is. If you are in a
hurry - settle down slow down, and calm down, because no one else is going
to be rushing around. The main clock tower in Waikiki has struck
the hour 11 minutes late for the last 35 years! Adjust yourself to
Hawaiian Time and you'll be much happier and have more fun.
Speaking Hawaiian. Pronouncing Hawaiian is easy. Pronounce
every single letter in every single word. The accent
is on the next to last syllable. We live on the Kalanianaole Highway. Pronounced
Kah lah nee ah nah' oh lay. Hawaiian language is made up of only
2 or 3 letter words all put together. You will be on the Kamehameha (Kah
meh hah meh' hah) highway for a lot of your trip. We call it the Kam Highway.
Please refrain from trying to speak Hawaiian at first. Very few people
here speak the real language. And please don't try to speak pidgin.
You have to be born to it, and you'll get everyone confused.
Oahu
Oahu has the best natural sandy beaches of any island in Hawaii.
Some islands don't have any sandy beaches or just a few small ones!
Oahu has the most historical places, and the most scenic places in general.
There are hundreds of completely different major sights to see and events
to do. We have a zoo, opera, pro football, volcanoes and surfing.
That is why everyone lives here. Oahu is made up of three main areas.
First, the cities of Honolulu, Waikiki and Pearl Harbor look just like
any other cities in California. They are all conglomerated and make up
a roaming metropolis that covers almost the entire south half of the Island.
It is called the "Leeward Side". Next, there is a large chain of
extinct volcanoes that run down the center of the island and the other
northern half is still old fashioned Hawaii. Orchid plantations,
old homes and old towns, jungle and mountains. It is a nice place.
On any day we can "go into town", or we can stay on the "Windward Side".
Then there is the plantation areas in the flatlands between the two volcanoes.
It starts at Ewa Beach on the windward coast and flows to Turtle Bay on
the Northshore.
Highways
The Number One Rule about highways in Hawaii - There are NO exits off
a highway that have an entrance back on in the same area! You may
have to drive 10 miles before you can get back on the highway again, and
it will be at a much different place. Also most Highways have more
than one name, but only have one Highway number. Don't ask why just
get a good map.
Getting Directions
Many of the roads have names that exceed 9 syllables and sound like
each other. Also it is expected that you should obviously know "where
the old palm tree used to be". There is no North, South, East or West in
Hawaii, except on some of the major highway signs. All directions
here are in Hawaiian, and do not correspond to anything you have ever seen
before.
Every thing is based on the mountains at the center of the island.
The direction they are in is called Mauka. If you are supposed to go towards
them, you are told to "go mauka one mile". The opposite direction
of that is called "Makai". It means towards the Ocean. Where
else would you go on an Island! This way it doesn't matter where
on the island you go or which way you are facing. It works very well!
The other directions that correspond to east and west are old landmarks.
Diamond Head volcano is generally in the east, so anything that goes to
that side of the island is to "go diamond". In the other direction
is one of the oldest settlements called Ewa Beach (all w's are pronounces
v's in Hawaiian). So you would "go ewa".
Therefore to get to our camp from the Airport, drive mauka to get on
H1, then go Ewa 5 miles, turn mauka on H2 get off H2 and go into Wahiawa
(this time you use all w's), and on through the town and on to Haleiwa
(v's). Head North Shore makai and diamond until you get to Kahuku and a
little past it to the Malaekahana Camp and turn makai.
Even with all this you'll need a map!
Weather
We are nearly the same latitude as Mexico City. We have beautiful weather
year round. There is no real summer or winter here. August is the
end of Hurricane season. It stays within 10 degrees of 80 degrees day and
night all year long. The water stays within 10 degrees of 70
degrees all year round. The trade winds always blow from the northeast
at 15 to 25 mph. Sometimes the wind-chill factor brings the air temperature
plummeting down to a chilly 70 degrees. When that happens we all
go in the ocean because it is warmer than the air!
The Sun, Rain and Stars
A warning about the sun in Hawaii. Although it is not usually
very hot - It does burn! It will burn you right through a cloudy
day and right through a light T-shirt. You get exposed not
only from overhead but from under as the UV rays bounce off the water.
Don't get a sunburn under your nose or under your chin! Use plenty
of heavy sunscreen. Don't ruin your vacation and workouts by getting
trying to get a suntan the first few days and getting a sunburn instead.
Less than an hour of sun the first day is enough! If you have ever
had a sunburn under a gi, you know what we mean! We'll have plenty
of shade available.
The Rain. There is a reason why Hawaii is so green!
It sprinkles a lot over here. A pour usually lasts about 20 minutes,
and it rains at least once a day. Even then the temperature stays at 75
degrees! Without the daily rain shower, there would be none of our
famous rainbows, and it would get too hot. Most people
here don't even notice it, or go inside.
The Stars. We are not near any cities and have millions
of miles of ocean at the tips of our toes. There is no light at night
in the tropical forest except the moon and stars. It is some kind
of DARK at night! A cheap flashlight won't help you much here. Bring
some serious light! You cannot see your hand in front of your face.
When the moon is out it is magnificent bouncing off the ocean, and you
can see a little. If there is no moon - then you will probably look
up to the most stars and falling stars you have ever seen in your life.
For those of you who scuba dive, you haven't lived until you dive at night
to the bottom of a sandy bay, and roll over face up, to look at the moon
and stars through 30 feet of crystal clear ocean. We just lay there
for hours and star gaze from the bottom of the ocean.
Ocean and Coral Reef
The water is usually pretty warm. Very few rip tides, and surf
goes from 1-3 feet in summer to the incredible 30 footers at Waimea Bay
in January/February. Occasionally we get small blue jelly fish!
These can sting, don't step on one on the beach. They are pretty
rare but look out for them even during regular swimming. Nothing
much else to worry about. There are millions of brightly colored fish and
you snorkelers are going to love it. If you do see one of the very
rare sharks, let us know, even some of the long time locals have never
seen a shark in Hawaii. We'll show you how to make the universal sign and
what to do. In the mean time - don't tease it or try to pet it!
We are very protective of our precious coral reefs. It is against
the law (morally and legally) to take any living coral (reef) out of the
ocean, or to break any while swimming or diving. The coral
reef is like a razor blade. Look out for it. Wear water proof
sandals all the time while swimming or wading and out of the water on the
rocks, and you'll have nothing to worry about. Be aware of your surroundings.
If you get a coral cut get first aid immediately.
At times our local students will go diving out in the bay at night
and hunt for crabs, lobsters, squid, octopus or fish. You can't buy
that kind of dinner!
Snakes and insects
There are no snakes in Hawaii! But there are spiders and
insects. They can get kind of big and some sting. We call them
B-52's. Remember - you will be in a tropical forest so take proper
precautions. Be sure to have bug repellent for your skin, clothes
and your tent. We also have and the rare bee that shows up on occasion.
If you are allergic let us know.
Local Food
Hawaiian food delicious beyond description. Don't confuse it
with Japanese or Chinese food. Hawaiian food is just like meat and
potatoes or biscuits and gravy on the mainland. Except here it is
meat and rice with gravy, with local fruits and vegetables. Poi is just
like pudding with no distinct flavor, however it is very, very healthy
food up there with tofu. For those of you who want to try the Polynesian,
Japanese, Philippine, Chinese or Korean foods, be our guest. Remember
- no one here appreciates dumb jokes about what mainlanders think the food
is like - before they try it. After you try a few different dishes
you'll see why we all like the foods here so much and wonder why people
would talk down about it. Try manapua!
Mini-reminder: Sushi is a Japanese preparation, and is not raw
fish. Sushi is cooked vegetables, or cooked meat, or just about anything
you want in a roll of rice. Sashimi is a special kind of uncooked
fish, that has to be specially prepared by a licensed chef. You can have
sashimi in your sushi if you like. The favorite sushi here the California
Roll made out of vegetables and the other is the BLT. Crisped
Bacon, lettuce and tomato!
Stores and Conveniences
We have all the large stores here like CostCo, K-mart, Safeway, Longs,
7-11's, Burger King, etc., and you can purchase sunscreen, bug spray,
camp stuff, twinkies and pepsi nearby. Hawaii has a state of the art computer
industry, but the camp only has a pay phone.
Air and Water
Oahu has the cleanest air on earth. It has to come over, and
be filtered by, a million square miles of ocean spray before it gets to
us. Those of you with asthma may not get quite the relief you might
expect because we have millions of flowers here. They go into full
bloom up to three times a year! There are always flowers around.
That is why it is so pretty here.
Water on Oahu is unique! It takes rainfall 50 years of volcanic
filtering to reach the water table. All tap water on Oahu has been
proven as pure as any of the filtered bottled water sold in the stores.
Hard to believe but it is true! In fact a few tests showed it to
be purer. We just use the bottles to carry around the tap water.
Drink plenty of it. You'll probably never get this close to water
this pure for free again.
Take some home!