Gymnast Sam Oldham visits Japan and reignites his career ambitions

Sushi. Strange cars. Temples. Dogs in push chairs. High towers. New tricks.

It was a lively agenda for Sam Oldham but 10 days in Japan seem to have cleared his head from recent disappointments and inspired new dreams for life as a professional gymnast.

Being dropped for October's World Championships was tough to take for the Sky Academy Sports Scholar, but eight months from the Rio Olympics, the 22-year-old from Nottingham is fired up. Here's Sam's latest blog......

Sitting on the plane to Tokyo I thought about what I really wanted to achieve on the training camp. My main priority from a gymnastics point of view was to begin training on the floor and vault again with no pain to my ankle.

Outside of the gym I really wanted to experience Tokyo and get an understanding for Japanese culture. Mainly I just wanted to learn as much as possible.

The training camp in Japan has been years in the making. It began in 2003 when my coach's good friend Nikolai Andrianov (Soviet/Russian gymnast with 15 Olympic medals) gave him a training video tape from his gym in Japan.

I watched it hundreds of times and began to love Japanese gymnastics. It wasn't until I was selected to be one of 12 Sky Sports Scholars that this dream became a reality.

Arriving in Tokyo the first thing I noticed was the technology. The man that picked me up from the airport opened his car with his finger prints! That was just nuts!

It was straight to the gym and I have to say training at 4am was a first for me. It was onto the National Training Centre (NTC) and settling into what would be my room for the duration of the camp.

The room was great with a big TV and importantly free wifi! The dining hall had everything an athlete could want and I was keen to get stuck into the experience ahead.

The next day training was arranged for me and my coach Sergey Sizhanov at the Jutendo University! We had to tackle the very complicated Tokyo underground system which proved to be quite a challenge.

Luckily I downloaded a 'learn Japanese' app before I left which was incredibly handy. We somehow made it to the gym and my first impression was 'wow'! The amount of quality gymnasts the university boasted was crazy.

There were three of the World Championship team which took gold just a few weeks earlier. It was great to train alongside those guys and see how they prepared ahead of the National Team Championships to be held in a few days.

I was to be based at the NTC training alongside the Japanese Junior National Team. Training went very well and as I hoped I began training on the floor and vault with no ankle pain at all.

The phase of training I'm in is trying new skills that I hope to compete through 2016. It's always a fun period and is something every gymnast looks forward to.

I managed to pick up a few things from some of the Japanese coaches. The main thing being related to the High Bar.

I'm working on putting a new release and catch element into my routine for next year. It's called the Cassina and is a double straight somersault over the Bar with a full twist to catch. I was asked to try rotating my hips just before I let go of the bar which seemed to really help with the consistency of the skill.

On a morning off, I headed out with my trusty map in hand to do some sightseeing. We headed to Asakusa and the Senso-ji Temple. It was a beautiful place and packed full of tourists and locals.

The funniest thing I saw were people pushing dogs around in push chairs. Next it was onto the Sky Tree Tokyo tower (at 634m it's the tallest point in the city).

The view was breathtaking and I've been to some pretty insane places in my career so far. It really put into perspective just how big the city was and how many people lived there.

The next couple of days of training were great and I managed to tick off all my gymnastics targets for the trip. Just so you have an idea of how good the facilities were, I was told the NTC cost £108m. I was taken on a tour of all the training venues and while looking around the pool area, the coach told me something about my idol Kohei Uchimura.

Apparently he can't swim! So the six-time world champion can't swim and I can say I'm better than him at something!

It's clear to see from the standard of the junior team that they will continue to win medals at the Worlds and Olympics for many years to come.

I was invited to watch the National Team Championships. It was held in the same arena as the 2011 World Championships, where I made my senior debut on the world stage. It was strange to be back but it brought back lots of memories - good and bad.

The gymnastics on show was unbelievable. The depth they have is just unreal. They have at least four club teams that could medal at a World Championships. With that standard it's going to be very tough for anyone to challenge them in Rio next year.

The competition came right down to the wire. Going into the final apparatus there was just 0.1 splitting first and second. Kenzo Shirai hit a world best of 16.70 on the floor to claim the title for his university Nittaidai.

It's always special to watch the King 'Mr Uchimura' compete and this was no exception. His high bar was a thing of beauty and I hope one day I can emulate his style on this my favourite event.

To end my time in Japan I was invited with Sergey to have dinner with the head of Japanese gymnastics and the country's Minister of Sport.

It was a great honour to be among such key figures in Japanese sport and I'm very grateful for their hospitality.

The food was class and I particularly loved the sushi which I've not really had before. Finally I said my goodbyes to the coaches and gymnastics and they wished me all the best for next year and my Olympic targets.

Reflecting on my experience I can honestly say it was a career changing opportunity. It gave me a fresh outlook on my gymnastics and a deeper understanding of what I'm capable of achieving.

I feel more motivated than ever to get in the gym and start work on my routines ready for next year and the big one!

I'd like to thank Sky Academy Sports Scholarships for making this dream trip a reality for me. I will be forever grateful.

WHAT'S COMING UP FOR OUR SCHOLARS

NOVEMBER 28 - DECEMBER 4: Lucy Garner, training camp in Spain

NOVEMBER 31: Elise Christie, World Cup Shanghai

25 NOV-DEC 21: Holly Bradshaw, South Africa training camp