Japanese Marching Precision :)

Beef - The Art Of Peace (o sensei)

Een liedje van de Nederlandse band Beef, de gehele tekst bestaat uit uitspraken van o-sensei


Lyrics

Herfstvakantie kids

Herfstvakantie kids valt samen met die van aikido voor de kids tot 12 jaar, namelijk van zaterdag 16 tot en met zaterdag 23 oktober.

Alle andere trainingen gaan wel gewoon door (m.u.v. Katori op dinsdag dan).

Onregelmatig Katori op dinsdag

Tot nader bericht gaat om rooster technische redenen de Katori training op dinsdag avond voorlopig niet altijd door. Houdt dit blog in de gaten voor updates.

Heihō kadensho

Also known as 'The Life Giving Sword'.

This is a translation of an important classic on Zen swordfighting. Yagyu Munenori was so widely renowned that he was appointed official sword instructor to two Tokugawa shoguns. (The position was always coveted by Miyamoto Musashi, but he never succeeded in gaining the post). Yagyu's style is known as the Shinkage-ryu style, for centuries the official style of the Tokugawa dynasty. His spiritual mentor was Zen priest Takuan. (And is therefore especially interesting to read in relation to The Unfettered Mind) Here, Yagyu's Buddhist spirituality is clearly reflected in his central idea of the "life-giving sword" - the notion of controlling an opponent by the spiritual readiness to fight, rather than during the fight. His mastery of restraint and diplomacy made him a trusted political and military advisor to the shoguns. This book is a look into a master swordsman's thoughts on nonattachment and even non-violence.

"You attain the victory by having your opponent make the first move."

> Lees het boek online (in het Engels, 145p.)

Schedule change, part II

Last month, we announced that Anni and Francisca Sensei would swap classes on Friday and Monday. This will not happen after all. So Anni will continue to teach the Friday evening class and Francisca Sensei will continue to teach on Monday evening.

In Memoriam Sugano Shihan

Not even two months after Tamura Shihan died, we got news that Sugano Shihan passed away on August 29. Sugano Shihan was an uchideshi of O-Sensei and he taught in Australia and Belgium before settling in the US. There he has been teaching in the New York Aikikai along with Yamada Shihan. He has been to the Netherlands on occasion to teach a seminar.

Here's an interview with Sugano Shinan you might like to read.

Schedule change

The schedule of classes is about to change. As per Monday November 1, Anni wil teach the Monday evening class (20:00 - 21:30) instead of the Friday class. Francisca Sensei will take over the Friday class.

Roosterwijziging per 1 september

De vroege vogels verhuizen van de woensdag naar de maandag van 06:30 - 07:30, een sterk begin van de week!

Messenger

Mary Oliver is arguably one of the greatest contemporary American poets. Her work, which spans more than four decades, is filled with a quiet wonder about nature and our place in it. This poem below is both joyful and pensive, quiet and exuberant at the same time. A bit like when in Aikido we flow with our partner, so I thought I'd share it with you. Enjoy!

Messenger (by Mary Oliver)

My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird —
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me
keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,

which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished.
The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
Which is mostly rejoicing, since all ingredients are here,

which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
and these body-clothes,
a mouth with which to give shouts of joy
to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
telling them all, over and over, how it is
that we live forever.

More about Oliver can be found at the Poetry Foundation. Some more of her poems are
- here
- and here