Surprise demonstration

Sometimes, while in a social event I am asked to explain what is it that we do in our Aikido practice, and though I do try to explain it verbally, it seems near impossible to capture the essence of the practice in words.

Last week we were visited by friends from out of town, who were all martial artists; Master John Escudero, and his Lightning Scientific Arnis students. After a casual evening and food and laughter, we ended up at our Dojo. They did an impressive Arnis demonstration, and shared some of the learning processes and methodology.

Quite surprisingly, they asked us to show them our practice of Aikido.
Wearing street clothes, we started a very informal demo — with the hopes of transmitting something from our training, and our Aikido encounters at the Dojo.

This century

This is my humble attempt to translate a poem written by Amnon Shamosh, an 80 year old Israeli poet and author, almost totally blind, yet holds a crystal clear vision.

This Century

In this century
clocks don't tick,
callers don't dial,
the shoemaker does not fix heels,
and the government does not fix injustice.
In this century
there are no seeds in watermelons,
no phone booths in the streets,
no equality in the Kibbutz,
and no ideology in politics.
In this century
our language enriched itself with expressions such as
Spontaneous Breathing,
Spearhead Failure, and Forced Incapacity.
...
In this century
the third generation excels with a cell phone and a family.
The grandchildren teach us how to use a computer and other gadgets of the third millennium.
In this century
nobody drinks pop soda, nectar, or tap water.
Fools are leading our country, and some other countries.
From Iran to Korea, from India to Bush.
In this century,
millions are dying in wars, and because of hunger and disease.
Except this time, it is all taped and communicated, in a tidy broadcast.
In this century
we grow tomatoes in pineapple flavor,
peppers in strawberry flavor, and entertainment in bad flavor. To say the least.
In this century
the typewriters, gas lamps, long johns, modesty and shame - are all extinct.
...
In this century
the poet will write: Messiah is not coming, nor texting.
In this century - my grandchildren's century - I would have liked to feel at home...
and I can't.

Celebrating a new year

Our community gathered last night, for another Kagami Biraki ceremony.
The evening started with a couple of tests, and I wish to congratulate Jamie and Richard for demonstrating determination and spirit. We then started the ceremony with a short meditation, in which we all got an opportunity to close our eyes and bring to mind our new years' prospects. We then cracked open the Sake barrel, and poured it to everyone's cups, following by a collective Kampai. I shared two stories from the Japanese mythology, which brought about a taste of the culture and its religions. Every member of the community got to make a small watercolor visual, on a small card, that symbolizing his or her prospect. This card may be carried with us throughout the year, and remind us to stay focused of our vision.

The evening continues with a lovely Japanese food potluck dinner. I must admit that it was a collection of delicious foods, that were prepared (some for the very first time) by our members, parents and friends. I want to congratulate those who decided to experiment and learn more about the Japanese culture through its cuisine.




We ended with some live music, by Darren, Victor and Don, who played on three guitars. What a great way to start another year of practice and community.

This evening made me feel so humbled... surrounded by such sweet community, wrapped with such sweet friendships. The food was exquisite, the guitars were harmonious and the community was unite.