images of the new space

We completed building our new Dojo, and now we are celebrating its newness.

Photos by Roger Hoffman

Homeless bound

I had no idea on how homelessness was so close to home. I've lived in Granada Hills for almost seven years now, and drove almost daily through the busy shopping center on the Northeast corner of Balboa and San Fernando Mission Boulevards. Right in between the Jack in the Box and behind the Trader Joe's store there is an island, full of bushes. The bushes were full and quite tall, and used to be the home of some people. Yet, most of Granada Hills residents were not aware of that, and so was I.










The first time I noticed this was when I opened my Aikido school, on San Fernando Mission, and started walking to my bank across the street. As I was passing by, I heard people talking, and then saw a few chairs in between the bushes, with people on them, talking and drinking. The next time, one early morning, I noticed the sleeping bags, and even a mattress. I started seeing them walking around; we would greet each other and exchange some words. They would check out the progress on our Dojo construction, and share their opinions. One of them insisted he will bring us business, by sending his six daughters to classes.

I already got to accept my little discovery as a permanent element of the Dojo's environment, and was taking the interaction with them as opportunities to sharpen my practice of compassion and acceptance. Saying Hi every time I passed by the bushes, and exchanging smiles.









Yesterday morning I was surprised to see that all the bushes got trimmed back, exposing a naked view of the few belongings and raw lifestyle. The mattress, plastic bags, and trash, were quickly collected into a pile, and then thrown into a big garbage truck, and disappeared. The last signs of life of the bush people colony, is now a simple parking lot island, with some trimmed bushes on it.

Now I can't decide which one I like better...

Images of the path

We are featuring an exhibit of Roger Hoffmann's photography at our new Dojo, a series of five images taken in Japanese gardens.









Roger sees the progression on the path easily expressed here and this is his description to each of the images:

Practice - "You don't know what you don't know"









1. Reading, watching, thinking vs. doing.
2. Just do it.
3. Follow the class even if you don't know or understand what you are doing.
4. Lots of repetition.
5. Your mind might not get it, but your body is learning.
6. Get into a schedule.
7. Not haphazard.
8. Predictable.
9. Repetitive, risk of boredom, push through, there is so much depth to
Aikido.
10. Keep an empty mind, beginners mind.

Path - "You know what you don't know"








1. Junior kyu levels
2. Not all who practice join the path.
3. Commit to the path, the dojo, your sensei, your fellow students, your
community.
4. Understand what it means to practice in and out of the dojo.
5. There is more Aikido off the mat than on the mat.
6. Study the path, learn about the founder.
7. Learn about the art, the waza, your body.
8. Find understanding, not just knowledge.
9. Now you have a sense of the depth of Aikido and realize how much there is
to learn.
10. Don't get discouraged.

Balance - "You don't know what you know"








1. Senior kyu levels
2. Complex interplay of opposites.
3. Hard, soft, empty, full, stable, unstable, gounded, free, ura, omote, high,
low, inside, outside, work, family, life, balance, time, money, commitments.
4. The "center" of the path, the world of relative existence.
5. You will be here for a long time so get comfortable.
6. Explore the opposites but don't get stuck in them.
7. Observe but don't judge.
8. Discriminate but remain accepting.
9. You are learning a lot and might not even be aware of it.
10. When you observe and train with a new student, you will realize what you
have learned.
11. Be thankful for those ahead of you on the path and be a good sempai to
those who are joining.
12. Don't get ahead of yourself or become unbalanced.
13. Stay humble.

Integration - "You know what you know"








1. Dan level
2. Just the first step, a new beginning.
3. But now you actually know what you know.
4. However you still have not arrived (and never will).
5. A dan grade is not the final destination. It is simpy the mark of a serious
student.
6. Stay humble.
7. Be a good sempai.
8. Simplify while retaining balance.
9. Opposites start to dissolve into unity.
10. There is no more "uke" and "nage"
11. Learn how to throw yourself.
12. Learn how to develop and empty mind.

Formless - "Beyond knowing"








1. Shihan
2. There is no "you" and no mind.
3. Beyond waza
4. The journey is the destination
5. There is no practice and no path