Center for Aikido and Tangsoodo Studies

Welcome also to Marc Gaechter and Mark Soppe. Welcome also to Brad Pierso, who comes to us from the Loveland Aikido dojo. It’s great to have yet another shodan to toss Jack Hoyt and me around during testing!

Paige Lewis showed her shining face in the dojo again after a short sabbatical. Oldtimers have returned after years of absence. Prodigal son Allen Coons is back, after years of absence. Even Phil Ranger stopped by to say hi! Welcome back!

Paige introduced me to an excellent book about ki, and the life of Koichi Tohei Sensei, entitled, A Road That Anyone Can Walk: Ki, by William Reed. If you want to borrow it, let Paige or me know. I also found a book entitled Ki: A Practical Guide to the Healing Principles of Life Energy, by Mallory Fromm, which I will be glad to lend out. (Tim Speaks has first dibs.)

Belated congratulations are in order. Ryan and Debby’s baby Mason (think of the jar) was born November 14th. And congratulations on the wedding, Tim and Gloriana!

I will be gone on a three-week vacation, January 22nd through February 15^th(possibly longer). I will meet 6^th dan Rodney Grantham, who trained with Koichi Tohei, and in Japan, and now lives in Scaly Mountain, North Carolina. His wife Janet is a 3rd dan. If you are good to me, I might share some of Rodney and Janet’s videotapes and “war stories” with you when I return!

THE SAMURAI

By Ryan Goettsche

The History Channel recently broadcast an interesting program on the samurai. I found it very informative about their perceptions about who they were and what they were about. These are some of the points made by the program.

The samurai originally started as a band of warriors employed by the emperor to go from village to village and collect taxes. After they realized how powerful they were, the samurai began to create their own pseudo-governments, controlled by a warlord samurai. The emperor became a figurehead with no real power over the country. With the separation of clans came civil wars, which lasted for hundreds of years. By no means was the civil war era a wonderful time to live. There was always a power struggle among the clans, and the commoners paid the price.

Portuguese explorers then came to Japan and introduced gunpowder and firearms. Japan became the highest manufacturer of firearms for the time. At first, most samurai rejected the new weapons, as people tend to do with any new technology. Eventually the samurai did start using firearms.

With the civil wars continuing, one leader finally managed to close Japan off from all outsiders, and banned the production of firearms. Japan then became united under one leader and moved into a time of relative peace. Since there were no more wars, the samurai became heads of states and leaders in the community. They found it necessary to apply their philosophies and codes of conduct toward a different purpose. The concept of Bushido was born.

This period of peace and solitude lasted until the mid 19^th century when the United States came in and regarding-opened trading by threat of military force. The United States told Japan to open its doors to world trade of suffer the consequences. So ended the days of the samurai.

For the samurai, everything revolved around honor. Whenever they entered a challenge they would state their names and their lineage. If they were ever disgraced they would have to commit suicide to save the honor of their lineage. The samurai always had somebody there beside him to behead him in case he couldn’t go through with it. During battle they would behead their enemies to take to their lord as proof that the enemy was dead and they would receive gifts for their work.

There was also a political game going on between the clans, which were played out by marrying between the clans. The marriages and alliances were almost always shaky at best. Once a woman entered into the samurai lineage, she was also granted the same status as the samurai himself though for the most part never becoming a warrior. Whenever the samurai were away for battles, the women were expected to be able to defend the home.

During the civil war era, Japan endured bloodshed and pain with so much life wasted for the taste of power. I think that the period of time when Japan was closed off from outsiders was when the final lesson was learned. Not to say that it became a utopian society, but compared to where it was they made major changes. Then we entered the picture. Go figure.

The Useless Tree

By Hal Render

[Note from Hal San: This is a chapter from Thomas Merton’s The Way of Chuang Tzu, a translation of the writings of Chinese Taoist philosopher Chuang Tzu. Chuang Tzu was the second (after Lao Tzu) of the great Taoist philosophers of China. Taoism is the philosophy that studies tao, “The Way.” Taoism influenced many branches of Asian philosophy and religion. Its influence on Buddhism produced the branch known in China as Ch’an and in Japan as Zen. As such, Taoism is one of the core philosophies that informs traditional Asian martial arts. One should note that the Japanese word for tao is do, as in Aikido.]

Hui Tzu said to Chuang:

I have a big tree,

The kind they call a “stinktree.”

The trunk is so distorted,

So full of knots,

No one can get a straight plank

out of it. The branches are so crooked

You cannot cut them up

In any way that makes sense.

There it stands beside the road.

No carpenter will even look at it.

Such is your teaching –

Big and useless.

Chuang Tzu replied:

Have you ever watched the wildcat

Crouching, watching his prey –

This way it leaps, and that way,

High and low, and at last

Lands in the trap.

But have you seen the yak?

Great as a thundercloud

He stands in his might.

Big? Sure,

He can’t catch mice!

So, for your big tree. No use?

Then plant it in the wasteland

In emptiness.

Walk idly around,

Rest under its shadow;

No axe or bill prepares its end.

No one will ever cut it down.

Useless? You should worry!

A Moment in Time

By Sam George

When I bow at the door of the dojo it centers me as to why I practice.

When I bow to Ryan San it is to say: How are you, glad you’re here, thanks for spending your time with us.

When I bow to a beginner, it is to say: Thank you for being here. I hope we can share this time and learn from it.

When I bow to my partner after a difficult time it is to say: All is okay. We begin anew next time. Go in peace.

When I am waiting to get onto the mat and I’m late, it is to say: I know I am late, but I choose to train today anyway.

When bowing to O’Sensei at the beginning of the class, it is to say: Thank you for giving us this art to practice in this holy place.

Some things to think about when you bow might be:

1. Take time to bow.

2. Be centered when you bow.

3. Be sincere when you bow.

4. Be in your one point.

5. Weight underside.

6. Breathe.

7. Extend.

8. Bow four directions at once.

9. Be mindful of your intention when you bow.

In conclusion, I find that when I bow to another person, time slows down. I feel the moment, as does the other person does. It is so hard to explain what is shared that I must assume the feeling is mutual. That is what my intention is.

Hello from Brad Pier
By Brad Pier

I am new to the Springs area. Thank you all for the welcome and chance to practice Aikido at your dojo.

A little background info: I started Aikido practice in the 80's at Nippon-Kan with Gaku Homma Sensei. After some moving around, I wound up living in Loveland, Co, And practicing Aikido with Kent Hinesley Sensei. Recent changes have brought me here. I am still getting settled in the area. Sensei's recent talk about beginner’s mind struck true to me. Moving to a new practice, with new instructors and students, reinforced this concept to me. I hope to enter each practice with a learning attitude. This keeps practice a new and stimulating affair.

I look forward to learning and practicing with everyone at ~~your~~ [oops] our dojo.

What Am I Going to Say?

By Mark Crary

[WHAT AM I GOING TO SAY? I don't really know, so I'll just babble a little and we'll see what comes out . . . . ]

First: Welcome to all of our new members! I hope you all enjoy training with us. As you will come to know, the more people you have to train with, the better. Be sure that your presence is valued, and that the senior members will be learning from you just as (hopefully) you'll be learning from us. I know it might seem a little crowded on the mat sometimes, but there has always been room for one more, and I believe that is the way it will always be.

Try to train on a regular basis. Twice a week is good, but for me, I make better progress when I can train three times. Just come with an open mind and be ready to practice, and we'll all grow in our Aikido and our lives. It might sound strange to a beginner, but for me, Aikido has put me through more changes in my outlook on life than anything ever before. I still cannot believe how many lessons I learn on the mat that have practical (although I don't always know it at the time) applications off the mat.

Along those lines: talking with Sensei after his accident, we somehow wound up on the subject of decision-making processes. It seems many people (myself included sometimes) tend to make decisions based on emotions instead of logic. Every time I have done that, I have been slapped down. Sometimes very hard. (OUCH -- another learning experience . . . .)

After hanging up, it occurred to me that this is a lesson I have been taught on the mat more times than I could count. Ask any Sempai – if your emotions from a bad day come on the mat, nothing works. If you set out to prove how well you can do a technique, your ego wrecks it before you even have moved.

The only way Aiki happens is when you are in the moment, with no emotions or ego involved, and with an "empty mind." That is when the "truth" of Aikido is found, and the "logic" of the technique is clear to see. Is it the same as when you consider a choice with a clear mind, and logically consider the options (and the outcome of those options)? (Did I say that right?)

And to Sensei: So sorry to hear about your accident. I am sure it is a major blow, and I can only imagine what all is on your mind, what with work, guitar, training, and the regular day to day. BUT, if I know you, it won't be a problem for long.

Well, so now we know what's gonna come out . . . .

We All Make Mistakes

By Gihan Cathcart

We all make mistakes, and we’ve all done things that we regret. Taking a moment from our busy lives to reflect on our choices and actions helps us to learn about ourselves. Asking an objective person may offer some insight, but we need to do a bit of reflection ourselves. Only we know what the truth is.

In Tangsoology, the practitioners learn to always do their best, to recognize falseness and to align with truth. Truth, not the tinted version we fool ourselves into believing.

It seems that recent situations that members of our club find themselves in, including myself, all stem from misguided choices. Trying to justify our wrong choices just deludes us into thinking they were the right ones, but this only perpetuates the circumstance. What is worse is that if nothing is learned from our mistakes then life will continue as it has before.

Once a mistake is recognized and the results remedied, nothing is going to change unless effort and action is made toward changing our thinking and toward self-improvement.

Proper etiquette and discipline go a long way toward this goal. Practice etiquette in class, but also carry this practice into your daily life. Properly setting the table with forks on the left (first to be used is placed on the extreme left) and knife then spoon on the right (knife with blade facing the plate) is a simple way to follow etiquette at home. Being organized at home will also carry a sense of order into your thoughts and actions in daily life.

Try not to dwell on the mistakes that have already been made. Learn to recognize what can be changed and what cannot. These are just a few things that I have learned in the past eight months or so.

Clarity

By Langdon Foss

Our culture clamors for change. Steeping in the blame and fear that is almost prerequisite to being an American citizen these days, a person will almost always admit that something in the world needs to be altered. That something might be today’s rebellious youth, or it might be the America-hating terrorists, or it might be the parasitic welfare class, or the corporate lap-dogs of the Right, the unpatriotic, socialist Left, or the godless homosexuals. Whatever is deemed to be the necessary modification leading to a bright tomorrow, it is sadly unlikely that a person will considers that factor to be himself.

How remote the possibility of effective change can be, then, when it is difficult even to identify one’s self as part of the problem. When that miraculous realization has taken place, what then? Nothing can be effectively changed, no problem solved, without clarity of understanding of the situation and our role in the situation.

We in this culture are lost in a storm of our own thoughts and impulses. Like Orobouros the serpent, unknowingly consuming its own tail, we wrestle against the forces in our lives, unaware that we are the source of those demiurgical vectors. How can one possibly escape the quicksand without first looking up to find the vine?

The mind can be a terrifying place, a hall of mirrors endlessly reflecting its own warped and referential visage, a sight most of us choose to overlook in lieu of a comforting illusion of utter irreducibility. If one is unwilling to observe the warp and woof of the fabric of one’s very self, one will continue to be a tempest of uncontrollable and unpredictable forces of desire, action, and emotion.

One way to gradually come to term with one’s psychic topography is to identify an issue in one’s own life and explore it as completely as one can (or at least as completely as one thinks one can at the time.) Analyzing the root of emotional reaction can elucidate the subtle currents leading ultimately to conscious action.

Consider a person who doesn’t like getting her feet dirty, who becomes enraged at her child for tracking dirt into the house. She can spend hours in psychoanalysis, dream interpretation and Rorschach testing and possibly find a logical answer rooted in her childhood and understand her anger. It is doubtful that that would give her the peace of mind required to put the issue behind her for good. If anything, her answer would be purely syntactical and rational, difficult to integrate into the rich abstraction of felt experience.

An option I would put forth is that she purposefully dirty her own feet as mindfully and completely as she can, to feel the invisible forces that her mind erects to keep her from that soil. To play with these forces is to be like a child with an invisible ball, or someone with his hand out the window of a moving car, feeling the unseen currents of the wind. It might be unpleasant to purposefully seek out and experience the things we reject, but it can be invaluable in understanding why we reject them to begin with.

Another possibility that does not require so direct an approach is simply to visualize. If there’s a quality about someone in someone’s life we can’t stand, for reasons unknown, there is the possibility of seeing that reaction clearly. We can imagine ourselves talking to that person, listening to his point of view, appreciating the absurd vehicle he drives. Eventually, by not giving in to the mental twitches and reflexes we might be able to see that man’s life through his eyes, and ultimately the chain of events that would lead us to lose patience with him.

Any inhibition we harbor is evidence of a decision made without our consent, an opportunity lost to better decide who we are. It might be by the collective hand of culture that these obscure instructions were written on our psyches, or it might have been an experience we had as children before it occurred to us to look carefully at our selves. One thing is for certain, however. All of our decisions, emotions and desires are our own responsibility, and we are in a culture that seeks to make it another’s.

The doorstep of Choronzon, the keeper of the psychic abyss, is an unpleasant place for the modern ego to haunt, but it is only within earshot of those winds stripped of linguistic syntax that we can truly begin to understand what we are. And if we choose not to look within with the eye of a scientist, what kind of positive change could we possibly effect? We then run risk of seeing our problems as arising from our government, or our neighbors, or our children. We have 5,000 years of human history to remind us where that mentality leads.

Struggles

By Jude Miller

While observing the beginner ranks in Tang Soo Do train the other night, it truly occurred to me how far I had developed since I first began training in martial arts. However, I have been training approximately eleven years now and I still remember what it is like to be a beginner. The reason for this is that I still go through the same struggles as beginners. Front kicks are still hard for me to execute, stances are still hard to sit in, and forms are still difficult to perform. I am referring to the very same techniques that white belt ranks practice.

Tang Soo Do is difficult. Most anyone can train in it, but it is not for everyone. Very few people can live up to the task. Basics will be hard for me to perform for a very long time to come. Everyone in our club is still a beginner; some just have more knowledge and experience.

I write this for beginners who may feel overwhelmed or discouraged. Tang Soo Do is a never-ending pursuit if you truly desire to learn the art. Train, train hard, and train regularly. That is the only secret. The art will reveal itself to you in good time.

Have faith in what you train in. Otherwise, you are simply being dishonest with yourself and everyone else you train with. However, if you are up to the task and truly desire to learn the art of Tang Soo Do, simply be genuine and patient in your effort. Remember, masters are self-made.

There is no one (besides you) who is going to promote how you practice or train. The burden first falls squarely upon you, as the practitioner. What you do with this art is up to you. So choose wisely, and have faith in all that you do. All things develop and mature at the correct time and for the correct reason.

Beware of Governments Bearing Gifts

By Rob Roberts

As some of you may know, I have been carrying two petitions. One is a petition for a tax cut, and the other one is to protect and strengthen our right to petition. Carrying these two petitions is basically my job now, but it is something I believe in. (See the other article I wrote for our dojo’s last newsletter).

One of the sponsors of the petitions I’m carrying is the same person who authored the Taxpayer’s Bill Of Rights (TABOR). The Taxpayer’s Bill Of Rights forbids the government from raising taxes without asking permission from the taxpayers first. One person I encountered while carrying my petitions told me that he wouldn’t sign my petitions because TABOR contains a provision which will not allow government organizations to accept federal government funds without consulting the taxpayers first.

For example, if the federal government wanted to award a school district with a grant, that school district would not be able to accept the funds unless it obtained approval from the taxpayers.

I confess that I have not read all of TABOR, so such a provision might be in the legislation. For the sake of argument, let’s suppose it is. Are there any reasons why we would forbid state government organizations from accepting gifts from the federal government?

First of all, taking something which does not belong to you is wrong. Before the government can bestow gifts of money on a school district, it must first take it (by force, if necessary) from others. Using force to take something that doesn’t belong to you is called theft.

For example, if a robber robs you at gunpoint even if he intends to give it to charity or feed his family with it, theft is still wrong. Does government rob at gunpoint? Try not paying a tax because you morally object to how it is to be used, and eventually armed workers from the government will be at your door. Theft (even through the use of a proxy) is a violation of Aiki principles.

Secondly, we do not have a frictionless government. What I mean by this is that if the state government surrenders an amount of money to the federal government (call it ‘X’) then the federal government does not return an equal amount of value or benefits to the people of that state. (They receive “X” minus “n,” where “n” is a number greater than zero; usually only 25% of “X” makes it back to the people it was intended to help.)

The balance of the money sent off to Washington is diverted into other purposes and lost to the bureaucracy. Disallowing the state government to accept this pittance will encourage the state to stop funneling our money into the federal black hole. Funding aggression is also a violation of Aiki principles.

For the government to give me a gift, they must first take something from someone else. The gift I take may prevent a borderline income family from sending a child to college. The gift that improves my life may force a stay at home parent into the workforce, robbing valuable time that parent should be having with his or her children. There is no gift worth having that is taken from another against their will. I personally choose to forsake a stolen gift and learn to live without it or earn it through my own effort and sacrifice.

War versus Space Exploration

By Tim Speaks

When I look up into the clear night sky I see infinite possibilities. I see innumerable worlds apart from ours where a word like “utopia” can become more than a silly ideology spouted by some lunatic. I imagine that there really is life on other planets – intelligent life, not just flesh rotting bacteria waiting to devour us. I maintain hope that with mankind’s continued exploration of our universe, we may yet find other beings with whom to share our thoughts, feelings and viruses.

However, that sugar-coated pipe dream seems highly unlikely. I hate to play devil’s advocate (I’m lying), but we’ve got to face the facts, folks. It seems that for every technological innovation that advances that human race closer to the stars there are two that bring us closer to total annihilation.

Just do a little comparison of the amount of money being spent to blow up crap in Iraq (and then rebuild it again) with the amount of money spent on the space program. The current expected price tag for the Iraqi festivities is something on the order of eighty-seven billion dollars, compared to a little over fifteen billion dollars for NASA’s expected 2004 budget. Space exploration is only popular if you can bring back pretty pictures to show the ignorant masses and real estate developers. War is far more entertaining as long as no one you know is dying in a flaming helicopter crash.

To me, the incomprehensible vastness of space serves as a constant reminder of the insignificance of our struggles here on Earth. I think all of us would do well to cultivate our connections with the universe.

Hopefully we’ll all live long enough to meet the little green men. Hopefully they won’t just be out to vaporize us and steal all our gold.

Time
By Jack Hoyt