We accomplished our collective mission of paying off the power bill for 2011 on Wednesday night. A combination of a strong showing for the Mary Heiny sensei workshop and donations from those unable to attend, a few from out of area and a few from out of state, helped us solve the dilemma of paying the $1,500 still due on last year's power bill. So my thanks to those who supported the workshop and to those who donated. A few teens were in the class fueled by scholarships from the donations. I think they will strongly benefit from being exposed to a teacher of Mary sensei's calibre.
On another note, I have been following the Jeramy Lin phenomenon/miracle. Here is a player who was discounted because he was 1) Asian and 2) from Harvard. And plus all that he has local roots. So he was signed by the Warriors in what seemed at the time to be a marketing ploy, ie a local Asian NBA player. Of Course he was let go by the local team for no apparent reason and is currently the toast of New York City and possibly the biggest NBA story going. He has led the Knicks to 4 straight wins and tonight scored 38 points and led his team past the Lakers and Kobe Bryant.
I find it ironic that likely the most publicized Warrior this year is likely to be ex-Warrior Jeramy Lin. I always felt he could play and followed his scant minutes last year with large interest. After all I'm Asian too and when young basketball was my passion. With the local team he probably would have been buried on the bench behind Ellis and Curry. He only got a chance in New York because of injuries to other players. But I find it fascinating when a player all of a sudden comes out of nowhere and plays like he has. It is somewhat similar to Alex Smith of the 49ers leading them to the NFC title game. So these days I find the stories in sports most interesting. I have a feeling Lin will be around for awhile and he will make Warrior fans happy with his play in the Big Apple and at the same time nostalgic for what could have been here.
I just posted this video online of Dennis and myself doing "Line For Lyons". I hope you enjoy it.
This is the last video of me connected with the movie "Thrive". It was part of a one hour interview conducted by Foster Gamble.
I must say I took a rather casual approach to the Super Bowl. I watched bits and pieces of it and listened to the end of the game on radio. I was doing the books for 2011 for the dojo to submit to my accountant. So my focus was on something else. Being a niner fan I found myself rooting for the Patriots. So I guess we live in a Giants universe(football not baseball) for the next year. But the niners clearly have a new direction which I expect them to sustain. And with the addition of some receivers who can catch the ball and make plays I expect them to go further. So wait till next year.
AS much as sport offers so to speak the "Thrill of victory and the agony of defeat" it is the cultivation of something almost undefinable called spirit that is stressed in aikido. Let me give you an example of this is conjunction with the dojo and the Super Bowl.
I thought almost after the fact that I should have cancelled the Sunday evening 5pm class last Sunday. Things like that can creep up on you. The Sunday evenings are team taught with a rotating set of instructors. I was in the office working on the books as I said. Well, no one showed for the Sunday evening class. But the instructor(whom I will not name) did. This person came even though the turnout was probably going to be small and possibly non-existent. This person stayed 30 minutes and then I said " go watch the rest of the game".
Spirit is something that is developped when no one is watching. It is one's intentional actions which could be done even anonymously. So I did not mention this person's name. But how we behave when only we know what we choose to do and do it. It is the opposite of a great sporting event where there are heroes and goats. Where things are celebrated and hyped. It is silent. And acts done from spirit endure. On a night when no students came to class the dojo was the scene of a great act of spirit. And I do want to thank the instructors who donate their time and keep the Sunday evenings going. And for real acts of spirit there is only the silent applause from the universe itself.
Last weekend was the last game of a great season for our local team. The feeling here is that the better team did not win. But even with the disappointment of last weekend's defeat, it was a glorious year. We got to follow a team with a lot of toughness and intelligence. To observe Alex Smith rise from the ashes and begin to demonstrate what he is capable of. Hopefully that will continue next season and equally hopefully they find some wide receivers who can make plays. I expect the success of this past season to continue and be sustained. But still a tough loss.
I sent an e-mail out to the dojo mailing list about the power bill, which finally arrived. And much bigger than expected. Our space, which we share with jujitsu, generated a bill in 2011 of almost $9,000, of which we pay half. We had a fundraiser last November, which generated a little over $2,000. I was expecting to pay somewhere up to a thousand from dojo reserves. But the bill exceeded expectations by 50%. It was explained to me by the building manager that this is an old old building which unfortunately eats power. It seems however this is increasing at an alarming rate.
So we are looking for both short and long term solutions. In the short term I am highlighting the February 8th Wednesday night special class with Mary Heiny sensei(6:30 to 8:30pm here at the San Jose dojo, cost $30). With a solid turnout of 40 we pay off 60% of the remaining bill. If we managed 60 we would pay the whole thing off. So I am asking dojo members to prioritize making the class. And here are a couple of other points:
1. If you have friends who have trained at the dojo and keep talking about getting back on the mat, this would be a great event for them to participate in and get going again.
2. If you have friends from other dojos in the area please encourage them to make the class. A good turnout from other dojos would help us get to 60.
3. If you are a member of another dojo in the area and are reading this blog, please come join us for this class and help us slay this monster.
4. If you are out of area consider a donation in the amount of the workshop price(or any amount) and it could be offered as a scholarship for students wanting to attend but financially challenged. If you would like the donation to be tax deductible that can be arranged. Contact me at jack@aikidosj.com.
And remember, Mary Heiny sensei is an incredible aikidoist and teacher who offers great insights on the art for all those who will attend. She was lucky enough to be at Hombu dojo for the last period of Osensei's life. She pretty much opened up the Shingu dojo run at that time by Hikitsuchi sensei to foreigners. I was privileged to be among the first foreigners to live full time there and to train full time at that dojo. And I could not have done that without her assistance and support.
I consider her one of my truest friends in the art and a great resource for all engaging in the study of aikido. I would not be who I am today without her. So by all means put this on your calendar.
I am including a new video(musical by Dennis and me). It is a departure from some of our stuff which is basically freeform. "Deep Purple" is a cute jazz tune in Chet Baker's repertoire that we have been tossing back and forth for a couple of weeks. Hope you enjoy it.
This year being the end of several calendars including the Mayan, we are all perhaps waiting for some catastrophic event or change. I sort of gauge this by checking the premier date for films I want to see and then checking them off that so far I have made it to............Last summer Thor and Green Lantern. And now I must add to my list "Underworld Awakening".
I must say I find these films starring Kate Beckinsale fun. And they explore mythic themes and even social ones that might not be apparent. But the main reason for going to see the film is to see Kate again as Selene. I do enjoy other films with her. And I find it interesting that Ralph Barbieri on KNBR has on more than one occasion referred to her as the most beautiful woman in the world. She is by far my favorite of the modern actresses. A sort of latter day Diana Rigg. It is interesting that they both have played characters in form fitting battle suits. But besides both being British they are both very outspoken and intelligent. Ms. Beckinsale studied both French and Russian Literature at Cambridge. I once read that she said these days the only place she gets to practice her Russian is at the hair dressers.
The first and second in the series are by far my favorites. The third, while dealing with the history of the Underworld mythology and exploring Lucian, who, outside of Selene, is the most interesting character, left out Kate. So while I saw it it was a great disappointment. And I was afraid the series would end there. But I got my wish and it has continued for at least another film. A fourth. And just as the character of Selene dominated the second, so does she in the fourth. I must admit I am more a Selene fan than an Underworld fan. Just as I was an Emma Peel fan more than an Avengers fan. So after an absence of 6 years here we go again.
The film auspiciously opened January 20th as did Underworld Evolution. And this is also the same date the Avengers returned to American tv for a second run in 1967. AS the first two films explored the connection between Selene and Michael, and therefore had a romantic/sexual sense to them, this one explores the connection between Selene and a young girl that explores the sense of Mother. But there is even more action in this one than in the first two. In fact I still haven't decided what this film is yet.
The main shift in this film is that humans have discovered the existence of the vampires and werewolves and have declared a martial law and state and have taken steps to exterminate both species. So not only is there tension between vampires and lycans, there is the added sense that humans are now also an enemy.
One of the things that gets overlooked in these films is that both species are enhanced with special abilities and are looked upon in the popular vernacular as monsters. And this is even heightened in this film. One might question whether the vampires and werewolves represent(symbolically) the next step in our evolution(transforming to a deeper and truer level) and how that level might present itself initially to us as a monster, something fearful and evil. And so to see the current film explore that was interesting. And to see the scenes of martial law and the extermination of the monsters was quite scary. It makes you question who are the real monsters. Foster Gamble's documentary Thrive puts out the possibility of martial law and that those in control have a plan to eliminate a sizeable portion of the human population. So some probably unintended parallels. And it is interesting that martial law is oftentimes put out there as for the good of all when it really serves the few.
I saw it in 3D and even though pricier I think it added to the experience. There is a lot of intense fantasy violence. Which if not your bag probably means the film is not your cup of tea. I tend to find films like this cleansing. Often in the Eastern sense there is the archetype of the destroyer. Creation cannot happen without must be accompanied by destruction. Selene's initial reason for being as a death dealer was the extermination of the lycan race. In this film this is channeled into the protection of the young girl with whom she has a mysterious connection. Even though the stunts are spectacular I love the films because they are not about a woman doing man-like things. Just as Diana Rigg did in her day they present an aspect of female power that is quite distinct from the male and yet equally potent. I think Ms Beckinsale embodies this well. She indicates quite a transformation for the first film. She had to learn to run on camera. To fight. To shoot. She even found that her hands(large enough to be as big as Ben Afleck's during the shooting of "Pearl Harbor")made it easier to handle the guns. So for this film everything is polished.
So both thumbs up. If you enjoy films like this you will enjoy this one. I even urge you to see it in the theater because I would like to in my own selfish way see still another.
Here is a bit of information virtually no one on the planet has: What is an unusual connection that both Kate Beckinsale and Morihei Ueshibe Osensei both share? Answer: They both have their moon in the sign of Gemini. And still even more little known: Both moons conjunct my sun in Gemini.
For tomorrow's NFC championship, go Niners! And here is still another video from the movie "Thrive":
I must say I was a doubter. Both of the team and the quarterback. I secretly longed for the niners to be a flashy offensive machine with an emphasis on passing. This team surprised me by winning and by continuing to win. Great defense. Dominant special teams. Offense good enough to win. Quarterback much better than in his first 6 years but still a "game manager". Not a Montana or Young. So I have kept on waiting for the bubble to burst and I am still waiting. And I hope I am still waiting in March.
There were flashes. Down 20 to 3 in Philly and a comeback against at that time what was considered to be an elite team and on the road. 4th and goal in Detroit with a minute left and do or die and a touchdown to Delaney Walker with no room for error. But nothing to suggest what would take place last Saturday. Alex Smith has been the target of so much negativity over the past 6 years. And I must include myself in that. Sports astrologer Andrea Mallis(www.virgoinservice.com) predicted when he was drafted that he would be a flop of Ryan Leaf perportions. When I learned he was going to be retained she said he would be much better this year because Jupiter(expansiveness and good fortune) was now in Taurus which is his sun sign. And she has been right. But Saturday he played a game for the ages which can stand up to anything hall of famers Montana and Young ever did on a single game basis. With 4 lead changes in the last 4 minutes he ran for 1 touchdown and passed for the game winner, both times answering Saints touchdowns that gave New Orleans the lead. It was two equal forces slugging it out with the niners on top when the game ended. Really no loser in a game like this. But for that day the niners established themselves as a force equal to one of the elite teams, and that was not the perception of them going into that game.
I love it when I am proved to be wrong. The Giants did it in 2010. The niners and Alex Smith have done it this season. When you know everything the world is always the same. But when you are amazed, shocked, and positively proved wrong the world has a sense of wonder that is quite special. No one expected the Giants to win it all in 2010. And no one could have forseen what the niners have done this season. Regardless of what happens Sunday in the NFC title game, it has been special. And seeing Smith transform and grow before our eyes has been special. Certainly my life has been much more an Alex Smith-like one before this year life than it has been like one of the annointed. And to see him rise to the occasion, show immense courage by transcending all the failure and negativity of the past, and to deliver when everything game wise was on the line was incredible. And rejuvenating. There is nothing like what happens when something that has been weak transforms into a strength and even a force. I wish him well for the next game but regardless of the outcome I thank him for Saturday's moment.
With the tradition of Montana and Young there is a lot of rare air here when we look at quarterbacks. So just coming into the space of the bay area and the 49ers is tough. But Smith may well establish his own mark here. Even when he was less successful I liked him as a person and the unassuming way he carried himself. This is very refreshing in this culture, which worships heroes and asks for more and more cliches. So Go Alex for another week!
I am including another clip of me that was shot for the movie "Thrive"(www.thrivemovement.com)
Well 2011 has come and gone. It is now the new year 2012. The new year always brings a fresh energy. But let's travel back to 2011 for just a bit. I'm sure it was quite a year for all of us. So what stood out for me personally this year?
So I will start with the Santa Cruz Summer Retreat. Being a part of that event and celebrating Anno sensei's 80th birthday both on the mat and at the huge gathering at the Cocoanut Grove will be a highlight not only of last year but of my life. It is wonderful when you can celebrate not only the event but the man. And to see and be a part of that spontaneous outpouring of loving devotion for someone who truly deserves it was memorable. And let us not forget the hardships Japan has undergone in the last year , with the earthquake and the more recent flooding in the Kumano region. By the way I just spoke to Anno sensei over the phone last week. It was brief but very heart felt. And let us all look forward to his coming this July.
Also a very moving experience for me was to be named to the honorary board of directors of the Chet Baker Foundation. Page one on the foundation website includes Dave Brubeck, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock....To put things in perspective I am on page 6. Chet's closest friend Artt Frank has been instrumental in filling me on not only on the fine points of Chet's playing but also about the man himself. I was able to visit him towards the end of 2010 and I hope to visit again. This is definitely not for my musical ability, but I will take the honor on the basis of what I have stood for in my life.
In January of last year I was privileged to be able to play with San Jose's jazz ambassador Eddie Gale. Just being able to counterpoint with someone of his level is an astounding thing. It would be like playing one on one with Michael Jordan. You would learn something. A dvd of that session was made, " Sounds for Peace" and is still available at the dojo.
I also want to mention the Menlo College Summer Retreat. It is always wonderful to catch up with and spend the week with senseis Robert Nadeau, Frank Doran, Hiroshi Ikeda, and of course Mary Heiny. Mary will be teaching at our dojo February 8th. And of course it gives me a chance to hang out with Dianna and Vladi, which is always special.
And I want to personally thank Robert Nadeau sensei and Robert Noha sensei. We spent the year trying to put a sizeable dent in cracking the code to Osensei's knowledge. Hopefull more of the same this year.
2011 also saw the premier of the movie "Thrive", a documentary put out by Foster Gamble and his wife Kimberly. Just after returning from the Japan trip in 2006 I was approached by Foster to have some footage of me shot for this documentary. So we did. While I did not make the final cut for the film, sections of the footage are included on the dvd, the website(www.thrivemovement.com), and on youtube. I am including one of these:
Well Christmas is just around the corner. The classes at the dojo will be on a very reduced schedule from today through New Year's Eve. We will do our annual New Year's Day training 11am to 12;30pm. And our regular schedule resumes the next day Monday January 2nd. 2012 has been projected as a target year in that it is the end of several calendars. Regardless of what may come I feel we will all continue our training in the New Year. During the second world war in what must have been equally trying times Osensei moved to Iwama to farm and he continued his training in that environment. His birthday was December 14th, earlier this month.
Another birthday this month is Chet Baker's. He was born on this date 82 years ago during the year of the great depression in Yale Oklahoma. He moved along with his parents to Southern California at about age 13 and is generally associated with the West Coast or cool jazz sound of the fifties. But he had his roots in Oklahoma.
The two men would appear worlds apart but they do reflect the role of the artist in difficult times.Ueshiba was in his earliest days an activist. When the government was coming down on the fishermen of his native Tanabe. Osensei would stand on the docks and tell the goverment enforcers if they didn't leave he'd throw them into the ocean. He was very active in blocking a strong special interests move to use the government to let them take over the lands of local shrines. During the second world war he left Tokyo to farm and train in Iwama. But it is as if he were surrounded by powerful forces and energies his whole life and left Tokyo to further deal and clarify his relationship with them. My feeling is that his act was much more than that of a pacifist. His life I'm sure intensified when he left what could have been a sheltering hysteria and craziness in World War II Tokyo.
Baker was outwardly very different. According to his closest friend, Artt Frank, he was acutely aware of social and economic inequities. He would give the shirt or jacket off his back to a homeless person he felt the world didn't care about. And his wife Carol tells of a time when he gave $20 to someone who looked desparately in need. She told him it was their last $20. He told her not to worry, went into a club, and came out with the news that he had a gig and that there would be money.
Apparently both Ueshiba and Baker had a very loose relationship with money and lived for something much greater. Ueshiba's manifested in something outwardly much more spiritual. And his family had substantial money which subsidized his quest. Baker in Europe in the eighties was making $200,000 a year yet lived from gig to gig without a permanent residence.
Baker's drug use remains an issue of controversy. However my view of things has shifted a bit during the years. While I am not condoning this there is something else that I feel has clarified for me at least. The closer one gets to something vastly original, some people may call this God or Universal Intelligence, the greater the push. There is often the thought that closeness brings light and love. I believe these are somewhat earned and that the push must be faced and integrated for true light and love to manifest. Without this my sense is that we hang out in a conceptual sense of the light and love which may be quite attractive, yet ultimately lacks aliveness and vitalness. Ueshiba handled this with a life of rigorous training and self-scrutiny. And possibly what he achieved in the end was more complete. But Baker as an artist was incredibly non-conformist and lived life totally on his own terms. Uncompromisingly. And there is a purity in that, too. And don't underestimate the rigors of jazz life. When I asked Artt Frank if he played with Chet in Europe, Artt answered that he was asked but declined because what went on there was said to be able to take ten years off your life. Baker lived to almost 60 and probably would have kept on going if he hadn't fallen out of a window of a hotel in Amsterdam and hit his head on a post on the way down. My sense is that Chet was very close to something and that produced an incredible push, which he handled through his music and, unfortunately, his drug use. But I have a clearer sense of this. I feel if Ueshiba and Baker had met they would have gotten along. What Osensei does with space and time in his movement, Baker does through sound. I feel if Ueshiba' lineage had been music, he would have excelled. And if Baker has chosen warrior, he would have as well. And I speak of both in the present tense because I feel the energy of both men is still vitally alive, with tremendous implications for the challenges we may face in the near future.
So we look at Warrior in Artist and Artist in Warrior when we consider both men. The artist must be a warrior to meet and overcome all the challenges and struggles that will be there. Ueshiba Osensei had severe health issues his whole life. Baker had to re-learn how to play when he lost his front teeth in a brutal beating. But there ultimately must be artist in warrior. Just being a warrior as it is normally phrased is limiting. Joseph Campbell in his book Myths to live by states that the artist is responsible for bringing new energy into the culture, and without this the culture will decay.
Anyway, Happy Holidays. This is a video of a Chet Baker recording of Silent Night:
