You have more power than you know

"In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer."- Albert Camus

Here is a story that best explains this quote.

Long ago there were two friends who grew up and attended school together.  One was a from a wealthy samurai family and the other one was from a working class merchant family.  After their schooling was over they parted ways and didn't see each other for many years.  The samurai went on to become even wealthier while the merchant had fallen on hard times.  One day the down and out merchant called on his former friend in the hopes of getting a loan.  They met and ate food and drank while they reminisced about the past.  During their meal the former merchant drank himself into a stupor and passed out and during that time the samurai was called away on business.  Before the samurai left, he had his servant sew a jewel into the sleeve of his friend's kimono.   The merchant woke up and stormed out of his friend's house in an anger infused frenzy about his friend's apparent rudeness.  A year or so later the two met up again and the former merchant was even more down on his luck and he chastised his friend for his rudeness and lack of etiquette.  The samurai replied, "My friend, I don't know why you are so mad at me.  We ate and drank and you passed out.  I was called away on business and had to leave but before that I sewed a jewel into your sleeve in hopes that it would fall out and you would find it and find your way someday."  The upset merchant looked at his kimono and sure enough the only part of his kimono that wasn't tattered was the part of the sleeve with the jewel.  The embarrassed and emotional merchant cried and bowed to his friend.  He accepted his friend's fine gift and worked hard and eventually made something of himself.

This story like the quote above illustrates what is known as busho or Buddha nature in Buddhism.  It is said that we all have Buddha nature inside of us or the capability to become Buddha.  Once we realize this we can accomplish anything we set our minds to.  The winter may lay in front of us but the summer blazes hot within us.  We can accomplish anything and the only thing holding us back is the will to do so.

I know you have the capability to train hard but will you?  Please train hard this year!

Happy New Year!

 

Happy New Year!

May the seven gods of luck arrive and bring you good fortune.

I wish you all a happy and healthy 2015. 

Thank you all very much

Thank you to all the people who came to last night's Osame Keiko or last practice of the year.  I think everyone had a joyful practice and did their best to sweat out 2014.  I appreciate everyone's efforts in making our dojo into a first class dojo.  My only desire for the New Year is for everyone to put forth the same energy and enthusiasm  as they did in 2014.  Our dojo is not wealth or well known but we have good students and I think that is more than we can ask for.  Please continue to train hard. Thank you, David Ito

Koyasan Temple in Little Tokyo to hold New Year's Day services

Koyasan Temple holds the Goma fire ritual ceremony on New Year's Day every year according to the Esoteric tradition of Buddhism. Bishop Taisen Miyata of the Koyasan Temple will officiate the Hatsu-Goma (first fire rite) at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Jan 1, 2015 by chanting mantras and throwing tiny sticks into afire.

From January 1 to 3, the Koyasan Temple will be open for visitors from 10 a.m. through 5 p.m. for Hatsu-mode (first offering).

Omikuji (fortune telling slips), Hama-ya (good luck arrows), Oma-mori (amulets), Ema (picture tablets) and consecrated Ofuda (charms) will be available to sell for three days.

December 31 is called O-misoka day. The last day of each month is called Misoka day, so that people came to call the last day of the year O-misoka.

The last night of the year on O-misoka day is called Jo-ya night. Jo-ya night means "the night to remove last years' evil."

On the lunisolar calendar, a new day started with sunset, so that people thought Jo-ya night was the beginning of a new year.

At temple in Japan , bells to ring out the old year are rung at midnight on O-misoka day . The bells are rung 108times from midnight to morning of New Year's day.

Koyasan Temple holds a Jo-ya service on Dec. 31 at 4:00 p.m.

Koyasan Buddhist Temple is located at 342 E. First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012, (213) 624-1267, www.koyasanbetsuin.org

Mini Shinto Shrine comes to Little Tokyo on Jan. 1

In conjunction with the Japanese-style New Year's celebration event "Oshogatsu in Little Tokyo" by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Southern California, Shusse Inari Jinja Shinto shrine from Izumo region of Shimane prefecture will set up a mini Jinja shrine on the Weller Street on January 1, 2015, from 11:15 a.m. through 4:00 p.m. Saitan Sai, a Shinto ceremony for celebration of the New Year as well as praying for good luck, happiness, and great harvests, will be performed from 11:15 a.m. through 11:45 a.m.

In a temporary mini shrine, ceremonial items such as good luck charms, bamboo rakes, and decorative arrows will be available to purchase. Sales will begin promptly after the Saitan Sai ceremony.

Shusse Inari Jinja is located north of Hiroshima and faces the Sea of Japan. The shrine has been respected by the feudal lords of Matsue and the local people since the 12th century.

The main deity enshrined is Uka-no-mitama-no-Kami, who is the deity of productiveness and business. Also enshrined are Hondawake-no-Mikoto, to whom samurai paid respect, as well as the deity of water and the deity of health.

Shusse Inari Jinja is known for having power for good luck, business and careers, recovery from illnesses, good marriage and good connections, good catches of fish, great harvests and successful studies.

Lately, Shusse Inari Jinja has become popular as a shrine that brings good luck in the lottery.

According to people of Shusse Inari Jinja, Shinto is the basis of Japanese culture and customs. From ancient times, Japanese people believed that deities are existing in all environment, and Jinja (Shinto shrines) are homes of deities. www.inarijinja.net

The price of integrity

Sensei was always lonely around the holidays.  I thought that it might be nice to post one of his post Christmas thoughts in homage to him.  Enjoy! Originally posted to the Daily Message by Sensei on December 26, 2002.

Now that Christmas [is over], I guess we can get back to fighting and hating each other and doing bad things to each other.  No! I am just kidding - but sometimes it works out this way doesn't it?

We always start out with the best intentions and hopes, but they soon fall by the wayside in the face of reality, so we think.

It takes a great deal of courage and patience to stand by our beliefs and hold to our ideals, we fortify ourselves though our practice.

Today, it is simpler to take the easy way out, it is easier to make the compromise, it is easier to sell out and blame others.

As noble as it is to stick to one's ideals, you must know that you will be labeled as "hard-headed" and "incorrigible," and everyone will run away from you and you will be alone. Not an easy price to pay. Is it worth it at this price?  Only you can decide.

Dojo Closed for Christmas

The dojo will be closed to observe Christmas December 24-26. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Have a great day with your friends and family.

Thank you!

I wanted to say thank you to everyone who came and helped out for the year end clean up.  It is really nice to see that people value their training space and that everyone worked together to get the job done.  I love the fact that we were able to end on time!  Now we can go into 2015 with a clean dojo and leave the dust of 2014 behind.

The dojo is dirty, please help clean it up on Saturday

The Golden Rules For Living If you open it, close it. If you turn it on, turn it off. If you unlock it, lock it up. If you break it, admit it. If you can't fix it, call in someone who can. If you borrow it, return it. If you value it, take care of it. If you make a mess, clean it up. If you move it, put it back. If it belongs to someone else, get permission to use it. If you don't know how to operate it, leave it alone. If it's none of your business, don't ask questions.

Most of these rules are common sense, but I am sure we are not all surprised at how many people are really unable to comply with them.

This weekend we are having Osoji or the year end clean up.  It is our responsibility as students to help out especially since rule #8 is, "If you make a mess, clean it up."  However it is more than that.  Cleaning is part of our training and the cleaning itself isn't what we learning.  We are trying to teach ourselves a concept of a higher calling - compassion.  Think of this idea of ukemi where we are giving ourselves to others for their benefit.  Every great religion in the world preaches this idea of altruism, selflessness and compassion.  Ukemi is the practice of selflessness and compassion in action and cleaning is an extension of that selflessness.  We are deepening our understanding of that compassionate act when we clean.  Sure nobody wants to train in a dirty dojo but it's more than just cleaning.  We clean for the other people who train, for the art of Aikido, for the dojo, for our teachers, for Sensei, for O Sensei and ultimately for ourselves because if we can clean out of respect for others then we have a chance to have respect for ourselves.

The true indicator of a good student is that they do the right thing at the right time.  When they see a piece of paper on the ground, they pick it up without being asked and without the desire for recognition or reward.  The dojo is dirty, please help clean it up on Saturday.  After all it is part of your training.

Osoji: Saturday, December 20th 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

We should take care in not only what we say and do but also in what we think

自然に対する繊細な感受性.Shizen nitaisuru sensai na kanjusei. Sensitivity to the delicacy of nature.

Many years ago I saw a documentary called What the Bleep Do We Know that changed my life.  One of the segments in the documentary really stuck with me over these 10 years.  The segment was on the research being done by Dr. Masaru Emoto in the field of human consciousness and how our intentions can influence nature.  In this segment, Dr. Emoto showed how the molecular structure of a water molecule could be influenced by how we interacted with the water.  He wrote phrases like, "I love you" and "I hate you" on bottles of water and showed how those intentions affected the structure of the water molecules.  It was incredible how pristine the molecule looked with the words, "I love you" printed on it and how distorted the water looked when he printed, "I hate you" on it. (Below is a video about Dr. Emoto's work).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33IiYb8htHk

That research made me really think about how not only my intentions but the things I wear affect my mood and body.  Sensei must have knew this too.  Whenever we would wear some outlandish outfit he would give us a hard time about it.  Once a student wore a top adorned with the logo of a popular surf wear company called B.U.M and Sensei told him he couldn't wear that anymore unless he, "Wanted to be a bum."  Quizzically we all scratched our heads but maybe Sensei knew something we all didn't.  Here is a quote that is often and possibly erroneously attributed to the Dhammapada that may help to shine some light on what Sensei might have known and was possibly trying to teach us.

The thought manifests as the word; The word manifests as the deed; The deed develops into habit; And habit hardens into character. So watch the thought and its ways with care, And let it spring from love Born out of concern for all beings. As the shadow follows the body, as we think, so we become.

We should all take care of how we interact with not only nature and others but ourselves as well.  If Dr. Emoto's research is even 5% true then we have a tremendous amount of power and as Voltaire wrote, "With great power comes great responsibility."

This year the creators of What the Bleep Do We Know celebrates their 10th anniversary.  If you haven't seen the movie, it is worth a look and the DVD has four or five more hours of information.  http://www.whatthebleep.com/

Year end clean up this Saturday

Osoji: Year end clean-up

Saturday, December 20th 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Why do we clean?  The dojo is a sacred place because it represents our inner world.  To clean the dojo is to set things right and remove the dust from ourselves.  Therefore every day, the dojo is cleaned in some way by the seniors before practice begins and ends with it being cleaning by everyone.

This Saturday is Osoji or year end clean-up where we take apart and clean the entire dojo top to bottom.  In Japan, a lot of preparation is required to meet the coming New Year properly.  Superstitiously, the Japanese believe that the spirits of their deceased relatives and the gods of luck and fortune visit them around the time of the end of the year.  Your ancestors, like the gods and spirits, bring blessing of happiness and prosperity when they are venerated with cleanliness, order and offerings.  To be prepared, Japanese people, "get their houses in order" by cleaning and arranging and setting out traditional symbols like shimenawa, kadomatsu and kagami mochi.

Lets all work together to rid the dojo and ourselves of the dust we have accumulated over the year so that we can have a fresh start and enjoy all the happiness and prosperity of 2015.

Change the way you see

Our weaknesses and our failures are our greatest teachers. As a human being, I want to be liked and absolutely never want anyone to hate me.  However as a teacher, it is my job to point out the weak points in the student's technique and this can yield a strong response.  The more experienced you become or proficient you become yields more (for lack of a better word) criticism.  Pointing out the shortcomings usually comes at a risk because the criticism usually comes up against the ego.  For me, I think that if I point out something that the student may or may not be aware of then they can work towards fixing it.  Sometimes to the student, they feel like I am picking on them or accidentally take it personally.

In the martial arts there is actually no victory or defeat nor is there right or wrong or good or bad.  There is only a lesson to be learned.  Every time something happens to me welcome or unwelcome, I try and see the bigger picture and how this lesson fits into my life.  I know that if I can be willing and open to the lesson then I can learn and eventually become better.

There is a description of a scroll in Tea Life, Tea Mind that reads: Be rebuked, Stand corrected and learn

I find this to be incredibly true.  Don't take it personal, but take action to personally overcome your weaknesses.  This is the crux of martial arts training.   The only true defeat is in giving up.

A slip is not a slip but a chance to get to know the floor a little better.  All it takes is a change in your perspective.

This video illustrates what sportsmanship is not...

Someone asked why there isn't competition in Aikido.  I wished I would have had this video on hand to show them why.  The title of his video is, "Toddler misses golf putt," but it should have been, "What emphasis are we placing on winning which is taking away from what golf is really trying to teach?"  Golf, like Aikido, is something that cannot be mastered.  What this toddler's parents or teacher should be teaching him is how to enjoy the game as he pursues the a better version of himself.  Instead he is learning that happiness is achieved only through accomplishment.  What happens inside is more important than what happens outside. Golf, like Aikido, is a journey where the only victory is the victory over ourselves (Masakastsu, Agatsu).  Competition can be a good thing and maybe even healthy, but it can also bring out the worst in us as seen by this toddler's reaction.  Where was his perseverance?  Where was  his dedication and self-discipline?  The only  thing we saw was him giving up at the slightest hiccup.

How will he fare once life throws a real obstacle in his path or when he experiences real disappointment?  Golf is one of the few games that mirror life, just like Aikido, in that it is supposed to teach us perseverance, self-discipline, patience, self-respect and most of all self-restraint.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af4PMhkR9ug

Sakamoto Ryoma

On this day in 1867, the famous samurai Sakamoto Ryoma was ambushed and killed.  Sakamoto Ryoma was famous for his efforts to bring about the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the opening of the doors to the west during the Bakamatsu era which was at the end of the Edo period.  Sakamoto Ryoma studied swordsmanship from the age of 14 under renowned sword teacher Chiba Sadakichi Masamichi of the Hokushin Itto-ryu school.  Sakamoto Ryoma carried a Smith & Wesson revolver despite the fact that he was an accomplished swordsman

Sakamoto Ryoma came from a well to do family of sake producers who were able to purchase the lowest samurai rank of goshi or merchant samurai.  During the Edo period there was a strict level of segregation enforced between joshi (high rank) and kashi (low rank) samurai. Because of his families low rank, they were always segregated from more higher ranking samurais which always bothered him and he was inspired to change by the Revolutionary war's slogan which became the first line of the Declaration of Independence, "All men are created equal."

What does that say about you?

You can tell a lot about a person by the way they treat the invisible people in their lives.  I call them invisible because we tend not to see them or we don't think of them as people.  These people are salespeople, wait staff, doormen or any other person that is "serving" us. The other day I was attending a wedding and a few of the guests were martial artists.  I was appalled by how rude some of these so called martial artists were to the wait staff.  The drunker they got, the more belligerent or ill mannered they seemed to conduct themselves.

I was raised a little different as a martial artist and Aikidoist by my teacher.  Our conduct had to be paramount and Sensei took us to task if we committed even the slightest faux pas.  Sensei was so strict that we tried to always mind our manners.  Most times, Sensei never said it out loud that we had to behave, it was just expected of us.  He always used to say, "Act as if your teacher is watching" and I can see now why that is important.  These people forget that they represent more than themselves.  They represent their schools, their students, their teachers, their teacher's teacher and most of all their art.  If this is true then we must conduct our selves with more reserve and restraint.

After all, the goal of learning a martial art is not in using it, but having the restraint not to.  Please be careful about how you act because more is riding on it than you might think.  If you wouldn't do that in front of your parents or teacher, why are you doing it?  How you act says volumes about you.

Thank you so much!

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who attended the Christmas party and who contributed to my Christmas gift.  It is nice to know that people care.  I really do appreciate it. - David Ito

Become stronger

"What doesnt kill you makes you stronger." -Nietzsche This quote from Nietzsche is probably one of his most popular.  You can hear this line being phrased in movies where it is an often used good guy quip but how many really know what it means?

To me, it means that everything in life offers us a chance to learn something about ourselves in victory and especially in defeat.  Defeats show us how not only to be stronger but how to become stronger by showing us our weaknesses.  In victory, it shows us how to be stronger internally because it takes a tremendous amount of fortitude to be gracious.

The potential for growth is always there especially if you are a martial artist.

Mainoumi - the department store of sumo techniques

One of my favorite sumo-tori (sumo wrestlers) of all time has to be Mainoumi.  Mainoumi was born Shuhei Nagao and was an amateur national sumo champion while attending Nihon University.  He changed his name as all sumo wrestlers do to Mainoumi when he turned pro to reflect his sumo stable which was Dewanoumi.  Mainoumi was active in the 1990s when Sumo was very popular.  Sumo was very popular worldwide at that time because of the influx of non-Japanese wrestlers who were very good and some even went on to become grand champions or Yokozuna.  I like Mainoumi because he was so much smaller than the average sumo-tori yet he beat many famous and larger wrestlers like Musashimaru, Akebono, Konishiki and Kyokushuzan.  At the time, Mainoumi was considered small at 5' 7.5" inches and weighed only 215 lbs compared to Konishiki who was 6' 1.5" inches and 633 lbs or Akebono the grand champion who was 6' 8" inches and 514 lbs.  The American announcers called him Mainoumi "The trickster" but the Japanese media dubbed him "Waza no depaato" or the department store of techniques because of his knowledge of the sumo techniques.  One of his specialty techniques was mitokorozeme which hadn't been used in the modern era of sumo where he simultaneously tripped the leg, grabbed the other leg and barred his head into the opponents chest to force him out.  He had incredible balance and kinesthetic awareness which enabled him to switch techniques or fend off attacks.

Mainoumi was also well known for how he skirted the height requirement by injecting silicone into his scalp to gain a couple more centimeters.  Since then, the Japan Sumo Association has added special dispensations for former amateur champions.

Mainoumi didn't win a lot but when he did it was usually an incredible bout and he always seemed to give the biggest and best wrestlers a run for their money.  He didn't win a lot, amass a winning record or graduate to the highest division of wrestling, but I admired him for his fighting spirit.  What do they say, "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog."

Here is a video of some of his biggest wins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofnlkxXSWOI

Welcome to December

In Japan the month of December is referred to as Shiwasu (師走) which means priests run.  Shiwasu is supposed to be the busiest time of the year for priests because they have a lot of year end events that they have to officiate for people who are hoping for good luck in the coming year by not bringing the bad luck from the previous year. December is a busy month for the dojo as well.  There is so much stuff going on that training tends to fall by the wayside.  Presumably, the mentality is, "Oh, I will get serious in January when everything dies down."  This is the worst type of mindset especially for a martial artist.

A good marital artist knows that they sometimes only get one chance and must seize the moment.  Here is story that illustrates that.  A while ago Sensei went to look at this sword to buy from a private collector.  He liked it but was on the fence about purchasing it.  The price was a bit high he thought and he wondered how it would fit into his collection.  He decided not to buy it.  That night he was still waffling and pining over the sword and decided to go back the next day and purchase it.  When he arrived and asked if he could purchase it, the seller told him, "No."  Shocked Sensei asked why and the seller told him this, "As a martial artist you should know that you only get one opportunity."  Dejected Sensei left and learned a good lesson.

The sellers rationale was correct and Sensei himself agreed.  We think that we have so much time left and that we can be choosy but life is not like that.  None of us knows the date when this will all be over and thus shouldn't waste any opportunities.  A martial artist does things when they have to be done and how they need to be done.  We all hope that the dojo will be there and that we will be there next year too, but there is no guarantee of that.  If there is no guarantee we must seize the opportunity when it presents itself.  Please make room in your busy schedules to maintain a regular practice.

Martial arts IQ: Interviews with a true master of Kung-fu

 

I believe that Sensei and Master Hsu met when they were both demonstrating at the same event in 1979.  I have had the good fortune to have met Master Hsu and participated in some of his workshops many times.  Master Hsu and Sensei shared their love of good food and martial arts.  He was one of the few people Sensei regarded as a true master and Sensei also helped him with two of his books and many of his articles.  I can say without a doubt that Master Hsu is a true teacher.  I stumbled upon a series of interviews with him.  I haven't watched all of them but I am sure they are full of good information regardless of the style of martial art you practice.  Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chpZMMeH3w8&list=TLh35GIJi_Tdw