en Mon, 20 May 2013 02:56:19 GMT Mon, 20 May 2013 01:07:17 GMT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss vBlogetin aw.forums@aikiweb.com aw.forums@aikiweb.com Mon, 20 May 2013 01:07:17 GMT Tell Me About the Rain



Tell me about the rain
Tell me about pain
And suffering and loss
Tell me about the vultures
Picking at carcasses
On the side of the road
Tell me about IEDs
And suicide bombers

Tell me about screaming
At the night sky
Your soul fractured
And on fire
Consuming itself
With grief and rage and fear
Tell me, and then
Maybe, I'll listen to you




www.nothing-works.com]]> James Sawers Mon, 13 May 2013 15:14:57 GMT I have no faith for faith is me,
I polish daily my own divinity,
There's no superior or superiority,
For divinity in me is divinity in thee.

G.]]> graham christian Sun, 12 May 2013 20:47:47 GMT Thanatos and Eros


I man the broken
Barricades of civilization
Three tours now
God I am weary!
The enemy has no mercy
Suicide bombers
Vie for paradise
We fight and fight
A damn PC-war
For love and country and gods
And corporate greed

Thanatos and eros
Compete while ghosts weep
I hang between earth and sky
In an imposed limbo
To face the truth
Is to embrace death
As all must under heaven
Yet, all I really think about
Is your sweet face
Will I ever go home again
And feel your touch?





www.nothing-works.com]]> James Sawers Fri, 10 May 2013 11:30:51 GMT I'm starting to like hajime geiko. Okay, I can't say that is my final word on the subject, but I did state previously that I thought it was bad training and prone to re-inforcing errors and causing injuries. That may or may not be true, but I have a more positive view of it now.

To review:

Hajime geiko

1. All members of the class pair into shite-uke partnerships and stand in kamae.
2. Sensei calls out a pre-determined technique.
3. Sensei calls out "hajime" and the technique is performed as fast as possible by the entire class.
4. When the first shite-uke pair returns to the starting kamae position, sensei calls out "hajime" again and the class performs the technique again.
5. If you are the first shite-uke pair to finish, you get a half-second rest; otherwise, you starting falling behind and have to perform the technique continuously more and more urgently without rest.
6. This goes on until sensei calls "yame." Then shite-uke switch to uke-shite and start again. Then shite-uke switch again and switch to performing out of opposite leg kamae, then switch one last time.

• Obviously, hajime geiko is extremely tiring as you are getting thrown around and getting down and up off the floor continuously.
• The point of hajime geiko is supposedly to tire out the body so that the technique doesn't work with strength and only if shite employs correct posture and controls uke's center.

how hajime geiko is used in Kyoto Kenshusei program

Daily training involves a conditioning/ukemi class followed by two technique classes. Generally, the technique classes follow the following format:
class 1 - preparatory movements and exercises, demonstration and practice of full technique, sensei's comments on mistakes, focused mistake-related practice
class 2 - more focused exercises, then practice of full technique, then hajime geiko

We performed shomen uchi yonkajo (yonkyo) osae ni for 23 minutes continuously the other day. Just when I thought my technique was completely fallen apart, I started performing the technique much better. After we were done, Crampton-sensei informed us we are working up to performing hajime geiko continuously for one hour. Wow!

I'm still not convinced about it, but I am much more open to it than previously. And although yonkajo hurt like the dickens when performed over and over again by a tired partner, I wasn't scared of it the way I was with shihonage.]]> ChrisMikk Thu, 09 May 2013 18:38:10 GMT I had intended on writing a little about our Aiki Taisai sooner and in more depth, but I've had a lot on my plate and my mind has been a little too scattered. Our family friend who has been fighting brain cancer passed away a couple days after the Boston Marathon bombings. I thought I was prepared for her passing since we've been dealing with her struggle for some time now, but I broke down uncontrolably at her wake and had to leave the room. I will always remember the way her singing voice filled the room and gave me shivers; it was so soulful and clear every time I heard it.
I had a number of things I was going to remember and focus on to write about, but enough time has gone by that they're already not as vivid as they were. The images and sounds which still flash through my mind from training: branch tips tickling the sky as I shout invocations during misogi and then ashes floating in the air, settling downward toward the rippling Pilchuck river; people smiling and catching up as they see each other for the first time in a while; kiais filling the air and mixing with the satisfying thwack of wood on wood; and lots of laughter.
This taisai was different for me in one key way. This time I've actually been training somewhat regularly so I felt the distinct responsibility that I was supposed to know what I was doing and to teach the basic form of our practice to our guests who might not be as familiar. By the standards I would like to employ, I did terribly. Whether my cuts were 6 inches off, or I had to double check to make sure I was doing the right thing, or any number of other problems, I felt my lack of understanding and general wherewithal acutely. On the other hand, I had a lot of fun. As long as I remembered that there were plenty of other people who knew plenty, I didn't feel so bad and I was able to just enjoy the process of learning what we were working on with new people.
All in all I made it to Friday and the first part of Saturday before I had to leave early to make it to the wake in time. For me it was a tiring-but-rewarding time that highlighted a lot of things for me to work on and I feel a renewed sense of drive in my life as a result. Between my training for the marathon this summer, training in Aikido, and the other facets of my life right now, I'm grateful for what I have and anxious to make it grow and share it with the world around me.
Take care, all,
Matthew]]> mathewjgano Wed, 08 May 2013 01:06:23 GMT As I spiritually view the land of the rising sun,
The land of kotodama, where all springs from the one,
Where Anjin San visited and a new journey began,
Where the lotus flower bloomed from which Aikido sprang.

Where cherry blossoms grow then as the petals fall,
The kami of the kamikazi, I can here them call,
I see the snow topped peak of Fuji yet below nothing at all,
A land of history and mystery like the soul of us all.

And as the sun meets the sky and the moon meets the sea,
A devine calm descends and spreads through humanity,
I see O'Sensei smiling, raising a toast, a bowl of best saki,
I smile back and raise a toast, a nice hot cup of tea.

G.]]> graham christian