Look around – carefully; and you will notice that everything is changing, all of the time. Raindrops are falling, each second the world is different, unique, as it was never before; each leaf moving on each tree, constructing a new and unique world each and every second. So too are we, cells are degenerating, regenerating; our brains think new and novel thoughts, each and every second. On the mat, as we roll with our friends, each moment is different than the last, each grip is slightly different, pressures ebb and flow, the fight unfolds differently this time than it did last time. When people tell me they are bored – I tell them to open their eyes: JBW
Monday, October 31, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Thursday 14th
Well, although it was supposed to be a lay day, it really wasn't. After sleeping in a little and
getting myself started, a decided to ride around a little and eventually wheel my way down to
the onsen in Nanokodai. I think I left the hombu at 2pm and returned at 9 o'clock. Buying Manga
and some books for the wife, gorging on Sushi, doing some window shopping, losing my
way for an hour or so in the back roads of Noda, and then eventually discovering that the
onsen we would always frequent has been shut for a year or so!? What? Luckily there is another
one nearby that has been operational for the past 6 years. A little smaller but newer and shinier.
Becoming lost, particular on a day when one has no plans, no underlying agenda or schedule and
really nothing to do is something I'm quite partial to. Nup, don't mind it at all. As help, a convenience
store, a phone etc, isn't really that far away in this country, I find myself completely at ease to explore
the neighbouring areas, rice fields and paddocks and in the process find out something new and
unchartered (well for me, anyhow..) The slight disadvantage of this, however, is that the further you go
off the main roads the more likely you are to encounter roads without footpaths, shoulders and anything
resembling a bike-oriented spaces....Oh well.
Tuesday and Wednesday were very successful, enjoyable and enriching days (as the overall experience has
been for me here).
Keiko with Simon has been great. We've been able to push each other, discover some fantastic insights and
ask all the questions we want as it is just he and I. Gyokko ryu Geiryaku has been deeply explored, as has the
Kihon Happo and Koto Ryu Moto Gata. Tomorrow we will being the Shoden. As you know, I have practised
and learnt them with many of you, sometimes at different stages, but as I plan to teach this to my students
after returning I would like to be fresh and ready to initiate this ryu.
Also a pleasure to finally meet and spend some time with our newest arrival to the Hombu, Federico.
Took a while for my Italian to kick in, a storm of brain farts and many pauses, but a very patient and
understanding man indeed. Era veramente un piacere a finalmente conoscerti e cenare insieme.
Today, a little shopping. Guys and girls. Not too sure you're aware of it but there's a shop here called
UniQlo which is similar to our Jay Jays (I suppose) but higher in quality and possibly better in price. Stocked
up on a couple of shorts and a pair of pants. Surprised they stock my size, hey? Yeah, me too!
Allora, a la prossima!
getting myself started, a decided to ride around a little and eventually wheel my way down to
the onsen in Nanokodai. I think I left the hombu at 2pm and returned at 9 o'clock. Buying Manga
and some books for the wife, gorging on Sushi, doing some window shopping, losing my
way for an hour or so in the back roads of Noda, and then eventually discovering that the
onsen we would always frequent has been shut for a year or so!? What? Luckily there is another
one nearby that has been operational for the past 6 years. A little smaller but newer and shinier.
Becoming lost, particular on a day when one has no plans, no underlying agenda or schedule and
really nothing to do is something I'm quite partial to. Nup, don't mind it at all. As help, a convenience
store, a phone etc, isn't really that far away in this country, I find myself completely at ease to explore
the neighbouring areas, rice fields and paddocks and in the process find out something new and
unchartered (well for me, anyhow..) The slight disadvantage of this, however, is that the further you go
off the main roads the more likely you are to encounter roads without footpaths, shoulders and anything
resembling a bike-oriented spaces....Oh well.
Tuesday and Wednesday were very successful, enjoyable and enriching days (as the overall experience has
been for me here).
Keiko with Simon has been great. We've been able to push each other, discover some fantastic insights and
ask all the questions we want as it is just he and I. Gyokko ryu Geiryaku has been deeply explored, as has the
Kihon Happo and Koto Ryu Moto Gata. Tomorrow we will being the Shoden. As you know, I have practised
and learnt them with many of you, sometimes at different stages, but as I plan to teach this to my students
after returning I would like to be fresh and ready to initiate this ryu.
Also a pleasure to finally meet and spend some time with our newest arrival to the Hombu, Federico.
Took a while for my Italian to kick in, a storm of brain farts and many pauses, but a very patient and
understanding man indeed. Era veramente un piacere a finalmente conoscerti e cenare insieme.
Today, a little shopping. Guys and girls. Not too sure you're aware of it but there's a shop here called
UniQlo which is similar to our Jay Jays (I suppose) but higher in quality and possibly better in price. Stocked
up on a couple of shorts and a pair of pants. Surprised they stock my size, hey? Yeah, me too!
Allora, a la prossima!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Sunday the 10th
What a couple of awesomely wicked days....pardon the Bostonian.
2 hours of some complex Nito-Ryu. Jumping into Kihon Toho with double blades is something quite foreign to me as I am quite a novice with stuff. Tricky enough maintaining control with one blade, now think about two! Onto Kata, which employ some exquisite movement (as most things) and trapping the blade, scissoring it, pinning it then entering with a cut. 30 plus minutes of that then 10-15 minutes of Randori. No, it may have been more. Will have to check my notes, but I might be under the vague impression that we may have performed Nito kihon toho, one kata and then randori in accordance with the kata for two whole hours. Now if that isn't technical fine tuning, then what is? I guess that's how we do it, eh?
Train into Tokyo, cruised through Roppongi, rubbed shoulders with the affluent Hills Zoku (tribe), and meandered into Azabu Juban intending to find a pick up point for my long time Tokyo mate Jacqui to come and meet me. After desperately searching for a pay-phone for a half hour and finally finding one, I am pressed to source a landmark to help me. I ask a Japanese man in 60's in my most polite Japanese to be only stumped with, "Ai amu souri, Ai amu kwaito sutrenjaa hia". Huh? He immediately repeats himself. "That's ok, buddy", so he repeats himself again. Ok, I get it and quickly duck into a nearby grocery store that has no distinct name of course. I ask and receive, "Gourmet City". Of course. I call Jacqs and, "Where the hell is that?" Ummm, in Azabu Juban. She finds me, after a couple of more phone calls, straps me onto the back of her bike and we blitz on out into the sunset and enjoy some sights and views from the Rainbow bridge. The Sky Tree, BTW, is rather tall. Don't get why that built it for, but hey, each to their own, right? Stop into Odaiba, head into ToysRus, ask for the little vinyl outdoor pool she was after but no cigar, Miss and we're poop out of luck. Jac, you see, was intending to erect a little outdoor pool in her outdoor balcony area to escape some of the summer heat. She decides that her next port of call will be CostCo. Not today though. Me is hungry.
Head back to Nishi Azabu and she shows me her sweet shared pad and all its benefits. I really like!
Next to feast on some YakiNiku. JoJoen is the place and what an ambience, peeps. Waitresses in Kimono, Waiters to the nines and then service just off this planet. Aprons to wear in case the meat squirts off the grill.
We chat about lots of stuff, latest happenings back home (carbon tax) and of course the earthquake and radiation.
2 hours later back on the train for an a hour or so ride and the 25 minute walk. To bed!!!
This morning up at 8, downstairs to vacuum the dojo, drenched and sticky without having gi'd up yet and Sensei and Iida san arrive. Warm up with Gyakute waza and onto geiryaku. Kaisoku, Iaifu and Kuryaku learnt. Iida san is a gun and he just keeps getting better, more confident and faster each time I see him. 58 kilos in weight and he picks me up on his shoulders to perform kata-guruma. THREE TIMES!!! That would be like me doing likewise with a 150 kilo opponent. Please line up!
We bow out, Sensei leaves and so Iida san refines some of Nito Kihon, kamae and to-ho. Infatuated!
A ride to the station, board the train and I'm on my way to the Jinenkan Tokyo Dojo run by Bob Gray. 1 hour of some quality instruction. Ukemi, Ura gyaku, Shato (Koto Ryu) and Ate Gaeshi (Sanbo). A good, humble crew who work hard and commit to focussing. After finishing we head to Bob's house to chill with his wife and son. I find it quiet easy regressing to a three years of age and as long as there's toys around, I'm a lost puppy. Rengo is tonnes of fun to hang with and quite an entertainer. Thanks, bud!
Lay day tomorrow, so off to the Sento, rest, shopping, Iai review and maybe meet with a friend.
2 hours of some complex Nito-Ryu. Jumping into Kihon Toho with double blades is something quite foreign to me as I am quite a novice with stuff. Tricky enough maintaining control with one blade, now think about two! Onto Kata, which employ some exquisite movement (as most things) and trapping the blade, scissoring it, pinning it then entering with a cut. 30 plus minutes of that then 10-15 minutes of Randori. No, it may have been more. Will have to check my notes, but I might be under the vague impression that we may have performed Nito kihon toho, one kata and then randori in accordance with the kata for two whole hours. Now if that isn't technical fine tuning, then what is? I guess that's how we do it, eh?
Train into Tokyo, cruised through Roppongi, rubbed shoulders with the affluent Hills Zoku (tribe), and meandered into Azabu Juban intending to find a pick up point for my long time Tokyo mate Jacqui to come and meet me. After desperately searching for a pay-phone for a half hour and finally finding one, I am pressed to source a landmark to help me. I ask a Japanese man in 60's in my most polite Japanese to be only stumped with, "Ai amu souri, Ai amu kwaito sutrenjaa hia". Huh? He immediately repeats himself. "That's ok, buddy", so he repeats himself again. Ok, I get it and quickly duck into a nearby grocery store that has no distinct name of course. I ask and receive, "Gourmet City". Of course. I call Jacqs and, "Where the hell is that?" Ummm, in Azabu Juban. She finds me, after a couple of more phone calls, straps me onto the back of her bike and we blitz on out into the sunset and enjoy some sights and views from the Rainbow bridge. The Sky Tree, BTW, is rather tall. Don't get why that built it for, but hey, each to their own, right? Stop into Odaiba, head into ToysRus, ask for the little vinyl outdoor pool she was after but no cigar, Miss and we're poop out of luck. Jac, you see, was intending to erect a little outdoor pool in her outdoor balcony area to escape some of the summer heat. She decides that her next port of call will be CostCo. Not today though. Me is hungry.
Head back to Nishi Azabu and she shows me her sweet shared pad and all its benefits. I really like!
Next to feast on some YakiNiku. JoJoen is the place and what an ambience, peeps. Waitresses in Kimono, Waiters to the nines and then service just off this planet. Aprons to wear in case the meat squirts off the grill.
We chat about lots of stuff, latest happenings back home (carbon tax) and of course the earthquake and radiation.
2 hours later back on the train for an a hour or so ride and the 25 minute walk. To bed!!!
This morning up at 8, downstairs to vacuum the dojo, drenched and sticky without having gi'd up yet and Sensei and Iida san arrive. Warm up with Gyakute waza and onto geiryaku. Kaisoku, Iaifu and Kuryaku learnt. Iida san is a gun and he just keeps getting better, more confident and faster each time I see him. 58 kilos in weight and he picks me up on his shoulders to perform kata-guruma. THREE TIMES!!! That would be like me doing likewise with a 150 kilo opponent. Please line up!
We bow out, Sensei leaves and so Iida san refines some of Nito Kihon, kamae and to-ho. Infatuated!
A ride to the station, board the train and I'm on my way to the Jinenkan Tokyo Dojo run by Bob Gray. 1 hour of some quality instruction. Ukemi, Ura gyaku, Shato (Koto Ryu) and Ate Gaeshi (Sanbo). A good, humble crew who work hard and commit to focussing. After finishing we head to Bob's house to chill with his wife and son. I find it quiet easy regressing to a three years of age and as long as there's toys around, I'm a lost puppy. Rengo is tonnes of fun to hang with and quite an entertainer. Thanks, bud!
Lay day tomorrow, so off to the Sento, rest, shopping, Iai review and maybe meet with a friend.
Friday, July 8, 2011
8th of July
Spent today roaming Kashiwa and its limited pockets of fun and amusement. Espresso Frappucino, a $10 haircut, pasta for lunch (bolognese carbonara fused dish, which incidentally, I ate with waribashi - disposable chopsticks), a macha frappucino and then met with Eric, boarded the Tobu Noda train for Noda. 20 minutes later we alight and begin the 30 minute hike to the station.
After a warm up and chat, Sensei enters, changes and we begin practising some Tsubame Gaeshi whilst waiting for Bob to arrive.
Bob arrives shortly after, we bow in and begin.
Anyways.....Keiko again was hot, intense and somewhat frustrating. We worked on the three first kata of the geiryaku to the finest degree possible. Eric is now bothering me upstairs with mindless chit-chat so will have to let you all go. Stay tuned!
After a warm up and chat, Sensei enters, changes and we begin practising some Tsubame Gaeshi whilst waiting for Bob to arrive.
Bob arrives shortly after, we bow in and begin.
Anyways.....Keiko again was hot, intense and somewhat frustrating. We worked on the three first kata of the geiryaku to the finest degree possible. Eric is now bothering me upstairs with mindless chit-chat so will have to let you all go. Stay tuned!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Today (7th of July)
Today is Tanabata in Japan. I believe it is originally a chinese festival where the boy shepherd and the girl weaver, who have been separated for the past year, are able to finally unite, get it on and then say goodbye before the stars and planet begin a new astral alignment and consequently sequester each of them to their respective domains (could be wrong).
Started the day with Tacfit warrior (6 sets of tabata), some stretching and mobility drills downstairs in the dojo. Already sweaty and buggered I decided to get some brekkie, albeit a late one, at Jusco. Lotus plant tempura, ham schnitzel, crab croquette, a rice ball and about 2 litres of fluids. Finished with a kohi float (coffee ice thing) and a book in the local food court. Back to hombu, crashed for a couple hours and awoken by Kato-san. Immediately, before handshake or anything, I receive a hachimaki that Mario has sent to me when they were there last in Belgium. It has in 4 kanji print, Sessa Takuma. Cool. So I take it that this was probably sent to Belgium (order maybe) then passed on to me, courtesy of Kato san, here in Japan. Very grateful and with a deep Rei - Dank U, Mario!
Sensei shortly arrives afterward, we have a chat, I brag about my job and its benefits, make them laugh a little, talk about the latest ailments, radiation, family, seiko etc. and then proceed downstairs to start keiko. Bob subsequently arrives, we gi and hakama up, and get going. In a sentence, people, keiko was this: One hour and forty-five minutes of Iai. Yes, that's right. Sheer and unadulterated Iai. Corrections galore, profuse amounts of sweat excreted, some frustration and plenty of smiles from Sensei. Lots to show you people when I get back. Shiho-giri refinements plus the new and much talked about Tsubame Gaeshi. The latter is very short, sharp and sweet. Swiftness and agility are essential and the movements are nothing but exquisite. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
There are no wasted movements,
Osu
Started the day with Tacfit warrior (6 sets of tabata), some stretching and mobility drills downstairs in the dojo. Already sweaty and buggered I decided to get some brekkie, albeit a late one, at Jusco. Lotus plant tempura, ham schnitzel, crab croquette, a rice ball and about 2 litres of fluids. Finished with a kohi float (coffee ice thing) and a book in the local food court. Back to hombu, crashed for a couple hours and awoken by Kato-san. Immediately, before handshake or anything, I receive a hachimaki that Mario has sent to me when they were there last in Belgium. It has in 4 kanji print, Sessa Takuma. Cool. So I take it that this was probably sent to Belgium (order maybe) then passed on to me, courtesy of Kato san, here in Japan. Very grateful and with a deep Rei - Dank U, Mario!
Sensei shortly arrives afterward, we have a chat, I brag about my job and its benefits, make them laugh a little, talk about the latest ailments, radiation, family, seiko etc. and then proceed downstairs to start keiko. Bob subsequently arrives, we gi and hakama up, and get going. In a sentence, people, keiko was this: One hour and forty-five minutes of Iai. Yes, that's right. Sheer and unadulterated Iai. Corrections galore, profuse amounts of sweat excreted, some frustration and plenty of smiles from Sensei. Lots to show you people when I get back. Shiho-giri refinements plus the new and much talked about Tsubame Gaeshi. The latter is very short, sharp and sweet. Swiftness and agility are essential and the movements are nothing but exquisite. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
There are no wasted movements,
Osu
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Please excuse the typos....I'm a little tired and a feeling of indifference pervades..
Yeah so, finally made it out of the Boso Hanto (South east coast of Chiba-ken). After spending two glorious days with Mum and Dad and being spoiled like a 5 year old at Christmas. Too much to tell and I would only be making people jealous. I feel my In-laws were my real parents, or siblings in another life time. A relationship that is harmonious yet at times tumultuous, filled with laughter and based on mutual respect.
Spent last night with one of my best mates Paul (legend) and his gorgeous girl, Mitsuko. Another mate Jeremy was rather gracious to swing by and before you know it we're a pack or two of Asahi 500ml cans empty and it's time for bed as some of us have to work tomorrow. Slept in the company of some fine Japanese crawlies, however awoke unscathed albeit a little balmy. After sending off an order of manga and dvd's to my most precious, I intended to treat my ride and newly found friend, Mitsuko to some brekkie. As luck would have it the car, whilst buzzing at the lights, decides to shut down and go to sleep. Slipping it into neutral and looking for a challenge to start the day, I was able to push it back and then forward it the nearby Family Mart (combini) and suss out the situation. All liquids at appropriate level, oil good. Able to get it started again and the timing also seems fine. Hmmmmm? The friendly Japanese surfer who has come to help and I can quite get a grasp on the situation so Mitsuko and I decide to puff it home which is only a short distance away. Back home she starts making some calls. Being quite esoteric in nature (yoga instructor) she starts rationalising the circumstances. "Yesterday a flat tyre, today the engine....what will happen tomorrow? This must be sign!" She proclaims with a rather convincing aura. Oh, I forgot to mention, today she will be starting her first shift at a bar down in the next suburb. In about an hours time! What to do?! She calls to inform her boss that due to unforeseeable circumstances she will be running late as she has to see that her car is seen to and repaired. Miss Boss doesn't sound all that please, but...but these things happen don't they. She calls the car repair/yard/mechanic/everything to explain the situation and they promptly call back with the best news of the day thus far. They will arrive within the hour with a tow truck and courtesy car to attenuate any inconveniences they have caused thus far. Serious?!?! Nah, man! I remember this place being good, but not this good. We then meander off to a nearby cafe for some hard earned grub and coffee. Big Mama's, which should have opened by this time, doesn't look like they're ticking yet as it's 10 minutes past opening and not a soul, nor cat in sight. It seems not all Japanese are punctual. We head over to the nearby Hawaiian joint which, surprisingly, is alive and sizzling. Anyways, after some Hawaiian Poki, Diamond Head/Vanilla flavoured coffee concoction we head back to Paul's and chat whilst waiting. Within a half the sales people arrive (in tow truck carrying courtesy car) unload the car, load Mitsuko's and their off. 5 minutes later Paul arrives from work for some lunch. Mitsuko, an hour and half late, bounds out the door to experience her new job.
Paul, after some lunch see's me off at the Ichinomiya station and I'm now off to Noda. 5 changes and 3 hours later I pull up into Noda station. 30 something degrees, 70 something percent humidity and 30 something kilo's to lug and a half hour walk a head of me and I charge. This is always an exciting part of the journey for me. I am almost always, to some degree, exasperated and nauseous each time I first arrive at Noda for keiko, but the thrill of what await just pushes me on. I walk past the taxi rank and think, 'not this time, guys. Maybe in twenty years or so' and charge on through past the mini-stop and past the iconic Kikkoman factory.
Walking, I feel, is such an intuitive and natural activity for us people. Why not exhaust our own finite resources, burn the excess calories most of us gratuitously consume and get around? I think about Trav and his love for running, Simon and his stories of meeting hard-core soldiers during his teaching stints around the country. One story of a man, burly and built like a freight train, strapping on a 50kg back pack (army issue) and just headingn down the main highway for 30km's in his own country town in NSW. I remember also as a kid, walking to the shops with Mum to help her with the shopping. We would walk up 30 mins, do the shopping, have it delivered and then walk back 30 mins. I must of been in primary school and although the memories are vastly fading I can still remember feeling knackered and mum shouting back at me, "Hurry up big bum!" This kind of stuff would be unheard of these days. Something has to change. We need to wizen up and get moving again. Walking, bikes, anything really that is self-propelled. For the planet and for our physical well-being. Lift Aussies!!
I finally make it to the hombu. It's locked and nobody is in sight. I drop off my bags in the hallway upstairs, mentally jot down Sensei's number and head back to the local convenience store which I passed only 5 minutes earlier. I buy a couple of riceballs and a red bull. 500 and something yen, change received and what'ya know? The number has been erased from the impermanent white board which is my brain. "Lady, I beg a favour from you. Might you allow me to peruse your phone book", I politely ask the sales attendant. No go. Only the business pages. Oh well, back to the hombu for another attempt. No pen you see. This time I'm successful, Sensei is home. "Just returned from some mountain climbing" he cheerily informs me and promptly comes to hand me the keys to my accommodation for the next ten days.
How's that for a day?
Spent last night with one of my best mates Paul (legend) and his gorgeous girl, Mitsuko. Another mate Jeremy was rather gracious to swing by and before you know it we're a pack or two of Asahi 500ml cans empty and it's time for bed as some of us have to work tomorrow. Slept in the company of some fine Japanese crawlies, however awoke unscathed albeit a little balmy. After sending off an order of manga and dvd's to my most precious, I intended to treat my ride and newly found friend, Mitsuko to some brekkie. As luck would have it the car, whilst buzzing at the lights, decides to shut down and go to sleep. Slipping it into neutral and looking for a challenge to start the day, I was able to push it back and then forward it the nearby Family Mart (combini) and suss out the situation. All liquids at appropriate level, oil good. Able to get it started again and the timing also seems fine. Hmmmmm? The friendly Japanese surfer who has come to help and I can quite get a grasp on the situation so Mitsuko and I decide to puff it home which is only a short distance away. Back home she starts making some calls. Being quite esoteric in nature (yoga instructor) she starts rationalising the circumstances. "Yesterday a flat tyre, today the engine....what will happen tomorrow? This must be sign!" She proclaims with a rather convincing aura. Oh, I forgot to mention, today she will be starting her first shift at a bar down in the next suburb. In about an hours time! What to do?! She calls to inform her boss that due to unforeseeable circumstances she will be running late as she has to see that her car is seen to and repaired. Miss Boss doesn't sound all that please, but...but these things happen don't they. She calls the car repair/yard/mechanic/everything to explain the situation and they promptly call back with the best news of the day thus far. They will arrive within the hour with a tow truck and courtesy car to attenuate any inconveniences they have caused thus far. Serious?!?! Nah, man! I remember this place being good, but not this good. We then meander off to a nearby cafe for some hard earned grub and coffee. Big Mama's, which should have opened by this time, doesn't look like they're ticking yet as it's 10 minutes past opening and not a soul, nor cat in sight. It seems not all Japanese are punctual. We head over to the nearby Hawaiian joint which, surprisingly, is alive and sizzling. Anyways, after some Hawaiian Poki, Diamond Head/Vanilla flavoured coffee concoction we head back to Paul's and chat whilst waiting. Within a half the sales people arrive (in tow truck carrying courtesy car) unload the car, load Mitsuko's and their off. 5 minutes later Paul arrives from work for some lunch. Mitsuko, an hour and half late, bounds out the door to experience her new job.
Paul, after some lunch see's me off at the Ichinomiya station and I'm now off to Noda. 5 changes and 3 hours later I pull up into Noda station. 30 something degrees, 70 something percent humidity and 30 something kilo's to lug and a half hour walk a head of me and I charge. This is always an exciting part of the journey for me. I am almost always, to some degree, exasperated and nauseous each time I first arrive at Noda for keiko, but the thrill of what await just pushes me on. I walk past the taxi rank and think, 'not this time, guys. Maybe in twenty years or so' and charge on through past the mini-stop and past the iconic Kikkoman factory.
Walking, I feel, is such an intuitive and natural activity for us people. Why not exhaust our own finite resources, burn the excess calories most of us gratuitously consume and get around? I think about Trav and his love for running, Simon and his stories of meeting hard-core soldiers during his teaching stints around the country. One story of a man, burly and built like a freight train, strapping on a 50kg back pack (army issue) and just headingn down the main highway for 30km's in his own country town in NSW. I remember also as a kid, walking to the shops with Mum to help her with the shopping. We would walk up 30 mins, do the shopping, have it delivered and then walk back 30 mins. I must of been in primary school and although the memories are vastly fading I can still remember feeling knackered and mum shouting back at me, "Hurry up big bum!" This kind of stuff would be unheard of these days. Something has to change. We need to wizen up and get moving again. Walking, bikes, anything really that is self-propelled. For the planet and for our physical well-being. Lift Aussies!!
I finally make it to the hombu. It's locked and nobody is in sight. I drop off my bags in the hallway upstairs, mentally jot down Sensei's number and head back to the local convenience store which I passed only 5 minutes earlier. I buy a couple of riceballs and a red bull. 500 and something yen, change received and what'ya know? The number has been erased from the impermanent white board which is my brain. "Lady, I beg a favour from you. Might you allow me to peruse your phone book", I politely ask the sales attendant. No go. Only the business pages. Oh well, back to the hombu for another attempt. No pen you see. This time I'm successful, Sensei is home. "Just returned from some mountain climbing" he cheerily informs me and promptly comes to hand me the keys to my accommodation for the next ten days.
How's that for a day?
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Wise Words on Motivation
HIGHLY MOTIVATED …
John B Will.
Throughout decades of teaching, I have noticed a couple of different types of motivation in effect on the mat … one seems to be more effective than the other; here’s my two cents …
The first kind starts out well but usually has a pretty short shelf-life; and that is the repellant kind of motivation. In other words, we feel motivated to move away from something – being overweight, being scared, being weak, etc. This starts out with a bang but the problem arises when we have successfully removed ourselves to some degree from the thing we are moving away from; for then, the motivational impetus tends to lose momentum. The further we remove ourselves from the picture/idea/feeling we are trying to escape then the weaker the motivational force becomes.
The other style of motivation (that I actually prefer) is when we are moving TOWARD a new paradigm rather than away from one. The thing about this style of motivation is that when we begin seeing results (we are in fact getting in better shape, feeling more courageous, etc) the motivational force tends to become stronger; we build momentum and move closer to our goal.
This style of motivation is also a much more positive way to think but it does come with a few problems; the main one being that we don’t tend to recognize and applaud ourselves for those first small incremental gains. When we make small gains but fail to recognize that we have, we tend to mistake this for ‘wasted effort’. Eg: We lose one kilogram (out of 15 that we need to lose) but we fail to see a result in the mirror and so we may give up thinking that our efforts are wasted. This is a great pity, because the big secret to success is to aim for small incremental gains and recognize them when we achieve them. When we improve our situation by 5%, and we recognize that we have done this, we can more easily do it again and again until we begin to see obvious results – at that point in time, momentum takes over and our motivation increases exponentially.
Recognize your incremental achievements – roll on.
JBW
Throughout decades of teaching, I have noticed a couple of different types of motivation in effect on the mat … one seems to be more effective than the other; here’s my two cents …
The first kind starts out well but usually has a pretty short shelf-life; and that is the repellant kind of motivation. In other words, we feel motivated to move away from something – being overweight, being scared, being weak, etc. This starts out with a bang but the problem arises when we have successfully removed ourselves to some degree from the thing we are moving away from; for then, the motivational impetus tends to lose momentum. The further we remove ourselves from the picture/idea/feeling we are trying to escape then the weaker the motivational force becomes.
The other style of motivation (that I actually prefer) is when we are moving TOWARD a new paradigm rather than away from one. The thing about this style of motivation is that when we begin seeing results (we are in fact getting in better shape, feeling more courageous, etc) the motivational force tends to become stronger; we build momentum and move closer to our goal.
This style of motivation is also a much more positive way to think but it does come with a few problems; the main one being that we don’t tend to recognize and applaud ourselves for those first small incremental gains. When we make small gains but fail to recognize that we have, we tend to mistake this for ‘wasted effort’. Eg: We lose one kilogram (out of 15 that we need to lose) but we fail to see a result in the mirror and so we may give up thinking that our efforts are wasted. This is a great pity, because the big secret to success is to aim for small incremental gains and recognize them when we achieve them. When we improve our situation by 5%, and we recognize that we have done this, we can more easily do it again and again until we begin to see obvious results – at that point in time, momentum takes over and our motivation increases exponentially.
Recognize your incremental achievements – roll on.
JBW
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)