Sensei

As I mentioned before, my father passed two years ago. I assume there are many ways to be a good father. There is no formula.

My father's generation, the same one as my Aikido teacher, seems to not want to talk about their care and love to their own child, but instead show it. My father was born as the first son, and so was I. I don't remember him talking to me much, but rather showing me what he wanted me to be. So I had a hard time understanding him, what he meant, and what he wanted.

Almost 40 years have passed since I began practicing Aikido, and I have come into a position to be called Sensei. What I teach is called Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido. Shin Shin Toitsu can be translated as "oneness of mind and body", and Aikido has been translated by my teacher as "the way to oneness with ki".

Being in this country for so long, I have been exposed to many teaching styles, and many ways of coaching or training for sports. Occasionally, I step into my daughter's aerial acrobatics class. I am always impressed by the generosity and planning that goes into the teaching, and how creative the instructors are in presenting it.

Western teachers and coaches seem always to focus first on success, and present this to their students. Contrarily, teachers of traditional Japanese arts such as Noh, Kabuki, koto, singing, and martial arts, are known for first saying "that's wrong". There is a very famous story from a Noh player: a student asked him, "What is Noh?"

The teacher replied, "If I tell you, you are never going to understand Noh. Period."

For a long time, I struggled with what style of teaching is good for students in the US. If I want to be popular, obviously I have to be like a Western coach, and encourage my students. But as a Japanese artist, I would rather not teach the essence of the art, and simply check on what they have developed. I would rather encourage intuition, and learning of the body rather than the head. Too many ideas will block it, and the teacher's job is to tell them to knock that off.

So the student has to steal what the teacher does, day by day, moment by moment. Japanese arts rely on becoming a way of life.

"Shin shin toitsu" is a process of changing consciousness, which requires positive reinforcement, so students accept it easier on a conscious level. But again, Japanese traditional arts have to be blended into the daily activity, into the subconscious, which requires clarity and precision. In other words, it has to be called wrong when it is.

Some years ago, there was a discussion in the Aikido community over whether a Sensei is a teacher/coach or an artist. A coach encourages and inspires, but has to be there all the time, almost to the point of annoyance. An artist, on the other hand, is more like a gardener, who must pay constant attention to his plants to know when to stress his plants and when to feed them.

Shin Shin Toitsudo was founded by Tenpu Nakamura sensei, a philosopher. His thought is carried well by my teacher, Koichi Tohei Sensei. Aikido was founded by Morihei Ueshiba Sensei, who was a very traditional Japanese teacher, who taught nothing, but showed the Way. I am very glad to be able to draw on both sides - the intellectual and the intuitive. I feel very complete as a human, rather than highly specialized to one side or the other. It is sad to see some people who criticize teachers and celebrate artists, or vice versa. Both ways are dead wrong. There is no formula, just as there is none for how to be a father.

Any animal can be a father, but we human can pass something on. Something more than shelter and basic needs. I feel lucky, not because I was born as a lord of creation, but as being Sensei who can pass something to next generation and enjoy doing so.

It's June. be ready for Summer training!

`According to Wikipedia: “June is known for the large number of marriages that occur over the course of the month. June is named after Juno (Hera). Juno was the goddess of marriage and a married couple's household, so some consider it good luck to be married in this month”

`I know this is the hardest month to get any popular spot for a big seminar like the US National. We had to compete with all the wedding planners to reserve any good candidates way in advance.

In Japan, it is same as the US; June is the busiest month for Wedding. Maybe some American influence for young Japanese couples, but also it's seasonal tradition. There are Bōshu (芒種): June 6 - Grain in ear and Geshi (夏至): June 21 - Summer solstice, middle of summer in this month.

In the other hand, *Japanese traditional calendar called June as 水無月 (minatsuki or minazuki, month of water — 水 (mizu or mi) means water, and the 無 (mu or na) character, which normally means "not", is here ateji, that is, used only for the sound "na". In this name the na is actually a possessive particle, so Minazuki means "month of water," not "month without water", and maybe it was in reference to the flooding of the rice fields. It is one of the few months that doesn't have its own national holiday which is a little less torture for travelers---The day of a national holiday day inconceivably over-crowded---the government seems reluctant to plan festivals or events as the rain could come and spoil it all.

When I was in middle and high school, I remember I had to change my thick, black school uniform to a very white, half-sleeve shirt with my school logo on my chest from June 1st. Yes, it had to be on the first day in June exactly! It was not just school students, but also all business and office workers changed their clothes to something more cooler. Everybody follows, not because a its law, but because it's the traditional social obligation and nobody pays attention to who started it or when exactly--most likely from a seasonal practicality in the beginning---Amazing sight!! Can we expect something like that in US?

Most part of June is still rainy Baiu 梅雨 monsoon season in Japan. I would suggest not going to Japan if you really don't like rain, plus its hot and very humid weather! How do you survive there if you go during this season? First, you can ask your mind to understand why it's so humid, it sounds silly, but once our mind figures out the reason it is unavoidable, our body will start to relax. It becomes “no big deal”. Some people use the “no, it's not hot” method, but such a method of denial really does not work well in the long run, and is not healthy...It's better just to feel what it is, and find something you can enjoy with your family or friends only during the season. Plus this is very good training for Aikido, teaches you how to relax better. People in old days in Japan, they figure out to enjoy the natural surroundings of this season with food and clothing, instead of controlling the natural environment, such as using an air conditioner. My technique is wearing **Yukata and drinking a cold beer with my student after good training. What is yours?

Well, for people who love rain, I suggest going to the rain forest in the Olympic National Park, near Seattle. It's much cleaner and less crowded, you can see many old trees and mosses and also some huge slugs instead of many people. You know, you can get married there also...

*Since January 1, 1873, Japan has used the Gregorian calendar, with local names for the months and mostly fixed holidays. Before 1873, a lunisolar calendar was in use, which was adapted from the Chinese calendar.[1] Japanese eras are still in use.

**Yukata (浴衣) is a Japanese summer garment.

Rain forest at the Olympic National Park, WA, USA