Taido/Blog

01/05/2006 In Event Log by andy

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I love Hirosaki. It’s the place where I first thought to myself “you know, I should live in Japan someday”, and it’s also the place where I met possibly the greatest love of my life so far. Besides that, it’s just a beautiful town, and they have plenty of Taido going on.

In fact, this year is the 30th anniversary of Taido in Aomori Prefecture, and this year’s Sakura Matsuri Taikai (cherry blossom festival tournament) was the 28th such event. That’s a long time, and it’s always a great tourney.

I’ve been able to watch the Sakura Taikai three times, but never competed for various reasons. I had hoped to actually make it onto the mats this year, but having broken my finger two weeks before the event, luck was not on my side. Even as a spectator, I’ve always enjoyed seeing everyone come together with friendly attitudes and great skills for this event that perfectly sets off the All-Japan champs, held every November. The Sakura Taikai is probably the largest non-national tournament in Japan and is a two-day event. Players come from all over the country and sometimes from other countries.

I love Hirosaki. It’s the place where I first thought to myself “you know, I should live in Japan someday”, and it’s also the place where I met possibly the greatest love of my life so far. Besides that, it’s just a beautiful town, and they have plenty of Taido going on.

In fact, this year is the 30th anniversary of Taido in Aomori Prefecture, and this year’s Sakura Matsuri Taikai (cherry blossom festival tournament) was the 28th such event. That’s a long time, and it’s always a great tourney.

I’ve been able to watch the Sakura Taikai three times, but never competed for various reasons. I had hoped to actually make it onto the mats this year, but having broken my finger two weeks before the event, luck was not on my side. Even as a spectator, I’ve always enjoyed seeing everyone come together with friendly attitudes and great skills for this event that perfectly sets off the All-Japan champs, held every November. The Sakura Taikai is probably the largest non-national tournament in Japan and is a two-day event. Players come from all over the country and sometimes from other countries.

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02/05/2006 In Practice / Training by andy

ok, so maybe you think i’ve gone kobo-crazy with this article series, but as i’ve already explained, i believe intelligent and creative use of kobo-derived drills to have incredible potential for improving students’ taido skills. this isn’t necessarily a new development, but i’ve recently been more inspired to develop such drills than i have for a couple of years.

this is probably related to my excitement to be returning home to teach again at georgia tech later this year. don’t get me wrong - i love teaching in japan, but i’ll always be a guest here and non-expert by virtue of being foreign. new training methodologies and technical ideas are well-received in japan only so long as they come from high-ranking, expert instructors. i get called “teacher”, but i don’t get to use my own methods. on the other hand, in america, i’m one of the old-timers, and i have free reign to teach my students in the best manner i can devise to do so. thinking of the improvements they will make with these drills gives me a lot of motivation.

ok, so maybe you think i’ve gone kobo-crazy with this article series, but as i’ve already explained, i believe intelligent and creative use of kobo-derived drills to have incredible potential for improving students’ taido skills. this isn’t necessarily a new development, but i’ve recently been more inspired to develop such drills than i have for a couple of years.

this is probably related to my excitement to be returning home to teach again at georgia tech later this year. don’t get me wrong - i love teaching in japan, but i’ll always be a guest here and non-expert by virtue of being foreign. new training methodologies and technical ideas are well-received in japan only so long as they come from high-ranking, expert instructors. i get called “teacher”, but i don’t get to use my own methods. on the other hand, in america, i’m one of the old-timers, and i have free reign to teach my students in the best manner i can devise to do so. thinking of the improvements they will make with these drills gives me a lot of motivation.

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02/05/2006 In Practice / Training by andy

ok, so i promise this is going to be my last article about kobo… for now. this is just an easy list of guidelines that will help you get the most out of your kobo practice. i figured it would be good to tidy up my recent output with a concise listing of what i think are the most important points, in no particular order. you’ll find that they aren’t all applicable to every practice, but they will all be useful at one time or another. think of this a tip sheet, and refer back to these points periodically as you use kobo for practice.

trust

of the highest importance in practicing with a resistant opponent is the creation of a safe environment. this allows all partners the ability to explore within the bounds of the exercise. this is the yakusoku (promise) part of yakusoku sotai.

ok, so i promise this is going to be my last article about kobo… for now. this is just an easy list of guidelines that will help you get the most out of your kobo practice. i figured it would be good to tidy up my recent output with a concise listing of what i think are the most important points, in no particular order. you’ll find that they aren’t all applicable to every practice, but they will all be useful at one time or another. think of this a tip sheet, and refer back to these points periodically as you use kobo for practice.

trust

of the highest importance in practicing with a resistant opponent is the creation of a safe environment. this allows all partners the ability to explore within the bounds of the exercise. this is the yakusoku (promise) part of yakusoku sotai.

Continue Reading...

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25/05/2006 In Check It Out by andy

I have always loved customizing. There were times, i’m sure, that my parents and others didn’t really appreciate my drive to make things my own, but there’s just something about the creative process that I love. From music, to furniture modification, to writing, to Taido - I try to bring some level of creativity into everything I do.

Since junior high, I have been known for cutting, painting, drawing on, and otherwise altering many of my clothes. During college, I found an efficient method to transfer my original designs to t-shirts, and many of my friends now sport “Cusack’s Love Child”, “The Andy Fossett Rock Supreme”, and various other t-shirts I made for them. However, it was somewhat labor intensive to do larger batches, so I’ve usually reserved my shirt-making for special circumstances.

I have always loved customizing. There were times, i’m sure, that my parents and others didn’t really appreciate my drive to make things my own, but there’s just something about the creative process that I love. From music, to furniture modification, to writing, to Taido - I try to bring some level of creativity into everything I do.

Since junior high, I have been known for cutting, painting, drawing on, and otherwise altering many of my clothes. During college, I found an efficient method to transfer my original designs to t-shirts, and many of my friends now sport “Cusack’s Love Child”, “The Andy Fossett Rock Supreme”, and various other t-shirts I made for them. However, it was somewhat labor intensive to do larger batches, so I’ve usually reserved my shirt-making for special circumstances.

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25/05/2006 In Event Log, Rankings / Evaluations by andy

On June 11th 2006, many Japanese Taido black belts met in Ito, Shizuoka prefecture for the chance to be promoted to the next rank. The high-rank shinsa is held only once a year, and getting invited is the only way to test for 4dan or above in Japan. It’s also the only way to receive the renshi, kyoshi, and hanshi teaching certifications, respectively for 4dan, 6dan, and 8dan instructors.

In 2005, two members of the Yokohama dojo passed 5dan and 6dan. At the time of this writing, two of our instructors are testing for 4dan and 7dan. I was also invited to attend the grading, but I terminated my application.

On June 11th 2006, many Japanese Taido black belts met in Ito, Shizuoka prefecture for the chance to be promoted to the next rank. The high-rank shinsa is held only once a year, and getting invited is the only way to test for 4dan or above in Japan. It’s also the only way to receive the renshi, kyoshi, and hanshi teaching certifications, respectively for 4dan, 6dan, and 8dan instructors.

In 2005, two members of the Yokohama dojo passed 5dan and 6dan. At the time of this writing, two of our instructors are testing for 4dan and 7dan. I was also invited to attend the grading, but I terminated my application.

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7 Comments

26/05/2006 In Check It Out by andy

Check out the Incomplete Manifesto for Growth from Bruce Mau Design. Most of these points are equally applicable to Taido as to design. None of it is really anything new, but by seeing it all in one place, it gives a different perspective, much of which relates to what i’m trying to do with this website.

Here are some of my favorites, with comments:

“… If process drives outcome, we may not know where we are going, but we will know we want to be there.”

The river is never wrong. Conscious practice will get us much further than all the theorizing in the world. First, we must begin, and only then can we make adjustments. It’s “ready, fire, aim.” If we aim first, we may never get around to firing because we can never be sure we’ll hit the target. By just firing, we will be certain to hit something. Then we aim again, and get a a little closer to what we want. Steering a parked car gets us no closer to our destination. Let’s get in gear and build our art around the process of quality practices and methods.

Check out the Incomplete Manifesto for Growth from Bruce Mau Design. Most of these points are equally applicable to Taido as to design. None of it is really anything new, but by seeing it all in one place, it gives a different perspective, much of which relates to what i’m trying to do with this website.

Here are some of my favorites, with comments:

“… If process drives outcome, we may not know where we are going, but we will know we want to be there.”

The river is never wrong. Conscious practice will get us much further than all the theorizing in the world. First, we must begin, and only then can we make adjustments. It’s “ready, fire, aim.” If we aim first, we may never get around to firing because we can never be sure we’ll hit the target. By just firing, we will be certain to hit something. Then we aim again, and get a a little closer to what we want. Steering a parked car gets us no closer to our destination. Let’s get in gear and build our art around the process of quality practices and methods.

Continue Reading...

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29/05/2006 In Experiments / Ideas by andy

Note: Anyone who’s taken a Taido black belt test administered by Taido Honin has probably read the name “Ostwold” in connection with Taido’s taiki theory. Ostwold won a Nobel Prize for explaining how the body takes in and expends energy, but I feel that his name is wrongly invoked in Taido to justify some pseudo-scientific idea about energy transfer that probably wouldn’t hold much water in a laboratory setting. This article deals with scientifically verified applications of Ostwold’s work and that of many other researchers.

I should preface the advice I give in this article by saying that I’m not a doctor or a professional trainer or anything like that. I don’t know your specifics, so I can’t claim that anything I write here will actually work for you. You should probably seek the advice of somebody with a government-sanctioned professional certification before you follow my suggestions.

Note: Anyone who’s taken a Taido black belt test administered by Taido Honin has probably read the name “Ostwold” in connection with Taido’s taiki theory. Ostwold won a Nobel Prize for explaining how the body takes in and expends energy, but I feel that his name is wrongly invoked in Taido to justify some pseudo-scientific idea about energy transfer that probably wouldn’t hold much water in a laboratory setting. This article deals with scientifically verified applications of Ostwold’s work and that of many other researchers.

I should preface the advice I give in this article by saying that I’m not a doctor or a professional trainer or anything like that. I don’t know your specifics, so I can’t claim that anything I write here will actually work for you. You should probably seek the advice of somebody with a government-sanctioned professional certification before you follow my suggestions.

Continue Reading...

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