Taido/Blog

28/12/2005 In Miscellany by andy

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[rant] Not to be negative, but these things bug me. I have compiled my list of the top eleven problems with Taido as things currently stand. This list is unique to me and represents my personal values for what Taido is and should become. I can cope if people don’t agree, but meanwhile, i’ll be working on moving things in a direction that I feel is healthier and more effective all around. Maybe I can change a few minds, and maybe I’ll change my mind too as things go forward. For right now, here (not really in any kind of order) are what I see as the eleven biggest things holding Taido back from its potential:

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09/03/2006 In Event Log by andy

Ok, so first off, I want to say that this was one hell of a good trip. It was packed full of practice and play, and there wasn’t a lot of down-time to spend digesting all that was going on. My memory of certain events may be slightly inaccurate, but I want to give you the gist of this year’s meet. A lot of good things went down, and a lot of good things will come from having more of this kind of event in the future.

Of course, there is always a good bit of the “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” feeling on a trip like this, but even while censoring portions of the debauchery, I hope this report may convince more people to take an interest in international Taido-related events, or at least think about attending the next Asia Pacific Games.

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13/03/2006 In Event Log by andy

March 2006

It’s been a busy couple of weeks. Last weekend, I was in Australia for the second Asia Pacific Games. This past weekend, I joined the Yokohama team at the second annual Kanagawa friendship meet. As planned, it was a lot of fun, and we all enjoyed getting the chance to play with people we aren’t able to meet so often. This year’s event was a little larger than the first one, but everything still ran very smoothly. Here are my impressions:

Background

The tournament is called the Kanagawa Prefectural Taido Association Friendship Meet. The name is both telling and misleading. Telling because it isn’t about winning medals but rather having fun together and deepening our friendships with other dojo. Misleading because the participants are not all members of Kanagawa Taido - they are members of dojo historically connected to Kanagawa Taido. It’s a tournament for our circle of friends, for the purpose of deepening that friendship. Kind of cool, if you ask me.

March 2006

It’s been a busy couple of weeks. Last weekend, I was in Australia for the second Asia Pacific Games. This past weekend, I joined the Yokohama team at the second annual Kanagawa friendship meet. As planned, it was a lot of fun, and we all enjoyed getting the chance to play with people we aren’t able to meet so often. This year’s event was a little larger than the first one, but everything still ran very smoothly. Here are my impressions:

Background

The tournament is called the Kanagawa Prefectural Taido Association Friendship Meet. The name is both telling and misleading. Telling because it isn’t about winning medals but rather having fun together and deepening our friendships with other dojo. Misleading because the participants are not all members of Kanagawa Taido - they are members of dojo historically connected to Kanagawa Taido. It’s a tournament for our circle of friends, for the purpose of deepening that friendship. Kind of cool, if you ask me.

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01/05/2006 In Event Log by andy

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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08/06/2006 In Experiments / Ideas, Taido/Blog by andy

As I mentioned in my top 11 article, one of my favorite aspects of my Taido experience has been the opportunity to participate as a member of an international community. There are people all over the world that share my passion for Taido, and I’ve really enjoyed meeting so many of them. There are plenty of others whom I have not yet had a chance to meet, but I hope to get around to it.

It’s one of my goals for the next couple of years is to visit every country where people are practicing Taido. My reason for wanting to do this is to learn more about how Taido is practiced and what kind of people practice it. The more I can learn about the people who do Taido and the practices in which they engage, the better I can understand what Taido actually is and, more importantly, where it’s going. It’ll give me a chance to influence this evolution as well.

As I mentioned in my top 11 article, one of my favorite aspects of my Taido experience has been the opportunity to participate as a member of an international community. There are people all over the world that share my passion for Taido, and I’ve really enjoyed meeting so many of them. There are plenty of others whom I have not yet had a chance to meet, but I hope to get around to it.

It’s one of my goals for the next couple of years is to visit every country where people are practicing Taido. My reason for wanting to do this is to learn more about how Taido is practiced and what kind of people practice it. The more I can learn about the people who do Taido and the practices in which they engage, the better I can understand what Taido actually is and, more importantly, where it’s going. It’ll give me a chance to influence this evolution as well.

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27/06/2006 In Experiments / Ideas by andy

Less Talk, More Rock is the name of one of my favorite Propagandhi albums. If you don’t know Propagandhi, they are a fantastic, political punk band that makes great songs that make great sense. I learned of their existence form Joshua Gargus, a former Tech Taido student and all-around cool cat. The reason I bring this all up is because I think the martial arts world generally needs to do less talking and more rocking.

Of course, here I am, writing about not talking too much. Yes, that’s ironic, isn’t it? (and let’s go on and get one thing clear, while we’re at it - I can out-irony just about anyone you know. I was fluent in sarcasm before I could ride a bike. But I’ve changed my tone recently to a more earnest approach. For an excellent discussion of why Irony is a Dead Scene, check out this interview with brilliant writer David Foster Wallace [whose Infinite Jest is one of my five favorite books ever].)

Less Talk, More Rock is the name of one of my favorite Propagandhi albums. If you don’t know Propagandhi, they are a fantastic, political punk band that makes great songs that make great sense. I learned of their existence form Joshua Gargus, a former Tech Taido student and all-around cool cat. The reason I bring this all up is because I think the martial arts world generally needs to do less talking and more rocking.

Of course, here I am, writing about not talking too much. Yes, that’s ironic, isn’t it? (and let’s go on and get one thing clear, while we’re at it - I can out-irony just about anyone you know. I was fluent in sarcasm before I could ride a bike. But I’ve changed my tone recently to a more earnest approach. For an excellent discussion of why Irony is a Dead Scene, check out this interview with brilliant writer David Foster Wallace [whose Infinite Jest is one of my five favorite books ever].)

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19/07/2006 In Event Log by andy

The annual Tama Taikai is a regional tournament held in Higashi-Kurume. Participants include much of West Tokyo and parts of Saitama, Kanagawa, and Yamanashi Prefectures. It’s one of the larger “local” events, and considered kind of a warm-up for more more serious events at the end of summer which determine the teams for the four national events held each fall. This year, the Tama took place on 25 June - one day after my birthday.

This was my second year representing the Yokohama dojo at the Tama Taikai, and I was determined to do better than I did my first time around.

The annual Tama Taikai is a regional tournament held in Higashi-Kurume. Participants include much of West Tokyo and parts of Saitama, Kanagawa, and Yamanashi Prefectures. It’s one of the larger “local” events, and considered kind of a warm-up for more more serious events at the end of summer which determine the teams for the four national events held each fall. This year, the Tama took place on 25 June - one day after my birthday.

This was my second year representing the Yokohama dojo at the Tama Taikai, and I was determined to do better than I did my first time around.

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25/07/2006 In Event Log by andy

August 2006

This past weekend, I participated in the first ever Tokaido Regional Meet, and I had a great time (but I’m almost always having a great time). This tournament very much resembled the 2nd Kanagawa Meet I wrote about in February in a number of ways. First, it was held in the same location - the Tokai University Budokan. Second, the competitors, judges, staff, and spectators looked suspiciously similar. In fact, it was almost the same competition all over again.

The Back-Story

To explain how this happens, I should mention a few things to which I alluded in my report on the Kanagawa meet. Specifically, it comes down to the fact that Honshu (the largest island in Japan, and coincidentally the one on which all but a handful of Taido clubs are located) is small and mountainous. The result of Honshu’s geography is that there are several distinct regions (each with its own subculture) in close proximity. Tohoku, Kanto, Kansai, etc each have their own Japanese dialects and ways of thinking. However, they are all crammed together on a piece of land about the size of California.

August 2006

This past weekend, I participated in the first ever Tokaido Regional Meet, and I had a great time (but I’m almost always having a great time). This tournament very much resembled the 2nd Kanagawa Meet I wrote about in February in a number of ways. First, it was held in the same location - the Tokai University Budokan. Second, the competitors, judges, staff, and spectators looked suspiciously similar. In fact, it was almost the same competition all over again.

The Back-Story

To explain how this happens, I should mention a few things to which I alluded in my report on the Kanagawa meet. Specifically, it comes down to the fact that Honshu (the largest island in Japan, and coincidentally the one on which all but a handful of Taido clubs are located) is small and mountainous. The result of Honshu’s geography is that there are several distinct regions (each with its own subculture) in close proximity. Tohoku, Kanto, Kansai, etc each have their own Japanese dialects and ways of thinking. However, they are all crammed together on a piece of land about the size of California.

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10/08/2006 In Experiments / Ideas by andy

You never forget how to ride a bike - maybe I’m just extraordinarily stupid, but I’ve proven that one wrong.

I was spending the weekend with a girlfriend in a small Japanese village and had volunteered to make a conbini (a wonderful little Jap-English corruption of “convenience store”) run for some drinks. Since it was a nice day, I figured that, rather than drive the two kilometers to the 7/11, I would just borrow my girlfriend’s bike and enjoy some fresh air. Things were going well for a few minutes. Then, as I was coming down the hill toward the store I realized that I couldn’t remember how to stop. “Oh, shit!”

You never forget how to ride a bike - maybe I’m just extraordinarily stupid, but I’ve proven that one wrong.

I was spending the weekend with a girlfriend in a small Japanese village and had volunteered to make a conbini (a wonderful little Jap-English corruption of “convenience store”) run for some drinks. Since it was a nice day, I figured that, rather than drive the two kilometers to the 7/11, I would just borrow my girlfriend’s bike and enjoy some fresh air. Things were going well for a few minutes. Then, as I was coming down the hill toward the store I realized that I couldn’t remember how to stop. “Oh, shit!”

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15/11/2006 In Miscellany by andy

With Thanksgiving next week, the winter holiday season is fast upon us. Every year around this time, I’m forced to wrestle with what I feel is a very stressful and difficult aspect of social membership in America - the giving of gifts.

I am terrible at gift-giving, and if I thought I could get away with it, I would boycott the holidays wholesale. The sad reality is that escaping the holidays is near-impossible; even in years when I’ve done my best to let friends and family know that I wasn’t planning to participate in the consumption frenzy, somebody always manages not to get the memo, and I’m stuck feeling guilty. The alternative, embracing the madness in the spirit of goodwill, just serves to remind me that I have absolutely no skill at choosing quality gifts for even my closest friends.

With Thanksgiving next week, the winter holiday season is fast upon us. Every year around this time, I’m forced to wrestle with what I feel is a very stressful and difficult aspect of social membership in America - the giving of gifts.

I am terrible at gift-giving, and if I thought I could get away with it, I would boycott the holidays wholesale. The sad reality is that escaping the holidays is near-impossible; even in years when I’ve done my best to let friends and family know that I wasn’t planning to participate in the consumption frenzy, somebody always manages not to get the memo, and I’m stuck feeling guilty. The alternative, embracing the madness in the spirit of goodwill, just serves to remind me that I have absolutely no skill at choosing quality gifts for even my closest friends.

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