Before I go into more, let me do a bit of review, let’s take a ride on the “way back machine” to my beginning contact with the NorCal Renmei. There are basically three Dojo’s here in Nor Cal. By my first contact, I was told, if I could not commit to every practice session then he ( the sensei) did not want to be bothered because after 10 yrs (or whatever) of teaching he was tired of repeating himself to people who could not remember. Nice! Very impressive instructor, r... Read Full Story

It was said, “a Rose by any other name would still smell as sweet. ” The Tao says that for every yang there is a yin, it also applies to this statement and could be phrased “a Bull Dung by any other name would still stink” I am finding out there is a lot of BS that goes on with-in Kyudo organizations I have come across. Stuff that they say they are above. There are two factions basically in the states those that say Kyu-do is the way and those that say Kyu-jitsu is the... Read Full Story

I arrived just a bit behind the approx start time, due to a late start and some phone issues. Again Fong Sisuk was there, I guess he is making it a regular monthly stop now. Nice. When I arrived they were already working on the Wooden dummy training partner. Fong Sisuk was showing the difference between doing the application on the training dummy and doing it with a live person. Most of it had to do with “closing”, as in closing the arms or hands. How the skills are directly trans... Read Full Story

I have never been a big fan of Halloween. Teaching kids to go out an beg for candy. Too much sugar, bad for health and teeth, etc. The sicko with putting “stuff” in “treats’ to hurt or kill. The Vibe of evil, death etc. Yeah I need to lighten up. It is though just my opinion maybe something left over from a bad childhood memory…even LZ says Halloween is weird. Anyway… as I drive around the island, I notice that some people here are really into Halloween. I ... Read Full Story

One of the things we learn in Chan is not to place so much value on labels, names, not to get lost in them. eg: God, Allah, Jehovah, Buddha. Names are just a way of putting something in a box, in a sense of limiting something. The Tao Te Ching says, that “The Tao that can be named is not the True Tao”. As an Artist I tend to think more with one side of the brain, you know the left and right brain thing. I tend to see things at times more in a broader sense  and not analyze thing... Read Full Story

The storm had past several days ago, but there was still talk of it, some good, some not so good. In Temple Sunday, Rev Sensei spoke of the storm and how it cleared the air, it was good for life. He also remarked on how our spiritual life can be like a shower for our lives, washing away the negative energy like the storm washed away the smog and bad air. A spiritual life is needed to refresh our spirit, like the earth needs a cleaning storm to refresh the earth. I went to Kyudo practice Sund... Read Full Story

It was a magnificent storm a few days ago, I found out later it was a Typhoon born in Nihon. Fitting for a post on the merit of Bamboo. Bamboo has a lot of traits that we can admire. It is versatile, hard when needed, adapts to many environments, parts are eatable and is flexible. It is used to make homes, floors, furniture, shields, hats, ladders, musical instruments.  It can teach us some things on dealing with life and survival. It is perhaps my favorite plant at least one of Five. Havin... Read Full Story

I received a comment that I had won a listing in the top 1000 sailing blog review from the Daily Reviewer. How nice! Thanks, I think. Ok I do not quite get it. Top sailing blogs hmmm I guess. It was under my post about Boats, Planes , Bikes and Rain. It is kind of weird, but I humbly accept the award and thank those who voted me there. What is weird is , this is not my sailing blog. My sailing blog is Zen’s Sekai II- by sea. I have the same basic article there, it was reworked a littl... Read Full Story

It was a good afternoon for Kyudo practice. There is a certain peacefulness that comes from practice in the late afternoon out at RSD. Peace and coolness, because out on in V-town it can get pretty hot and more so in a warehouse.The whole Tanuki clan was there for today’s session. I remembered today to work on my breath and timing it with the draw. Perfect. It went as planned and fit nicely,  maybe a bit slow but it works for me fine. I can increase the tempo if needed, I was however p... Read Full Story

It is a beautiful day here on the Island. Sunny, a little overcast, but not too warm..yet. I went to Sunday morning service at the temple today. It was not a “special” service like last week, so the turn out was not large, pretty small in fact. Mostly an older crowd, Obaa-san and Ogii-san’s. I got a Yokoso from Rev. Sensei when I arrived and another introduction this time as another “Karate” Sensei (sigh, Kung fu please, my ego) . The sermon was short today whic... Read Full Story