Thanksgiving

So here we are giving thanks again.

I give thanks for my father who has been a ever glowing beacon of light in my life. He has continued to show me that a person with vision, passion and determination cannot be stopped. He traveled to Europe when he was 17, straight out of the middle of Kansas in 1950...we went on to escort JFK when he arrived on his trip to Italy. (picture to prove it). Imagine...growing up a Kansas farm kid and then POOF-- into Italy for a 4 year college/theology experience. I would equate that to a alien world. One that continues to elude many of us. How many of us actually take the risk to upheave ourselves at 17 and transplant ourselves into a world we have never seen.

My wife, my lover. I first saw her when I turned the corner in college. I looked down the hallway...and way, way down there...long, long blond hair against a black leather trench coat......GAWWWWWWW...are you kidding me... I thought I need to make a move, one that isn't chessy pick up line, she was a freshman, I've never seen HER before. Trust me, long hair...I woudl remember her.... I have to say something but she HAS to remember who I am....as I tracked her down...in my lust. I caught up to her, tapped her on the shoulder and said....

"Im going to steal your trenchcoat".... then I walked away.

Ya...she will remember me.

15 years later....we share two lovely children, a happy life and devotion of love.

My children, how thankful can one person become? I cannot imagine life without my two daughters, they are literally 1/2 of me....people say children change you and its true they do. Something changes when you see your eyes or your smile in their face. My daughters have lightened my heart and eased the burden in my life. Children are magic. Pure and simple they are the continuation of life and the progression of humanity.

Mostly I am thankful for the experience of life.

Not many souls get the chance to experience life, and to wonder about the 10 dimensions of the universe is truly amazing.

Contrast

I had the opportunity to participate in a Gogo Geiko (open practice) with another Dojo. There were a lot of people from various states and various dojos. Fighting people you have never met really puts a new spin on your Kendo. Brian has said many times that you learn alot about your Kendo from other people...and you learn the most from those you have never met. The more I practice Kendo the more I can see this is true.

We fight the same people over and over in the same dojo; with that we find ourselves knowing each others moves, speed and we can predict what they are going to do next. When you fight someone you have never met-- it truly is a test of your Kendo.

You both start from zero, not knowing anything about their Kendo, their speed and what they have planned. In the Godo Geiko yesterday I noticed that the school that was hosting had a bad habit, they stepped in but did not launch once they were in striking range this has left them open to a lot of attacks, if they don't strike, they have to stop their body movement. Once it stops they have lost their ability to move quickly as their center of gravity has changed.

I had the opportunity to fight 3 matches and won two of three. The third match as squeezed in before we had to leave, so it wasn't the best match I had. But my opponent surely won--two men strikes. Fun match. The practice and matches showed me that our school has a raised passion, a lot of spirit. We fight with quicker moves relying on our kamae more, keep our center and strike.

Seeing the contrast of styles, the methods and behaviors they display in their Kendo compared to our dojo, I really get a sense that I am learning higher level techniques at a much faster rate than people within the same bracket. Not to brag...but our Sensei Rocks. He has trained a two-time world champion. In moments like the Godo Geiko, I often see how fortunate I am to have such a wonderful teacher and instruction.

All United States Kendo Federation Kendo Championships 2008

wow, Unless you determine to blog everyday of your life...time passes.
Well its july.

June didn't exist.

July brought some great things. I participated in my first Kendo Championship.

It was a teaching experience. Kendo brings many things to light.

During my first match in the Championships I remember thinking to myself...
"oh god this kid is quick"...but then my training kicked in and the two of the diseases of Kendo arrived in my brain.
Doubt and Fear. ?Could this kid really beat me?!....Then he rushed in in and he kiai'd at me.....

at that moment I realized he was just a little 18 year old...I was massive..36...230lbs... damn it...there is no way this kid is going to beat me...his kiai is weak, it gave him away, I held my center...scored a point. He did not defeat me.

(typing with a baby in one hand, is difficult to say the least. It really makes you think where the keys are on the keyboard.

ps...baby/kid laughs make the world go round .. so keep tickling!

Kendo (the Way of the Sword)

I shared a wonderful time with the guest sensei from Japan and my Kendo Club last night on a goodbye BBQ for the visiting sensei that leave tomorrow for Japan. Iwai Sensei turned from a strict sensei into a loving grandfather who was rocking Leela and singing her softly to sleep. I thought how wonderful that was. We tend to view people by our experience with them. Iwai sensei let me see him as a grandfather....a kind gentle man. When my only other experience was a sensei that was pounding the oblivion out of me.

Here was my little girl, being held by a very high ranked, well respected sensei in Japan. It is possible she will never meet him again, or it may be many many years until his return to the US. But here he was, rocking and singing my little one to sleep as any grandfather would do for their grandchildren. I felt truly blessed, and it was a great honor in just that simple act.

I have been reflecting a lot on my Kendo practice. I have throughly enjoyed practicing Kendo. My fellow classmates and teachers are very solid, down to earth, honest people. I have been surrounded by a lot of false personalities in my life. It is a comfort to have people that you can learn from and know as a person. I think practicing Kendo with them has led to inroads a normal interaction can never achieve.

The new one

Leela Sakari
The same day I won the Ito Cup, my little girl Leela turned two months old. She is a wonderfully cute little pumpkin.
She is much chubbier than Tehya was as a baby. Her cheeks have really filled out and she is starting to get big puggy rolls
on her.

Sleep.....what.....what's that. Enough Said.
But that is a small sacrifice. Children bring so much joy into your life. It really is a blessing.
Tehya is happy with her little sister and is hopefully going to be OK with sharing toys in the future years.

Tehya is smart...she as mastered her ABCs by reading and the song and she just turned two. Her vocabulary is improving
and her speech is starting to show signs of advancing sentence structures...
No longer just "milk", It has turned into " Tehya can have Milk please"

Ito Cup 2008

I participated in my first "official" Kendo Tournament. Our Dojo held the first Ito Cup yesterday.
We had four judges from Japan, who held two 6.dan and two 7.dan levels.

It was quite an honor to have these sensei at our dojo, many of which learned from Ito Sensei our
dojo's founder. His Son came out to visit and we were honored by his comments that Ito Sensei would
have been proud of our spirit and fight. I am happy that we were able to bring Ishikawa Sensei the cup the first year.
I think our Dojo made an excellent impression on all of the judges, his friends.

I may not know a lot about Japanese culture, but I do know there was a lot of honor on the line for Ishikawa Sensei, his dojo, his students, his tournament, his guests....it was a good thing to win.

The children had an individual tournament which they did wonderfully. Our kids took, First, Second and Third out of a field of 10. Little Yuka Saito will be freight train when she grows up. She was the smallest kid in the tournament and she won first place. Her Spirit and Ki won everyone's hearts. The entire crowd was clapping for her....and as the day progressed she became a crowd favorite. Everyone was very impressed with her skills for being so young.

Our team did very well, we won First Place. I lost the first round in the semifinal, so we started down 2 points. Ishibashi was able to tie the match by scoring two point to zero....and then it all came down to a match between Kajitani Sensei and Cooper Sensei....thankfully Cooper Sensei was able to keep us in the tournament. That was a wonderful match, the best of the tournament. Kajitani Sensei and Cooper Sensei were a wonderful matchup that everyone was watching with great intensity.

In the Final round I was able to heal my performance, and I led strong with 2 points right away. This gave us some breathing room, and Ishibashi sealed the deal with a single point, it was at this point that we could "somewhat" relax.

Overall, it was fantastic. I didn't care if I won or lost. Its only a game. Too often in Kendo you stress out...get nervous and tighten up. I had to tell myself over and over that it was only for fun. I think this really helped me.

I cannot wait for Las Vegas this July and the National Kendo Tournament. I have entered the individuals I hopefully will progress beyond the first round robin match up.

At the end of the evening we had a wonderful meal at Domo. The best Japanese restaurant EVER. Homma Sensei puts out a spread....everything you can imagine. Very generous. His restaurant is simply amazing the decor and japanese garden are truly inspiring. After a full day of Kendo, it was fun talking with everyone, getting to know the faces behind the masks.

Sunshine girl turns two.

Sunshine girl is Rebekah's nickname. When we first met it always seemed that she had an inner light that was shining. As we continued to date and get to know each other we often went out hiking along the Mississippi River. We would take a lot of photographs as we went along. Only after we got our film back from the developer....(wow, now theres a "back in my day statement") — we often found the photos of Rebekah contained a flare. Sometimes it was generated by the sun as a backlight, or by the instant passing of a car in the background, or from a building's window....something caused a flare in her photos. So the nickname of Sunshine Girl began to stick.

Now she has passed this trait onto our daughter. Tehya has numerous photos which spark to life, as if she is walking out of a field of light. Here is the latest photo....Tehya moved at the last second toward the camera.

Did I mention that she is as much of a camera-ham as her mother......I need my friend Amy to look for the Camera Ham DNA in the human genome....it was passed down...I wonder if its a recessive or dominant gene?

Tehya turns two this weekend.....wow, that has gone fast. I have fallen in love with becoming a father. Tehya is just a true sweetheart of a girl. She smiles, laughs and is very well behaved. She is an extrovert, and a very social individual.

SonKyu Test

WAY back in October I had my SonKyu Test in Kendo. I passed 5/5 Judges so I did (i think) very well for my rank.
This is a video of my test, then the Keiko Portion of the test. In the Keiko I am on the right.