Hello From Eric and Alec
Alec got slammed with a pretty involved homework assignment, and that's kept us both out of the Dojo this week. The assignment was to create an accurate scale model of a castle, complete with all walls, towers, buildings, and a mote. (Moat? Mote?....whatever....) He actually designed and drew up the whole project by himself. But, to get it done in the incredibly small amount of time they had to work on it, I helped him by cutting out the cardboard pieces. If you've never cut up 1/8" thick architects modeling cardboard with a Dremel Tool, all I can say is that it smells horrible and gets you covered with dust and dirt. In any case, I think he did a great job, and I'm very proud of him. A picture is attached with a VCR tape for size reference. (Does everyone remember VCR tapes, or am I dating myself here?)
I hope to see you all Saturday morning!
Eric (and Alec and Sandra and Jessica)
Sensei, Danny, Doug K., Andre, and Doug C. on the Web
In the ASU website, there is a link to a list of individuals who were recently promoted this past year (click on title above). Among them are our very own Sensei (yondan) as well as Danny, Doug K., Doug C., and yours truly (all shodan). And last week, Sensei presented to us our shodan certificates that came from Hombu Dojo in Japan (although Danny's certificate has yet to surface). Congratulations to Sensei on his promotion and congrats to my fellow comrades.
On a personal note, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone I have trained with on the mat past and present. I very much appreciate the support and encouragement, the honest effort and positive energy in our practice together, and the exchange of ideas through taking ukemi from each other. Training with you has helped reveal and improve the gaps of my technique. I also want to give a special thanks to my sempai - Karen ("Zuihan"/Sempai), Doug ("Taisho"), Danny, and the late Ken "Phabava" Bender - for their guidance. And of course, many thanks to Sensei, who teaches the art of Aikido in its purest and authentic form.
I have always wanted to do martial arts since I was a little kid but somehow was not able to get around to it until just five years ago. Furthermore, I could not have imagined myself to be a black belt in anything, especially since I am certainly not the athletic type, I am prone to injury, and I had a history of asthma as a child. So this achievement is a dream come true for me.
Best of luck to those who are preparing for their upcoming tests later this month. To everyone in the dojo, I look forward in our continuing endeavor to discover the true essence of Budo. Domo arigato gozaimashita. Gassho.
-Andre ("Muketsu")
On a personal note, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone I have trained with on the mat past and present. I very much appreciate the support and encouragement, the honest effort and positive energy in our practice together, and the exchange of ideas through taking ukemi from each other. Training with you has helped reveal and improve the gaps of my technique. I also want to give a special thanks to my sempai - Karen ("Zuihan"/Sempai), Doug ("Taisho"), Danny, and the late Ken "Phabava" Bender - for their guidance. And of course, many thanks to Sensei, who teaches the art of Aikido in its purest and authentic form.
I have always wanted to do martial arts since I was a little kid but somehow was not able to get around to it until just five years ago. Furthermore, I could not have imagined myself to be a black belt in anything, especially since I am certainly not the athletic type, I am prone to injury, and I had a history of asthma as a child. So this achievement is a dream come true for me.
Best of luck to those who are preparing for their upcoming tests later this month. To everyone in the dojo, I look forward in our continuing endeavor to discover the true essence of Budo. Domo arigato gozaimashita. Gassho.
-Andre ("Muketsu")
Old stuff from last year
This is old stuff, and not nearly as interesting as Muketsu's Excellent Adventure to California, but I keep meaning to post it. It is the website for the Japanese Club from Owens that visited the dojo in November of last year. Photos of the group, and misc. shots of us eating and drinking...seems to be a pattern here.
There are also links to other websites concerning Japanese if you are so inclined.
http://www.elorhe.com/occjc/
There are also links to other websites concerning Japanese if you are so inclined.
http://www.elorhe.com/occjc/