Following: The Rigors of Travel

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

The Rigors of Travel

I think we are about half way through our trip. We are to the point that I am no longer sure of the date or day of the week until I turn on my computer. We arrived in Berkeley yesterday (Tuesday, Ocober 20) returning to one of our favorite Airbnb places ever. We looked through the guest book and we were last here exactly 2 years ago to the day. Following Jan Sensei keeps those dates consistent! It was in 2013 that Evie first met Jan Nevelius Shihan at the dojo of the amazing Kayla Feder Sensei. We will be returning there tonight, the cycle continues.

Last night we were in San Francisco at another dojo, Evie will write about that. I want to write about the not pretty side of the places we've been.

In Seattle, in Portland and now in San Fransisco I am struck by how many people here are homeless and living on the streets. Many clearly suffer from mental illness, some are just unable to consistently make ends meet. The entire Mission District smells like urine, even outside the swanky law firms and luxury apartments. We have a population of people who are homeless in Madison too. I am constantly frustrated by a system that punishes poverty and thinks the worst of people first. When we went to Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland we were in the epicenter of the social services organization. Block after block of buildings called "hospitality centers" or "shelters" or "soup kitchens;" block after block of huddled groups of people who have not been able to wash or organize what few possessions they have for days.

I feel despair and guilt and an overwhelming urge to talk to these folks. What is their story? Has anyone said "hello" or seen them lately? I give money, we buy food or sometimes just say "good morning." That seems so inadequate. We don't have endless resources, but we do have food to eat and a way to shelter ourselves. How much should we do/give/ask/demand?

In Seattle, staring in 2016, fines will be issued to households that are found to have food waste in with their garbage. Composting and extensive recycling are mandatory. And the streets in Seattle and San Fransisco are filthy with litter and debris. Housing costs in Berkeley have risen so much in the past 5 years that people can no longer afford to move here. Families here start looking at entrance requirements for exclusive high schools when their babies are still in utero.

These things all seem intertwined. California is in year 4 of a major drought. Rice fields were not planted this year, the Sierras have actually risen in height and streams have dried up. Yet in Orange County people still have green lawns in an arid climate and eat almonds by the handful.

In San Fransisco there are people who have not been able to clean themselves in weeks and who beg for every morsel of food they eat.

The destruction of environment and humanity go hand in hand.

We see this when we travel too.

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Aikido Glossary

These are the most common terms you'll see here. We've also prepared a more detailed glossary (see below).

Dojo: “The place of the way”. The training hall where we practice our art. In the US, many dojo are decorated with a Japanese aesthetic, but some are in racquetball courts or gyms. In the end, the dojo is wherever the people are who show up to practice.

Gi: Training uniform consisting of jacket and pants (normally plain white for aikido) and an obi, or belt. In our federation, belts are either white or black, but in many federations, there are colored belts, most commonly blue and brown, but sometimes there are more gradations. Some aikido practitioners also wear a hakama.

Hakama: The pleated pants (that look like a skirt) worn by some aikido practitioners. In some organizations, it is (or can be) worn by students of any rank. In others, it is reserved for black belts, and in still others, there are different rules for men and women (which are derived from some interpretation of Japanese ideas of modesty). It has no real practical purpose, but serves as a sort of historical link to samurai tradition.

Hanmi: “Half body.” We use it to mean an aikido stance which is sort of triangular. Front foot faces the partner, back foot points out at about a 45 degree angle. It provides a great balance of agility and stability, while offering only half the body as a target for attack.

Musubi: “Connection” or “joining”, although the word is also used to mean “knot”. A key principle of aikido because it helps avoid confrontation and collision, which lead to destruction.

Nage: The person “doing” the technique, generally the person being attacked in some way.

Seiza: Formal sitting posture, kneeling with a straight back. Tough on the knees if you are not used to it.

Shomen: The focal point of the dojo, the proper direction to face. Most aikido dojo have some sort of shrine to the founder on the shomen. Shomen is also shorthand for Shomen uchi, which is an overhead strike to the forehead with an open hand, like a classic karate chop. It's a stylized attack when performed with an empty hand, but would be devastatingly effective with a weapon.

Uke: The person taking ukemi. A good uke is more precious than gold, because he or she will help you learn better aikido not by teaching, but by creating the conditions that allow you to discover how to make sense of Sensei's teaching.

Ukemi: “Receiving” is the closest translation from Japanese. When someone performs an aikido technique on you, your are taking ukemi. It encompasses a lot of stuff, including the punches, grabs, and kicks that we use to simulate attack, as well as the falling and rolling we use to keep ourselves safe.
On a deeper level, it refers to the act of connecting with and following your partner. Great ukemi keeps you safe, allows you to be alert for opportunities to reverse a technique, and helps your partner learn better.