Kung Hoy Fat Choy! Welcome to the Chinese New Year (well, actually on the 29th). This year is the Year of the Dog, According to our Chinese Astrology pages, "Dependable, protectors of themselves and others, fight for a good cause, worry a great deal, pessimist, anxiety and emotional, loyal, trustworthy, intelligent, alert, admirable, prosperous, respectable, introvert, Anger rises without warning, critical, cynical, stubborn, moralise" Sound familiar? it might do if you were born in 1934/46/58/70/82 or 1994... In an extradordinary turn of events, Gary has reunited with his old tai chi master Ray Wood (and mine for a while, too), and the subject of Tokushima Budo (and what became of it) and Kyushindo was raised. We do in fact get a number of correspondences from people asking after these two subjects, so this month Gary has concentrated on this. I think you will find it very interesting (as I did).

Mark
webmaster taichido.com, taichidoshop.com, editor Taichido Newsletter

Many years ago I 'invented' a couple of moves. I called them the Kyushindo Shimmy and the Tokushima Shove.
I had begun teaching Tai Chi and I did this at first for free; no charge. Because of a lack of space I did my teaching on an individual basis and before too long I was busy all day all week, including weekends. It is not that I was busy or with people all day but more often than not I would meet for an hour or so with one person and then have to wait in another couple of hours for the next ... and so on and so on until the sun went down. Notwithstanding this, people (not all, but the majority nonetheless) were unreliable in attendance and even if or when they did turn up some seemed to expect some kind of counselling session - as opposed to a Tai Chi lesson!

Does the hairdresser really need to know where everybody goes on holiday?
I had a friend who had to give up on being a masseur because he could not take anymore of hearing about the stresses of other peoples jobs and complexities of their personal life. I got a lot of that sort of thing when I taught tai chi for nothing. What I learnt was that I got busy (and popular) but I didn't teach or do much tai chi. I developed the "Kyushindo Shimmy" to deal with that situation. I would try to simply not be there. Metaphorically, I would not automatically 'buy into' the other person's delusion. Sooner or later they gave up and went away. But if they didn't? Then is the time for the "Tokushima Shove". This metaphorically equals "this is your reality wake up call!" I am being flippant, yes I know that but hey, at the end of the day have I not helped in some small way to keep traditions (or at least words) alive?

I have been doing or teaching tai chi for 12 years now. That's once through each of the twelve symbolic animals or characters of the Chinese Zodiac. We begin all over again this Sunday 29th - the year of the dog.

Meandering ... with in mind those ... ... ...
In only last month's newsletter I advised you of the publication of "Meandering Through the Void". There are now two separate presentations of this piece online. One is @  the taichido website  and another 'illustrated version' is @ wheelswithinwheels.net. Please click here or on the title highlighted above to view my presentation @ wheelswithinwheels.net. Personally I don't mind which one you choose and perhaps indeed if only because it has more in the way of general tai chi to offer, maybe taichido is the better place to go anyway - especially if you like larger text and easy onscreen navigation. But if you happen to prefer your page to have colorful graphics and be inclined lead you down the garden path rather than to any particular conclusion, then please visit wheels.net and check out the considerable updates recently made. If you go to the presentation at both sites you may notice some subtle differences in the text detail!

The piece "Meandering Through the Void" @ wheels.net has a sling line that says: [I wrote]
"With in mind those who may, like me, need to rely upon self-discipline to be the great teacher for longer than otherwise prefer." The more personable and personal presentation @ wheels.net includes that sentence. It is deleted from its presentation @ taichido.com. This 'edit in' inclusion alludes to my Tai Chi teacher, Ray Wood, who, about 5 years ago rather mysteriously just went home ... .. ... and didn't come back. Thus further on in the Preamble and included in both presentations I say: "So we stand now alone, independent and self-sufficient; yet we are still inspired by Ray to develop taichido.com as a free online resource and we try to be - a virtual teacher - or a teacher between teachers". Fundamentally, I wrote it with Ray in mind - and dedicate it to those who "like me" have to do without a teacher for longer than might be desired. In turn I dedicate my ugly efforts to taichido.com.

And then, Karma, Auspicious Times or What!? Between newsletters just two weeks ago I got an email from a good friend of Ray advising me that he was in hospital and was inviting me to contact him. I visited him with my partner Mary and we spoke at length. We have been back to see him again once since and as soon as I have finished writing this we are off to see him again.

Over the last five years (those in which I have not spoken to Ray) I have been asked many times, "What happened to Tokushima Budo?" Until now I have been unable to answer that question. Since meeting again with Ray I can, and the answer is ... they have all (at least all of those that put in the hard work to actually keep it running) sadly died. So first perhaps an explanation as to who or what Tokushima Budo is or was would be in order.

Tokushima is a place in Japan. A person called Kenshuro Abbey was born there. Kenshiro Abbey was Morihei Ueshiba Sensei's senior student. Kenshiro Abbey was George Mayo's teacher and George Mayo was Ray's teacher. For more information, please see a number of articles on: Kyushindo Budo @ the taichido website 

Ueshiba is legendary - an undisputed and real Martial Art Superstar. Morihei Ueshiba was the creator of Aikido. Aikido was at this time still only practiced secretly and Ueshiba Sensei only selected special students. Abbe was to study for ten years under Morihei Ueshiba and he was the greatest personal influence on Kenshiro's life in Budo. Kenshiro Abbe was born 15th. December 1915 in the Tokushima Province of Japan. He was the fourth son of Mrs. Koto Abbe and father Toshizo. See Biography of Kenshiro Abbey @ the taichido website Upon his arrival in London in 1955, Abbe launched his own Theory of Kyushindo and this became well known in the Budo field, which at that time consisted of Judo alone. Abbe was the master who introduced Kendo, Aikido, Karate, Kyodo, Jukendo, Iaido, Yarido and Naginatado to Europe.

Abbey Sensei's eccentric behaviour did not endear him to too many people in London and he was often at loggerheads with Budo Authorities. Compared to Ueshiba Kenshiro Abbey's legacy is far more modest, but his status and reputation commands similar respect - if only for the way that he insisted on doing what he did with such non-ado. Legendary Non Ado! So much so that no one really knows what he did! He was simply eccentric, an oddball. Once, in London, he was arrested for stealing a policeman's horse! He (Sensei Abbey) hated 'organization' and clubs ... and bottom line, any rules or convention. Yet his fighting system was based upon a pragmatic understanding of the rules of physics and "Universal Laws" such as "what goes up must come down". This rational also appears in the Tao Teh Ching as the expression: "To bring a thing down one must before raise it up".

If I were to write a book on Taoism the title would have to have the sling line: "Sun Comes Up, Sun Goes Down". It gets more complicated or philosophical, least paradoxical and/or scientific, least of all astronomic ... when one adds "moon comes up, moon goes down". When you think about it - it gets more complicated. When you don't ... it doesn't!

It all happens all the same - and if the physics or the math's are right - it happens with ease and grace and even sometimes - unnoticed. Sun Comes Up, Sun Goes Down.

Tokushima Budo obituary: Between 2000-06. George Mayo, Rays Teacher died in France. Ray sadly did not find out until after the event.
'Kansho' Alfred Bates, 'Grandfather' of Tokushima Budo Europe. Sensei Reese (Wales, UK) Tokushima Budo. Sensei Wagner (Belgium).

In the film a fit and handsome young samurai meets an older but slightly inept and clumsy samurai. When they first meet the old samurai is sleeping. The young samurai nudges him awake and asks "Of what school are you?" The old man, half asleep says "Jodo Shin Shu". Jodo Shinshu is a form of Religious Buddhism. This was the wrong answer! The old man was supposed to say who his master was and that his specialty was this that or the other; but in his heart of hearts, when he was half asleep and when he was telling the truth he just had to say "Jodo Shinshu" or "the true pure land" (also known as "the land of bliss"). In this instance the SHIN refers to the 'true' and the 'pure' - and it relates those two to each other with the suggestion that these two can only exist together in a true and pure "heart". So really in this instance "Shin" means 'true and pure heart'.

At our last hospital visit with Ray he happened to say that it has taken him 40 years to understand the word "KyShinDo". I then informed him that since I last saw him (5 years ago) I had become a follower of the Jodo Shinshu tradition (a form of Japanese Buddhism; simply "Shin" for short i.e. Shin Buddhist) - and was then able to go on to explain (as above) the connection between that word/concept (JodoShinShu and the word KyuShinDo. Ray then suddenly fixed a gaze at my partner Mary and asked, "O.K. then, what is Shin!?". She smiled, shrugged her shoulders and said "Shin is Shin." Exactly the right answer!

We have spoken about many things with Ray during our two bedside visits to date - and we shall talk some more today. We have a lot to talk about - including the future. His future, my future and the future of Tokushima Budo and Kyushindo. As far as the latter is concerned I am going to do my best to make sure that this thought, concept or word lives on for as long as I do. I don't know how long this will be so I have decided that I will dedicate the next 12 years to the idea, concept or word Kyushindo; just I dedicated the last 12 to the idea that became known as taichido.com and expressed in the headline slogan for wheels.net as: "A place set aside for training and practice in the ways of generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, meditation and wisdom". That last statement also has a sling line - hitherto not published anywhere. It is: "Some things take longer than a lifetime".

My contribution to this newsletter ends now and I 'go live'. Within the hour my partner and I will be with Ray. He is for now actually recovering from surgery and looks just fine, fully dressed and 'up' ... but unable to go very far for a few days for fear of going out of the range of some monitor/transmitter gismo they have him hook up to. He looks fine. In fact I would still describe his appearance as 'unremarkable' and ordinary looking. He appears to be just doing what he needs to do - with non ado.

GR 26.01.06

Attendant Article: APPLIED KYUSHINDO, to be added to the Taichido website in the forthcoming week or so. 

THE YEAR OF THE DOG BEGINS 29th JAN 06
Regular references:
Newsletter Back Issues
[http://www.soton.ac.uk/%7Emaa1/chi/others/backissues.htm]
NetGuide
[http://www.soton.ac.uk/~maa1/chi/menunetguide.ht]
interactive learning media packages
[http://www.wheelswithinwheels.net/taichidoshop/taichidoshop.htm]