The new year is welcomed in with the traditions of martial arts with Kagami Biraki at North Shore Aikikai. The day began with a brief presentation to the audience about what Kagami Biraki means in terms of the traditions of martial arts and the culture of Japan. The event was also an open house for the dojo and was a great opportunity for teh public to learn more about the practices and traditions of Aikido, things that I had always wondered about. The following is a close transcription of the presentation by Sensei Joel Posluns, 6th Dan, Shidoin.

Kagami Biraki literally means ‘mirror opening’, it is an authentic Japanese celebration in that is held in many traditional martial arts schools or dojos, usually on the second or third Saturday or Sunday of January for all students to attend. It is also an old samurai tradition dating back to the 15th century that was first adopted into modern martial arts in 1884 by Jigoro Kano, the founder of Judo, who adopted it as an opportunity for philosophical and spiritual reflection upon their activities. Since then other martial arts such as Karate, Aikido, Jujutsu have adopted the event as well. Kagami Biraki emphasizes renewal, re-dedication and spirit, values central to the practice of martial arts.

In Japan Kagami Biraki is still practiced by many families, as it marks the end of the new years holiday season which is by far the biggest celebration of the year. It is something that brings together Christmas, the family orientation of thanksgiving, mixed with the excitement of vacation and travel. It is a time when the whole nation goes on holiday and it is also a time for family to return to traditional roots, where prayers and offerings are made to Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. People dress in kimono, enjoy traditional food and games. It is also a time when fathers are free to relax with their family, eat, play games, and in modern times, watch TV.

In most traditional dojos, preparation for the new years season begins as in most households. Towards the end of the year dojos are cleaned, repairs made, mirrors shined, and everything made tidy. In japan, many dojos retain the tradition of a purification ceremony, salt is thrown throughout the dojo, and salt is a traditional symbol of purity, which is a virtue, and then it is brushed away with pine boughs. Decorations are then frequently placed around the dojo, which in traditional Japan held great symbolism while today they are merely seen as holiday decorations.

Among decorations traditionally used are stacked rice cakes, an orange with a green leaf, as well as pine boughs, as well as a Shinto offering of salt, water and rice, as well as a little sake.

The offerings are for the kami, the sprit of the dojo resides in a little house with a door in the middle of the shrine, called a kamidana. On special days, such as Kagami Biraki, the door of the house is opened and a special ceremony is performed to invoke the spirit that looks over the dojo.

The Aikido shrine is known as a kamiza, also sometimes referred to as tokunowa or shinza. The kagami mochi, the rounded cakes are significant objects to the event, shaped in the fashion of a metal mirror, and formed from a hard dough of pounded rice. They symbolize full and abundant good fortune. The breaking apart of the cakes is the mirror opening, for they crack as they dry out. Traditional Japanese fare for this time of year is also consumed. A sweet Azuki bean soup is served with the mochi cakes from the kamiza and eaten in the soup.

The kamiza is the spiritual center of the dojo, decorated with gifts and offerings to the spirit of the dojo. Pine boughs are placed around the dojo around doors and in small vases and on both sides of the kamidana, which is also the ceremonial center.

Today, however, the new years celebration of Kagami Biraki holds no religious significance. It does however continue the old samurai tradition of kicking off the new year, and it is also a time when participants engaged in a common endeavor, can rededicate their effort and discipline towards goals such as training.

The presentation began with short session of Zazen, or kneeling meditation, ringing of the bell, lighting of the incense, opening of the kamidana door, followed by our traditional bowing to the kamiza, including two sets of claps, and two bows to invoke the spirit of the kami to come out.

North Shore aikikai indeed has its spiritual connection to the traditions of Aikido. But the dojo also possesses a physical connection those traditions, for among the most important possessions in the dojo is a rice paper scroll, written by the son of o-sensei, founder of Aikido, Doshu Kisshomaru Ueshiba.

A student explained the meaning of the kanji symbols on the scroll.

Ai, harmony
ki, spirit power
do, the way.

Together it means ‘The way to harmonize power’. It is not a system of fighting, but a way to cooperate and communicate with other people.

In every Aikdio dojo is a picture of Morihei Ueshiba, o sensei, the originator of Aikido, who was posthumously made a national treasure in Japan. Ueshiba is honored in Aikido not only for creating it, but for his efforts throughout his life as a true and dedicated martial artist.

More info: http://www.aikidofaq.com/history/osensei.html

Shin Ken Kai is a MUSO JIKIDEN EISHIN RYU (MJER) Iaido (traditional Japanese swordsmanship) group with its home dojo in Vancouver, Canada. Shin Ken Kai took part in the Kagami Biraki celebration at North Shore Aikiaki on January 17, 2009.

Shintokukai Karate & Kobudo is one of only a few traditional Okinawan Karate schools in North America. As they share dojo space with North Shore Aikiaki, they took part in the Kagami Biraki New Years celebrations on January 17, 2009. The presentation was for weapons kata by Shintokukai students. The students delivered 3 tight weapons kata.
Osu!

Just goes to show you that pro wrestling can be a show worth seeing. Here we have mighty morphing power ranger that pwns the big guy. These spinning flying moves are typical in mexican wrestling. Its high on drama, acrobatics, and not for the faint of heart.

I have been working on a better diet to compliment my fitness regime. As I am striving to get away from refined sugars and grains, one of the things I have as breakfast is Quinoa, a grain from Peru with a delicious taste. Its rich and healthy with a high protein content, and a full set of amino-acids to provide a full protein source. Wikipeida has the lowdown on this foodstuff. Add it to your breakfast plan.

Prepare: 100 grams per serving. Use a rice-like ratio of 2 parts water to 1 part Quinoa. Bring to a boil and cook for another 15 minutes on low heat. Stir in chopped walnuts, banana, raisins, cinnamon. Serve into a bowl and top with Yogurt. Eat.

You can also do a savory version of Quinoa for later in the day, as in a pilaf or Yang Chow rice. I should try that one.

When it comes to exercise, the best place is in the gym. But that shouldn’t stop you from having a little home gym to slip in some exercises with your daily routine. So I have some exercise equipment at home that I have assembled using a few guiding principles.

1. Go cheap. Don’t spend a lot of money. You might in general need to spend more to get fit, but just spending a lot wont get you fit. Product marketers know that people think that they can get fit, however, if they do spend money on something, and then make it so you can tuck it under your bed. There is no real benefit from buying something that costs a lot of money and then tucking it under your bed – and make it a rule to never buy that kind of exercise equipment.
2. Keep it simple. You probably don’t have much more room available to exercise than you need to swing a cat around, so you need not get overly technical about your stuff. It need not be perfect if it is useful and you use it. There are plenty of things that wont crowd you out of your home, but again, don’t stick it under your bed. Considering your space is important. What good is a skipping rope if you don’t have room to use it.
3. Shop around. Use the venerable Craigslist, and go & buy what you need with cash in hand. Used sporting goods stores abound as well, so keeping the above guiding principles in mind, look at what they have to offer. And take your time with this stuff.
4. Use your creativity. Make your own exercise equipment. If you have ever had a session with a personal trainer, you will notice that they tend not to use overly complicated pieces of equipment. They use their experience and dip into a grab bag of ideas and tricks for a well designed workout. You can research exercise methods, tips, tricks and techniques on the web. You can assemble the pieces you need from places like hardware stores, marine equipment stores, as well as from mountain equipment and sewing stores.

I decided to create a piece of equipment that extends what I can do with my chin-up bar. A single straight chin-up can be very hard to do if you are heavy, out of condition, or just don’t have enough muscle mass. You wont get the benefit of an exercise if you cant do it. So I thought why not use some rope or strapping and some commonly available parts from some local hardware, marine, and camping stores, and make a cheat. The trick with all this of course, is to make something strong enough to support your weight, and that you can adjust to your dimensions. Hopefully you can do more than one exercise with it.

I call it my Upside-Down T-rope harness, (UDT). I am able to suspend my contraption off my chin-up bar, as a high point. One way or another, the UDT harness should look like an inverted “T”, with handles at the end. It should attach to a ceiling point. In my case, I am able to use a chin up bar.

With my UDT, my exercises become unstable so they help engage the core and control muscles. I am able to add exercises to my regime like unstable push-ups, low angle pull ups, high angle pull ups, lowered chin up, and probably other things I haven’t thought of yet. I started out with a simpler version, and have moved to a more stable version that I am still tweaking for my needs. Some changes were made in order to have a beefier result, that would allow me to use metal parts strong enough to support my weight and then some.

The following is a recipe, please modify to suit your own needs.

Down line:
Samson braid rope, 5/8, 8 feet – good quality rope
1 large harness ring
1 galvanized thimble, 5/8″ (marine style eyelet for rope.)
No. 2 whipping twine (marine store)
1 carbiner, large, galvanized, (optional)

Assemble the thimble and whipping to one end. The cross webbing will go through the eyelet thimble. Using a thimble ensures no chafing on the rope. Pass the rope through the harness ring, over your ceiling mount or your chin-up bar, and back through the harness ring. The rope goes through the harness ring with a half twist, and enables length adjustment. When using the UDT you lock off the length of the downline with a half knot. When attaching the thimble, use the whipping twine and a large needle. Use black electrical tape to temporarily fasten the rope to the thimble. Possibly use a hose clamp to squeeze the thimble ends close together before you begin stitching. The more stitching and whipping you do, the stronger it is.

Cross line:
2 metal clasps for 1″ webbing
2 plastic or metal buckles for adjusting length of webbing
1″ webbing, 9 feet (more than you need).

Assemble the line with clasps at each end. The buckle is threaded through. I have only sewn one end so that I can adjust it more and get the length right. See photo.

The handles
1″ webbing, * 2 * 19″ optional, so you can create a foot stirrup.
1″ webbing, 2 * 26″
2 D-rings, 1″
2 foam bicycle handle grips
2 * 5″ pvc plumbing tubing – tubing may be cheapest in 10 ft. length

Get your bike handles first, and take them with you when you select your tubing. The tubing will only cost $3, but you may have to buy 10 feet of it. Oops. Cut the tubing to the length of the grips and sand the ends, make the inner lip smooth and rounded. Slide the webbing through and slide in the D-ring into the longer piece of webbing and sew them up.

You then you have your handles to attach to the clasps on the cross strap which is attached to the downline through the thimble eyelet. Adjust to your needs.

There are a few things you might need when you are assembling this:

• A source of fire to melt nylon webbing cut ends
• 1 large sewing needle
• 1 pair of pliers, to push needle through,
• sandpaper, scissors, saw, black electrical tape
• hose clamp to squeeze together thimble & rope for sewing & whipping.

My Home Gym includes:

• small bosu ball – $30 on Craigslist
• Dumbells: 5, 3, 2 & 1 lb, couple dollars each
• Adjustable plate dumbell, economy version, 5 – 25 lbs $60 each – cheaper and more compact than plates.
• plastic stool (ikea) $10
• chin-up bar $20
• push up bars static ($25) & twisting ($10)
• 2 exercise balls (not sure, and they are in storage anyways)

a shot of some of the partayness going on

Happy birthday and happy anniversary to Versus 21. In celebration of a year in business as Vancouver’s premier fitness boutique,the Versus 21 trainers tucked away the mats and heavy bags, made the place look fab, and hosted a party for friends and students from the various programs they offer to share in the celebration of a very successful first year in business. It was a moment for everyone to pause and congratulate themselves for meeting and exceeding their own personal fitness challenge.
The evening was a fun event with music and dancing and a chance for everyone to catch up with all the friends and acquaintances they have made during the past year. Congratulations to Versus 21 and here’s to many more years to come.

A great story from Bakersfield.com. In Bakersfield, California, 9 year old Drew Heredia intervened in an attack by a Pit Bull dog on a young girl. He used a reverse naked choke hold on the dog and held it there for 20 minutes until help arrived. He surely saved the girl from horrible injuries and possibly even death. Everybody knows how dangerous pit bulls are. I wouldn’t mess with one and nobody would blame Drew if he ran in the opposite direction. But only after two months of Brazilian Jujitsu classes, he knew to make use of his training and he saved a life with it. I’m just not sure which part of the story is the most incredible: that he submitted a pit bull, that he did it being 9 years old, or that he did it with only 2 months of training, or that he held the dog in submission for 20 minutes. We salute you, Drew!

Source: Jorge Barrientos, “Youngster rescues girl from dog”. The Californian. January 6 2009. http://www.bakersfield.com/102/story/655900.html

UFC Night at Edgewater Casino Sponsored By Versus 21. Photo: teantiki

On December 27th, We braved the winter storms and mountains of snow to join up with friends from the gym and MMA fans for UFC Night at Edgewater Casino. The PPV event is presented in a large theater on two giant video screens. Bar and food service is also available right in the hall. Its the best way to see the best MMA fights around.

Versus 21, Vancouver’s leading MMA & Kickboxing studio is now the proud sponsor of UFC nights hosted regularly at Edgewater Casino.

Tickets to the event are FREE, but seating is limited. If you plan to attend, head down to Edgewater Casino early evening (5 PM) and pick up your tickets. See you there.

In a video passed around the web to me by email, we see a lady in an elevator trash a purse snatcher.  As you can see it all goes terribly wrong for him in a couple seconds. He grabs the purse and makes a run for it. Not so fast! He puts her in a headlock. She then gets underneath him and performs what appears to be a textbook wrestling move, where you grab your partner and haul him over you. I dont think this is impossible for anyone to use this move – its all a matter of getting in the right position underneath your partner. You use your major muscle groups, your thighs and gluteus, so you dont need to be big to do it. You just have to be angry enough, and get in the right position. I recognize the move from high school wrestling, but cant recall the name of that move. Can anybody help with that? Also, I notice that the floor doesnt look padded, just tiled. It doesnt appear to be fake. And if it isnt fake, that guy is going to have one heck of a sore neck. Any comments about the source and origins of this clip would be appreciated. Lady wrestlers are hot!

Update: she may be doing what is called a German Suplex.