BUDO Demonstration

I will be at the Atlanta Soto Zen Center these coming Saturday September 19 and Sunday September 20 to demonstrate Martial Arts : Kendo-Iaido, Tai Chi and Karate, and teach basic Tai Chi and Chi Gong.

• Cody Ray will demonstrate with me Kendo Kata Odachi and Kodachi, as well as several Iaido waza. Cody and I competed last winter and won first prize at the Yoshukai Karate Winter camp with Kendo Kata Odachi. This time, we also added Kodachi : The bad guy (Uchidachi - me) attacks with his long sword - Odachi, and the good guy (Shidachi - Cody) defends with a small sword - Kodachi. The long sword is often called Katana, and the short one Wakizashi.
  

• Tai Chi demonstration will include performance of the 4 forms of my school of Tai Chi, and parts of Sanchin Kata.

• Karate Demonstration will include presentation of Open hand kata as well as Kobudo (Traditional Okinawan weapons) Kata. Bo (Long Staff), Nunchaku, and Sai (Pitchfork).

I will try during these demonstration to explain the origin of some of these moves, as well as how they relate to Zen.

The Tai Chi class will focus on the Short Form of the 4 winds style and Chi Gong exercises to improve metabolism : San Chin kata - a deep breathing exercise passed from China to Okinawa to Japan and to us, and the legendary Yi Jin Jing, one of the two forms found by the Shaolin Monks when they opened Bodhidharma' tomb after someone had seen him in the mountains between India and China, several month after his death ...

Yi Jin Jing also named Tendon and Muscles Strenghtening exercise focuses in improving the physical health of the practitionner.
The other exercise left by Bodhidharma Xi Sui Jing - or Bone and Marrow Strenghtening exercise - focuses on improving his ability to meditate (The bones and Marrows are deeper layers than Muscles and tendons).
Again according to the legend, Yi Jin Jing was entrusted to the Shaolin monks who developed Shaolin Kung fu from it, and the Xi Sui Jing was entrusted to Hui-K'o, the 2nd Patriarch of Zen, but it was later lost...

Anyway, all of this legendary stuff is not that important, Yi Jin Jing is a very ancient exercise that has been practiced by generations and generations of practitioners.
With Sanchin Kata and my Tai Chi first from, they provide a very interesting set of exercises to enhance and improve metabolism, flexibility and balance.

Please join me at the Atlanta Soto Zen Center these next Saturday and Sunday. You will also be able to see some good art there, incuding 4 of my mosaics.