Hatsugeiko

Hatsugeiko, which is closely tied to Kagami Biraki (鏡開き), is the first training session of a chosen art in the New Year and sets the tone for the remainder of the year. Thus, one will perform to the best of one’s ability taking this first performance of the year very seriously. It will define who one is, if one has mastered his art, or where one is on the road to mastery. It is also a signal to others and yourself that you wish to carry on how you started for the new year - training sincerely.

A budo dojo can do special hatsugeiko (first practice of the year) as part of the kagami biraki, perhaps doing 100 front kicks or 100 punches, or 1,000 something or others. Or you could do an embu (demonstration) for each other, not tested, ranked or rated. It would be just a demo so that everyone can give each other and the gods an offering of their techniques in thanks for what they have learned in the past, and with hope that they will keep on being healthy and happy in the future. Again, what makes the training special isn’t particularly what you do, it is just that it is the first practice of the year, and it’s symbolically an offering to the dojo’s spirit and one’s own religious/spiritual deities as thanks for having helped you to survive the old year, and hopes that the new year will bring good luck, health and happiness.

In the two dojo I have been part of, there has been no big fanfare for the first training session. It is merely a continuation of the training from the year before. However, those that show up for the first training of the year are often the serious students, those who see their martial arts journey as more than a simple hobby. This is not to devalue those who don't make the training session. January in New Zealand is peak summer holiday season so many people are still away with family and family is important.

At the Yoshin Wadokan (my TSYR dojo) we started the year slowly. Sensei simply put out an email saying we are training on Monday and Wednesday of this week, for "those who can make it". I made it to the Wednesday session (which was last night). There were four of us. Wednesday is sword work night. We bow in with our swords and start our battojutsu practice. There is an atmosphere of quiet intensity as we work through our kata at our own pace, with the occasional correction from sensei. Is is a subdued, sincere practice, and this is normal for a Wednesday night. Then, we put down our swords, pick up our bokken and begin partner practice. Now the dojo is filled with the sound of kiai and wood cracking on wood as we forge ourselves with the kata. It is hot in New Zealand, and humid, so we are sweating in no time. Sensei often uses these small classes to impart some important concept he is working on and gets us to try it. Always refining, always working on the edge of our limits. Incrementally improving. After an hour and a half, we put down our bokken, pick up our swords and formally bow out. We get changed and then clean down the mat space.

I woke up this morning feeling very flat. My body is not sore, but tired. TSYR requires a certain type of internal mechanics that can be demanding on bone and sinew when not practiced often. It is hard to describe, but it is like my tendons and ligaments are tired. I am happy though, always happy to get another training session in. Happy to be consistent in my practice.

The first training of the year is always a chance to knock out the cobwebs and make a promise to myself, that this will continue into the year - this practice.

Licenses, gardens and the dojo.

 This post is going to be a bit of a rambling one. Lots of things have occurred on my martial arts/Japanese front lately that I would like to reflect on. 

First of all, Tobin Threadgill - the kaicho of Takamura-ha Shindo Yoshin Ryu - has released a list of names of kai members who have gained various levels of teaching license. This is the first time he has done this and the current pandemic has brought this about. Normally, he would offer licenses in person as he travelled the world. Obviously, this is not possible right now so he has followed a traditional approach that other budo follow whereby after the Japanese New Year (nowadays celebrated on January 1st), names of people are released who have gained promotions. This usually occurs around Kagami biraki (Opening the Mirror ceremony) on January 11th. 

It was quite a large list, the kai has over 200 members as far as I know and by far the largest group of license recipients were people who have obtained a chuden (second tier) teaching license, my instructor, Chris, included. Two other members of the Oceania group were granted a Shoden (first tier) teaching license, bringing the total number of licensed instructors in our area to five!  It also means we have two study groups becoming branch dojos. This is great for the growth of our area and the kai in general. 

What is even more exciting is that our two most senior instructors, Brent from the U.S. and Marco from Portugal, have been granted one scroll each from the Jodan (third tier) license. This represents their combined ability to teach the entire technical curriculum and is very important in ensuring the koryu can be fully transmitted. 

This weekend, to top it all off, Chris and a few of us from the Hamilton dojo are travelling to Auckland to train with those members there. It will be a good way to start the year and consolidate the NZ group. 

Closer to home, I have begun extending the Japanese garden. I felled three small trees which dropped leaves all year around. I was constantly removing the leaves from the existing Japanese garden, not to mention my gutters blocking up on the house. It was a relief to drop the trees and this gave me an area to extend the garden. 

The new area cleared for planting.

Once I had conditioned the soil by weeding it and adding fertilizer, I covered it with weed matting. The next decision was what to put in it. My elderly neighbour use to be a rock hound when she was younger so has many rocks in her garden. She had mentioned that I could use some if I needed so I went to talk with her and chose a rock she was willing to part with. 

The rock is actually petrified wood and the texture on this piece is amazing! I am very lucky to have such a generous neighbour. The rock is placed in the prestigious position of being the first part of the garden a visitor sees when they arrive in our driveway. Once the rock was placed, I went to a local nursery to buy plants. Two azaleas went in as well as some native ground cover plants called Pratia "Blue Stars". My wife had bought me a Griselinia plant which is a native New Zealand shrub. At the Hamilton Dojo we use this plant in place of Sakaki on either side of the Kamidana. Up until now I have been using artifical Sakaki leaves in my own dojo, but I can now use Griselinia. I have planted this shrub near the back of the garden.

Plants going in. 

One space remains in the garden for my feature plant. In each section of the Japanese garden, I have a taller specimen. In the first section I have a miniature Japanese Maple, in the second, clumping bamboo. The third section is exposed to strong winds so I am thinking of either a dwarf pine, Japanese Plum/Apricot or weeping cherry. Unfortunately, the last two plants are not available until our winter (June/July) so I may have to wait to completely finish the garden. As with the other sections, the empty spaces will be filled with white river pebbles. 

The final piece of news I have is that my friend Jules has finally pushed me into renovating the genkan of my dojo. Its been five years since the dojo was built and I have not done anything significant to the genkan. So recently the two of us took the walls back to the framing, removing the old sections of wall that still remained. Then we started to plan what we needed for new walls including insulation and lighting. 

Jules hard at work pulling the old wall lining down.

We also removed the old oil-stained carpet that was on the floor (the last owner was a car enthusiast) and Jules took it all away. I recently purchased some new lighting that I hope to put up when we line the walls. 

Above is a photo of the lighting I purchased. The black set of three LED lights at the top and the single at the bottom are what are going into the genkan to replace the standard fittings. 

So as you can see, it has been a productive month and there is still plenty of work to do. 

Stay safe, everyone. 

Is the End Nigh?

 As I write this blog, New Zealand had recently succeeded in being free of Covid-19 for 100 consecutive days. Unfortunately, our luck has run out and we have had a small outbreak which has placed restrictions on Auckland and less so for the rest of the country. I have had the luxury of training at my usual dojo, I go to work and life is still pretty much normal. Not so for my friends in Auckland. Training has stopped for them until further notice as the Auckland region awaits the release of the restrictions.

As I have watched the Covid pandemic unfold around the world, as I have heard of long standing dojo having to close their doors due to low numbers and lack of funds in the U.S.,(a good aikido friend of mine in Tennessee recently let me know his dojo is closing its doors).  I can't help thinking about the hardship and obstacles the ancestors of our martial arts went through to keep our traditions going. 

In my own tradition of TSYR, the members of the ryu had to survive many 'choke points' in history where the school could have ended. The founder of Shindo Yoshin Ryu, Matsuoka Katsunosuke, created his school in 1864. Note this is a few years before the Meiji Restoration, a turbulent time in Japanese history where loyalists to the Shogun were thrown down in support for the Emperor and the Westernisation of the country. Anyone supporting the old regime was considered a fugitive and Matsuoka had to keep a low profile for a while as he was on the shogunate's side during the strife. Luckily, he was officially pardoned in 1887 and continued to teach his martial art and grow his membership once more. Had Matsuoka been killed in the fighting or tracked down afterwards by authorities, the martial art I now practice would have ended then. 

Moving forward in history we come to the Obata line of Shindo Yoshin Ryu. At this time Obata Shigeta was training his own son, Hideyoshi in the art, training him hard. Hideyoshi would eventually join the military and with the start of World War II, many students departed the dojo for military service. Hideyoshi was now an officer in the army and had to leave as well. Obata's grandson, Yukiyoshi was being trained at this time. In 1944, news of Hideyoshi's death was reported to Obata and seeing the future of Shindo Yoshin Ryu residing with his grandson, he put plans in place. Yukiyoshi was granted a Menkyo Kaiden at 16 years of age (his training would carry on) and he and his mother were moved to the countryside. This ensured the line would continue. The Tokyo fire bombings destroyed the Obata Dojo and Yukiyoshi's grandfather disappeared at about the same time. Through careful foresight and some luck, the school continued through Yukiyoshi. There are many moments through this part of TSYR's history that the koryu could have ceased. Had Obata been killed earlier without handing over the Menkyo Kaiden to his grandson, Shindo Yoshin Ryu would no longer be considered a koryu. One of the defining characteristics of a koryu is the unbroken line, documented with scrolls of transmission. As it was, Takamura Yukiyoshi had several years of training ahead of him at this stage. 

It is a daunting task maintaining and ensuring the growth of a koryu bujutsu. It is important to have good quality deshi but perhaps more importantly, to have enough deshi to ensure someone from the group can rise up and fulfil the role of leading the koryu into the future. This is harder than it sounds. A simple mishap and a student who has been training for years can be gone. 

Ellis Amdur has said many times in interviews and in his books that he was the last remaining student of one of the schools he trained in. All the other students had dropped away for one reason or another until it was just him and his teacher. I wonder if his teacher ever thought that would be the case?

So I look at the situation the world finds itself in now. We are living in unusual times, there is no denying that. But I believe our ancestors have endured far worse and I see the best thing I can do for my ryu right now, is train. Keep grinding the stone and polishing the mirror. We don't know what tomorrow will bring so make the most of it.

Stay Safe!

A surprise training session.

So a couple of days ago I was asked by the mother of the girl I am training aikido if I would run a session through the holidays. We decided upon a Thursday morning at 9am before the day got too hot. My daughter joined me and we had our first aikido class for 2018. After giving the mats a good clean we finished up for the day. Or so I thought.

That afternoon I am enjoying some family time when there is a knock at the door. In walks my friend from Auckland, Jules. With him is another TSYR member from Auckland and Marco Pinto from Portugal!

Now, I knew Marco was in the country as Jules had invited him over for a seminar this weekend. I was not able to make the seminar and although Jules and I discussed Marco coming to my dojo I assumed that it was not going to happen. I was wrong.

So it goes without saying that I jumped up and grabbed my training gear and headed for the dojo.
We trained for two hours going over the idori kata. It was humid, stinking hot and fun. I always enjoy Marco's instruction, he moves precisely, totally dominates the mat and has a friendly banter.

There were four of us on the mats and I could see we could perhaps have up to six people total at a push.

After training they were going to go into Hamilton to run a karate session so my wife and I invited them in for an early dinner to fuel them up for the next stage of their journey.

My daughters enjoyed the visitors as well. Board games were played while dinner was being prepared.

All in all it was a great day of training for both aikido and TSYR.

Into a New Year!

So here we are, 2018. 

I sit here typing this post at 7:40 in the morning as the sun streams through my window. It is summer here in New Zealand and I am on holiday. 

Were am I in my training? Well, I started 2018 by getting up in the morning of the 1st of January and went to my private dojo to train. My daughter came with me. I have been giving private lessons of aikido to my daughter and a neighbour's daughter who is a similar age. So it made sense to me that my daughter could follow a tradition I have done for years; either train into the New Year or (in this case) train on the first day of the New Year as soon as possible. 

I do this for a few reasons. Firstly it is a way of making sure I start in a way I mean to carry on for the year. If I get out and train as soon as possible I feel I have started well. Secondly, its important from a Japanese perspective. I train in budo with Japanese roots. The New Year is important to the Japanese so I am respecting the roots of my two arts. 

After warming up on the mats I decided I would do 18 cuts for each of the TSYR battojutsu techniques to represent 2018. My daughter followed along with a bokken doing aiki-ken cuts of her own. As I mentioned, it is summer and it didn't take long for the sweat to appear on our skin. There was only the sound of bird song and the fabric of our keikogi rustling as we went through our cuts. It was a time where I could bond with my daughter without saying much except the occasional technical reminder. It was a time I enjoyed immensely. To be able to share my joy for the martial arts with one of my children is exciting and I feel privileged.

My daughter and I in the dojo.

I continue to work on the dojo. I have been painting the entrance just inside the door. A coat of paint is making a big difference to the original wooden shelves and wall there. I am enjoying the time I have to tick along with projects like this. 

I formally get back to the Hamilton dojo to train tonight (the 3rd) it will be good to see the others and iron out some kinks after being away for a break. 

To my readers who are martial artists, all the best for your training in 2018. May you grow stronger and wiser (whatever that means to you) and keep safe.

Dean.

One Year On...

This post is more of a short update.

On the 27th April 2016, Marco Pinto and Jules Robson visited and trained in my personal dojo in Te Miro. I had just got the mats down and although it was not complete, it was functional. I keep a visitors book and I was looking through it the other day and imagine my surprise to see that it has been open for a year already!

The dojo currently.

In this time I have had the other TSYR members from Hamilton out to train at various occasions and also a 10 year old boy out to learn aikido, my daughter has been joining him in practice. Of course I train by myself here, often. Mostly I perform TSYR batto or nairiki but also aikido solo practice. Unfortunately I have not done much more renovation in this time. The genkan still needs to be completed and finishing touches need to be made to the mat space. Threadgill sensei also saw the dojo in his most recent visit to New Zealand and now I feel the need to complete the rest of the space before I can officially open it with his blessings. 

What do I wish to add? Well a weapon rack on the wall above where you see the jo on the ground. Line the edging of the mats so they cannot slide around. Lay carpet in the reception area and finish lining the walls in the reception area. Above where the photo was taken is a loft and I would ultimately like to set this up for guests to sleep on (this is a long term goal). So lots to do but its always good to have a project.

Latest musings - Family, work and training.

Below is a picture of the kamidana of my private dojo. I finally finished putting the shelf up. 

It has taken a while because work and family always come first. So when I get the chance, I go out to the dojo and work on the current project. For a while it was the shoe rack. I put together some old shelves, sanded them and painted them. Now I have a shoe rack in the area which will be the genkan eventually. 

I had the shelf for the dojo made for a while but the brackets were being made as a project by a young man at the high school I teach at. They were eventually finished and then had to be stained to match the shelf. Just staining the brackets took a while because the oil-based product needed 24 hours between coats. I would try and get some of the staining done in the evening after work or in the weekend and sometimes it would be two or three days before I could get back at it. 

Once the brackets were done I wanted to buy brass screws (I eventually used zinc gold) to match the colour of the brackets. I had to wait two weekends before I had the chance to get to the local hardware shop. Visitors and family kept me busy until then. I eventually had to tell my wife that I wouldn't be going on the latest family road trip just to get time at home to drill the brackets and shelf to the wall. 

The whole off-mat area is still awaiting my attention. It is functional but the walls need lining and most surfaces need a paint job. The matted space is functional but small things still need some work. I have to decide how I am going to finish the floor space that borders the mats, at the moment the plywood flooring is still exposed 

I'm not complaining, work provides the money for the projects and family comes first. I just accept that things get done in the dojo at a slow plod. As long as I keep making progress I'm not too concerned. 

Training in TSYR continues as always. The core group are still at it and I never tire of it. The Hamilton dojo will be closing for renovations in December and I have said I am happy for the TSYR group to come out and train in Te Miro. I'm looking forward to sharing the space with them. I can practice batto in my own space which is a bonus but I need bodies to work with for most of the shoden curriculum. 

Since Threadgill sensei's last visit to NZ we have been going over the key points he mentioned. I know for myself I need to be less passive in my sword work. We all need to work on smoothing out our unarmed techniques so that they flow more and establish a connection with our partner earlier to get control as quickly as possible. 

It is all good for the mind and body.

The next steps!

Training is going well. 

Good session on Thursday with kumitanto. Refining the techniques. Slice and dice!

Saturday was great with good numbers. A couple of members showed up that we hadn't seen on the mat for a while. Sensei took us through the nairiki no gyo then some kunren. After that it was into the katate set of the tachiai kansetsu waza. (Standing joint locking).

I really enjoy this set. It was the first set of unarmed kata I was introduced to when I first started TSYR. Externally they look a bit like aikido techniques such as ikkyo, nikyo and sankyo. However, as some of you may know, they are far more complicated than that. They are considered betsuden, which means they are applications of TSYR principles and are not part of the classical syllabus. My understanding is that Takamura Sensei added these kata in order to cater to the change of the times. They contain an assortment of strikes, different joint locks and take downs. In other words, lots of fun!

One of the guys I train with likes to increase the intensity and when we pair up we do a few slowly then get into it. Often this results in quick decisive movements that slams the other chap into the mats. I get a buzz off this kind of training because I can gauge my progress. If the elements of the technique are not internalised then things get messy pretty quick and the other guy lets me know about it. There is something exciting about executing a technique cleanly at speed.

We spent most of the session on these kata. In the last 5 or 10 minutes we looked at the tachiai tai nage (body throws). There are five and we do them most Saturdays so we know them well. Although there is always plenty to work on. I'm very happy with my progress in this area because my exposure to body throws was limited to koshi nage and seio nage in aikido and even then I did not execute them very well. I am tall and lean so you can imagine my difficulty in getting my hips low enough with correct technique to pull them off. Nowadays, I think I'm getting the hang of these throws.

So overall it was a great session.

On the aikido front, I caught up with my old teacher after 4 years!  He still trains in the same place at the same time so I popped in before training to chat with him. It was great to see him and the other seniors who are still training. I went to ask him about getting certification for my dan grade in aikido. Since I stopped training in aikido he had affiliated with a larger organisation. As I am starting to teach aikido again I thought it prudent to be under the umbrella of this organisation as well. I was asking for his endorsement. He was more than happy to do this. So the cogs are turning and in due time I will have certification of my grade through this organisation. I think it is important for my credibility when dealing with the public.

Next week I begin training a boy in aikido at my personal dojo and I am excited about delving back into my original martial art. I will head back to my original aikido dojo as well from time to time to knock off any 'rust' in my techniques as well. 

Exciting times ahead.

The Dojo is open!

I have recently had the privilege of hosting Marco Pinto from Portugal. Marco is licensed to teach the Shoden Mokuroku of TSYR and is one of the senior members of the Kai. It was with great pleasure and pride that Marco was the first to bow in and train on the mats of my newly-built personal dojo here in little ol' New Zealand.

Te Miro Dojo

Marco came down from Auckland with Jules (a friend and fellow TSYR member) on Wednesday afternoon to see the dojo and get some extra training in between seminars. We spent the afternoon working through the tachiai tanto toriageru (standing tanto disarms). Marco is an excellent teacher and a powerful technician of the art. It was an honour to have one-on-one instruction with him.

Wednesday evening is the Hamilton dojo's normal training time, so we headed into training after dinner to join Chris and Pete on the mat. Wednesday nights are traditionally sword-work so Marco took us through the batto kata and aspects of one of the kumitachi kata. He made some great technical points and he worked on refining our technique.

It was then home to bed.

The next morning Jules and Marco trained some more in the dojo. They worked on the Gyakute kata from the Tachiai Kansetsu (standing joint locks) forms. I was a bystander for this session as I had my two daughters to look after but I still managed to observe and ask questions from time to time. I said it earlier but I must mention just how polished Marco is as a teacher. I would ask him for the main lessons of a particular kata and his answers were succinct and confident. His understanding of the waza is obvious in his movement and explanations.

Marco demonstrating waza.

The dojo held up admirably. The robust sprung floor and new tatami handled the impact of thrown men with ease. For us the falls were comfortable. Considering the size of Marco and Jules (I was the light-weight) it was a good test and both men agreed that the floor was great for TSYR.

The three of us after the Wednesday afternoon session.

I am very happy with the outcome of the visit. It was exciting to have Marco be the first to teach and train on my mats and I am thankful to Jules for providing the opportunity. I hope this is only the beginning. The dojo is open to any TSYR members and my wife and I have plenty of room for people to stay over. I see the dojo as part of my contribution to TSYR and it provides another place in the world where we can come together and enjoy this koryu bujutsu.

Dojo Build - Into the New Year!

After a great holiday with my wife and girls it was back to working on the dojo. Needless to say I was really excited based on what Andy and I achieved in the few days leading up to Christmas.
The very first thing we did was take off the tilting garage door. I wanted to replace this with a wall and window to allow more light into the space.

Not long after we had removed the door, my friend Jules turned up with another person, Kate. They dedicated a day of their holiday helping out. Andy got them onto lining the internal wall with 9 mm plywood. The plywood I used here was non-structural and only had one 'good' side. This kept the cost down.

Jules and Kate on the job.

You can see in the picture that we had to build the internal wall out to go around one of the trusses, this will turn out to be quite a cool design feature later on. 

The external wall is built, cladding underway.

Andy spent most of this day building the external wall and putting on the cladding. I managed to find the exact same cladding that is on my house. It is a cement-based hardyboard with a 'rustic' finish. Basically it gives the appearance of wood grain. 

The window is in!

I sourced the window from a demolitions place. It is an aluminium sliding window with tinted glass. It is 2850 mm x 1200 mm. I am very happy with the size and the tinted glass helps reduce heat inside as the window is north-facing. You can see in the picture the smaller side door that will become the main entrance. 

We were lucky with our timing as no sooner had the window been installed than we experienced heavy rain for the next day! 

The rest of the time Andy was with me he taught me how to put in studs (vertical framing) and nogs (horizontal timber blocking between studs) and measure and cut plywood for the lining of the walls. 

This left me with enough knowledge to carry on by myself. 

So I carried on lining the walls. Needless to say this was a slower process by myself. 

During this time I got an electrician in to sort out my lighting. The original lighting was simply two standard light sockets in the shared space of the shed. They were powered by one switch. This was now a problem as I had put an internal wall between the two lights. Also one of the lights had been hanging on the truss Andy removed!  

Here is my solution...

New lights.

I bought three low profile LED batons. I had two placed in the dojo space. They were connected to the original switch. The third baton was put on the other side of the internal wall and connected to a different switch. I am very happy with the LEDs as they are very bright and energy efficient. 

Looking North.

 Jules came back again to help me with lining the truss above the internal wall and as you can see, the majority of the matted space is now complete. I have decided not to line the ceiling at this stage to keep costs down and it doesn't effect my ability to train. The genkan (reception area) will be stage two of the project when I can afford to do it. I have the paint for the external and internal walls and I have started the external painting at the time of writing this. 

Looking South

I plan on painting the internal walls with a bleached timber stain (like a white wash) so that the grain of the ply shows through. I will post more pictures once I have finished the matted area. The tatami are due to arrive in about 7 weeks. 

I am very happy with the outcome. But I wouldn't have got very far without Andy's expertise and Jules and Kate giving their time.

However, my biggest thanks must go to my wife, Ricci. The money for the build came from her father's inheritance and when we had people over she put on some splendid meals as well as keeping the children entertained!

Without her giving me the money and time, there was no way the build could have got off the ground. 

Dojo Build - Days Before Christmas.

Well, I have spent a good part of my summer holiday building a private dojo on my property. I am happy with the progress knowing that I am back to work this week.

In this blog I'm going to take you through the process from start to the current situation (or close too, I'm always out there painting or nailing). 

In the beginning...

The above photo is what I started with, this is approximately a 5 m x 7 m area of my shed. It has a concrete floor with a mechanic's pit covered by boards. As I am not a huge car enthusiast, I was happy to build over the pit and leave it there for resale in the future (in a good 17 years or so). I sealed the concrete to reduce moisture coming up. The pit was already painted on the inside. 

The first step was designing and building a sprung floor. I asked my wife's cousin to help with the dojo build as he was a professional builder. Needless to say, without Andy on board, I wouldn't have got nearly as far so quickly. 

I had some plans given to me from a training colleague at the Hamilton dojo but I modified them as I went based on cost and the space I was working with. 

Laying the framing for the sprung floor.

The floor is composed of 45 mm x 70 mm joists sitting on pads of high density EVA foam, 100 mm x 100 mm x 40 mm. The original plans had 45 mm x 45 mm joists but Andy was concerned with the wood warping and twisting so, taking his advice we went wider by 25 mm (1 inch). The pads are glued to the joists but not to the concrete. The floor wasn't perfectly level in places and you can see in the picture below we added expanding foam in places to make up for this. A solid timber frame sits around the outside to stabilise it. 

Putting on the plywood flooring.

Over the joists we laid 19 mm flooring plywood. These sheets fit with a tongue and groove system and are screwed down with 150 mm centres. Usually the screws would be 300 mm a part but we didn't glue the sheets to allow for the floor to be lifted if maintenance is required. This took over 700 screws to do! The end result is a solid floor that provides some 'give' with hard impact. I am very pleased with this result as the design is original and Andy had never built anything like it before. With judo tatami on top it will be great.

The internal wall goes up.

While I was busy screwing in 700 or more screws, Andy put up the framing for the internal wall. We left a space for a door in that wall to give access to the rest of the shed. You can see also at this stage that access to the shed is through a tilting garage door. That was destined to disappear!

Truss removed.

The next thing we did was to remove the middle truss of the training area. I wanted this done to increase head height and allow for weapon practice. Andy reinforced the remaining rafters and trusses with extra timber. By the way, the pink building timber is typical here in NZ. It is painted to show that it is chemically treated against insects and moisture. Pink signifies H1 treatment. Untreated timber is not coloured.

By this stage we had built a sprung floor, the internal wall framing and increased the head-height. This happened in about 2 and a half days just before Christmas. 

To be continued...

The next step...

I find myself at an interesting time in my martial arts journey. Tomorrow, I begin building my private dojo at my home. In April this year my wife and two girls moved into a new house. This property has a 90 metre square shed as well. At about the same time as the move, my father-in-law passed away. It was a difficult time for us but 7 months on we are settled and moving on with our lives. My marvelous wife donated a proportion of her father's inheritance to allow me to build a dojo in part of the large shed. She also has a cousin who is a builder and after having a discussion with him he was happy to help with the build. He arrives tomorrow to begin on the sprung floor. 

A view from the Japanese Contemplation garden in Hamilton.

I am documenting every step of the build and will blog about the details in future posts. 

When people heard I was building a private dojo some started to ask if I would begin teaching Aikido again. I have agreed to teach one boy and his friend once the dojo is functional. I will see how this goes but at this stage I do not want to commit to scheduled classes as I have to balance my work and family as well as my own training. Although the small amount of money I get from teaching I will put into pursuing my own training. 

This brings me to my next point. My Aikido training and credentials. When I passed my Nidan grading I did not receive a certificate. I have no documentation to say what I have achieved and I feel that those who wish to have tuition from me are owed at least that. So, I will be talking with my Aikido teacher over the next month or so and re-establishing ties and working out what I need to do to consolidate my Aikido rank. It may mean re-grading or joining an organisation for credibility in the eyes of the public. I certainly believe I am a better martial artist since my transition to TSYR. The 'engine' has been refined and is ready to power Aikido techniques. However, the public do not know this, so time to get some documentation. 

Having a private dojo also allows other training opportunities. I will be welcoming any TSYR member to come and train. There is a loft area for bedding so staying over is not a problem. I can also train more often without compromising time with my family. I can simply walk out of my house and into my dojo for an hour of solo training whenever it fits with family life. Now, that is exciting!

So in the meantime I have an exciting project that will change the direction of my training for good.