End of Year and New Year

2008 was a good year. Looking back on my 2008 year resolutions, I accomplished two of them beyond my expectations (increasing my Aikido activity and quitting all Tobacco products). I did increase my activity but I haven't lost any weight. Finally, I haven't really increased my writing output; although I am publishing an article in Colorado Libraries on the eCataloger and my programming output was significant this year.

What are my resolutions for the New Year? These resolutions will be more specific in attempting to reach many of the same goals for this year.

• Improve my diet by reducing fatty food consumption, increasing the percentage of legumes, vegetables, and whole grains in my diet compared to animal products and high processed foods. To do this effectively, I need to log my food consumption but I am not posting the log to my blog. Also, I need to start bring a pack lunch to work as part of this plan.
  
• My Aikido goals for 2009 are about improving and promoting my teaching activity and attending as many diverse Aikido seminars and classes as possible. In about two and a half weeks, I am headed for San Diego for the Aikido Bridge Seminar. In February we will have the special Aikido class taught by a visiting Sensei. (I am treating this visit as training for running a weekend seminar I hope to offer next Winter)
• My third resolution is to again increase my activity level. I spend too many days without moving too much. In the summer, I rode my bicycle to work but once the sub-zero temperatures begin and the snow on the ground, I haven't rode in at least four months. The college's pool is open in the mornings, so my goal Spring term is to swim laps at least three times a week.
  
• My writing goal for 2009 is to do a complete revision of my Salt Lake novel. I will plan at least one trip to Salt Lake, maybe two. Another reason to visit to Salt Lake is to demonstrate the Quaker Cloud Catalog to the meeting there and get any feedback. It has been such an asset to have the data-set from when I was the Meeting's librarian and my first topic-map catalog. This data keeps migrating to different types of models I have been building on Google App Engine (GAE).
• Finally, I want to explore some limited consulting jobs outside the library. I know I can do some custom programming or better, project manage and design and then implement small projects using GAE. There are many locally managed Access databases and Excel Spreadsheets used by business that would be good candidates to move to a GAE application.
  

Back from Grand Junction

I drove to Grand Junction last Wednesday and spent the night with my brothers Jesse and Jarrett. The next morning, Jake, Emeri, and Aura stopped by and received their Christmas presents. Jesse, Jarrett, and I stopped by at Dads and then we went and ate at a Chinese buffet for lunch. After lunch, we drove to Judd and Devon and saw Keegan.

I then drove to Randy's and Mom's house where I spent the night. The next morning I helped Randy move some wood for a invalid. Friday night I spent with Jesse and Jarrett and then on Saturday I drove to Gunnison. The Christmas holiday was low-stress and enjoyable. I am now back to the cold and although I have been working on the eCataloger, I am have not been very productive since getting back from Grand Junction.

I checked out tow movies from the library, Persepolis and the Village. Persepolis is an animated film about a young girl growing up in pre- and post- Iranian revolution. The Village wasn't as bad as I had read in reviews of the movie.

Thursday update

Yesterday I received an e-mail from Jake saying he would not be able to make it to Aikido class. I didn't teach as it was the last night of finals (most of campus was empty) and Jake wasn't coming to class. Last night and this morning I was thinking about Aikido and my life. In my own practice and when I discuss Aikido with people, I do not usually talk about the "big" topics of Aikido. For example, I do not explicitly discuss the nature of Ki or what is or is not Aikido. Although I find such topics interesting to consider and discuss, these higher, over-arching themes and topics are not usually a part of my daily Aikido presence. By presence, I mean most of my Aikido is not in my mind but in my muscle memories of practicing Aikido for over 11 years. I'll notice it when I reach and open a door at work with more grace than I had in the past. I'll notice my Aikido presence when gauging the inter-personal distances when interacting with patrons at the Library. I'll often strech my wrists with a random sankyo strech as I am typing on at my workstation. Aikido is both practice on the mat and in living during the day. 

It has been snowing most of the week and I have had to shovel my sidewalk every day. Winter is here and I'm betting won't relinquish its grip until late April. I am looking forward to January's Aikido Bridge Seminar in warm San Diego. My cousin, Jason Rossman, is a Marine Martial Art Instructor based at the Marine Base in San Diego. I hope to see him while I'm there.

I have been spending more time than usually coding the second version of the eCataloger Google Application.
I am getting close to releasing a beta version from a data-set of monograph metadata I created a few years back in Salt Lake.

Aikido for 12/15/2008

Monday night Jake and I practiced alone. We practiced the following techniques:

• Katate-dori kokyu-nage (four variations)
• Tsuki kokyu-nage (the same variations as the kokyu-nages we practiced before)

Next term, the Monday and Wednesday Aikido classes will still be from 6:30 to 7:30 at Escalante Fitness Center. The first class of the new year will be on January 12th. I will be in San Diego the following week for the Aikido Bridge Seminar. In February we are currently in the early planning stage for a special one-night class with a visiting sensei. I am excited about 2009 as I continue my Aikido practice.

Aikido for 12/13/2008

Yesterday, my brother Jarrett came with me to the Gunnison Community Center where we met Jake. At about ten minutes before two, we began class with a longer warm-up. This was Jarrett's first Aikido class and so we spent more time on learning ukemi. I knew he would be a fast learner and very quickly he was able to do a passable forward and backward ukemi. Just to increase Jarrett's exposure to ukemi, Jake and I introduced him to break-falls. I have seen Jarrett take some serious falls when skate-boarding so I knew he can take falls.

Here are the techniques we practiced for the rest of the class:

• Katate-dori irminage
• Katate-dori kokyu-nage
• Katate-dori shiho-nage (gyaku-hanmi) (omote)

After class, Jarrett and I returned to my cabin where we prepared a Turkey dinner. Today I sent Jarrett away with a lot of turkey. I had a great visit and I'll have turkey sandwiches for lunch for the rest of the week.

Aikido for 12/10/2008

Yesterday I had a migraine and because I forgot my migraine medicine last weekend in Grand Junction, I had to suffer through most of the day before leaving work after 2. I slept for about three hours and felt better enough to go teach Aikido class. I am glad I did because a new student, Hawk, started practicing last night. Most of the class time was going over the basic stretches and
learning how to do basic ukemi (forward and backward rolls). I then introduced the first Aikido technique I ever learned, Katatori Sumi-Otoshi. After working on the sumi-otoshi, I introduced katatori ikkyo omote with the focus on the first movements. At the end of class, Jake and I did an Aikido demo that quickly tired me out. I do need to get into better shape. We will have class on Saturday at the Gunnison Community Center at 2:00 p.m. Hawk may be showing up and Jake is planning to be there. My brother Jarrett is planning on visiting me this weekend but I doubt if he will come to class, maybe he will if I use my big brother powers of persuasion.

Back from Mom's Wedding

This past weekend, I was in Grand Junction for Mother's wedding to Randy Thompson, my new step-father. On Saturday morning Jarrett and I drove to Palisade to set-up the reception hall. The reception was held in the Palisade Veterans' Community Center. Jarrett and I along with my mother's friend Rebecca, moved all of the tables and chairs into the hall along with table coverings. Jarrett knew Rebecca, I didn't, and I had to refrain from responding to some of Rebecca's comments. I find it curious that while she went on about how "good" she was at being "worldly person" (In Jehovah Witness jargon it is the category for everyone who is not in the religion) with longing in her voice. I would have liked to ask what if preventing this woman from being her true self? Was her longing for her youth that she gave up? What specific activities are there that are wrong but she wishes she could still engage in if she wasn't a Jehovah Witness? I can understand having destructive weaknesses that a healthy human must refrain from participating in but I didn't get that impression from Rebecca. Her longing was for some alternative sex or lifestyle or for some avenues freedom of expression that she is prevented from because of her religious beliefs. This interaction made me worry about seeing more JW's later in the day. I dreaded getting lectured about Jehovah Witnesses religion by any of the people I knew back when I still lived with parents (another aspect about Mom's wedding was that it was personal time-warp for me, seeing people I hadn't seen in fifteen or so years). This didn't turn out to be the case.

Jarrett and I finished setting up with about an hour to get back to Grand Junction, get dressed, and then back to Clifton for Mom's wedding at 11:30 at the Kingdom Hall (another JW jargon, basically their church building). I went over to my Dad's apartment, showered and dressed, and then rapidly drove to wedding with five minutes to spare. Arriving at the Kingdom Hall, the parking lot was packed and my heart dropped. I hurried indoors and was initially took back with large crowd. I finally found my mother and I then after a small delay, the ceremony started. I walked Mom down the hallway with everyone staring at us. Mom was dressed in a very nice cream-colored outfit (not a wedding dress thank-god) and I handed her off to Randy before sitting down next to my sister Jill. Jill was holding my new three-month old niece and then the wedding sermon began. All I'll say (without being too much of dick) was the talk was a flashback to many, many, boring hours listening to the same bullshit in this same building with many of same people. I don't think this is unique to Jehovah Witnesses, but I am too familiar with dogma and strict fundamentalism of this sect and hearing many of the same themes sprouted from
these people made me long for the quiet and simplicity of a Quaker meeting. Before the vows, the older man marrying my mother (called an elder) and Randy asked who gave this woman away. I stood up and said that "her family does" which caused some laughter in the hall (what was I supposed to say, I do? WTF). This was the first time I spoke at JW meeting in as many years and hopefully it is the last.

After the ceremony, I drove to Palisade. When I arrived the hall was filling up. Mom and Randy finally showed up and the community center was packed. I didn't recognize most of the people there and those that I did, I really didn't talk to much other than saying hello. None of these people, who I knew well and who either watched me grow up or who I grew up with, asked about what I was doing or what I had been doing all of these years. The lack of curiosity about any life outside of the religion is just another hallmark of this religion. My own life from a very early age has been a counter-example to the standard official narrative for those of us who grew up as a Jehovah Witness but do not become active adult members. I did not end up in prison or living on the streets as a drug addict. My spiritual journey has grown and expanded past the rigor and conformity of Jehovah Witnesses and contrary to their propaganda, I have never felt the presence of an entity such as they describe Jehovah to be, that such a creationist and world view is counter to all of available evidence, and that alternative, more expansive spiritual positions exist with greater freedom and responsibility without being tied to strict theological position towards God.

After the reception, Jarrett and I drove to Mom's house to chill out, smoke, and drink some alcohol. Judd and his family arrived a little bit later. It was comical as I hurriedly emptied our drinks and tried to hide my bottle of whiskey when my mother and Randy unexpectedly arrived. We laughed and talked for bit and then my nephew Keegan busted us when he reached and grabbed the empty bottle from my pocket. I made a comment that I felt not almost 36 but still in my teenage years, hiding alcohol from Mom.

About an hour later, Jarrett and I drove back to Grand Junction and picked up Jesse. My brother Jesse was not invited to the reception because he had disassociated himself from the religion and too many Witnesses would not to interact with him in a social settings without getting into trouble. My brother Jake did not attend either out of solidarity with Jesse. I get that groups have membership rules and everything but give me a break, not allowing one of brothers to attend his mother's wedding because of stupidity and ignorance is just another of many, many reasons I am not Jehovah Witness. The family dinner was nice, it was catered, and I was able to meet Randy's two daughters, both of whom are not Jehovah Witnesses. After the dinner, I stopped by Dad's to pick up my things, and then dropped off Jesse. My sister Angie came with us so she could pick up some things from Mom's house before I drove her back to Clifton to stay with friends. Jarrett and I stayed the night at Mom's house.

The next morning Jarrett and I drove back to Grand Junctions where Jarrett fixed a breakfast sandwich with venison sausage from his successful kill earlier this fall. It was the best breakfast I have had in recent memory. After finishing the meal, Jarrett and I drove out to Mack and saw my grandfather Rossman and Dee. Grandpa was doing better than the last time I saw him in Veterans Hospital. We has a good visit and then I drove back to Grand Junction, visited Jake and his girls, before driving back to Gunnison. Jarrett may be coming up this weekend to go Salmon snagging but with snow (it snowed when I woke up and it is still snowing now) I don't know if he'll come up now.

We are not having an Aikido class tonight although I will swing by after I get out of the Senate meeting this afternoon.

Aikido for 12/3/2008

Monday we didn't have Aikido class. Tonight we worked on

• katate-dori kokyu-ho (omote and ura)
• morotetori kokyu-ho (omote and ura)
• katate-dori ikkyo (omote and ura) with four distinct openings.
  
• kosa-dori ikkyo (omote and ura) with three distinct openings.

Jake has class next Monday so I'll still show up and if anybody else comes, I'll teach class. Otherwise, the next class will be Wednesday, December 10th.

Thanksgiving in Grand Junction - Shooting in the Morning

I drove into Grand Junction on Wednesday evening. Thanksgiving morning all five of us brothers drove out west of Mt. Garfield to go shooting. The first photo is Jesse, Jarrett, Jake, and Judd is cleaning his .22 to the right.

This photo is of the cliffs as the clouds came over, we were able to shoot for about an hour, each of us shooting Jesse's semi-automatic and Jarrett's .30-06 along with the two .22s.
Here is Jarrett after shooting the AK.
Here is Jake with a big smile after shooting.
Here is Judd after shooting his .22 for the first time.

Here is Jesse shooting Jarrett's .22 while Jake is shooting the .30-06.

We all had fun, morning was cool and it rained for the next couple of days. We have decided to the morning shooting trip should become an annual event. Likely, we'll go small-game hunting next year.

Aikido for 11/24/2008

During last night Aikido class, Jake and I practiced the following techniques:

• Kata-tori (one hand shoulder grab) ikkyo
• Kata-tori irmi-nage (3 variations)
  
• Ryokata-tori (both hands shoulder grab) ikkyo
• Ryokata-tori irmi-nage (2 variations)
• Ushiro Ryokata-tori ikkyo
• Ushiro Ryokata-tori irmi-nage

At the end of class we did some stretching before finishing with kokyu-ho. On Sunday night I was checking out plane prices and I purchased a plane ticket with hotel to the Aikido Bridge Friendship Seminar in San Diego. The Seminar runs from January 15th - 19th and I also placed a deposit for the seminar. I am excited about this opportunity to attend this seminar. I am headed to Grand Junction on Wednesday so there won't be a class then. Jake will not be able to attend Monday night, I'll show up on the off chance of someone showing up so the likely next class will be on December 3rd.

Aikido for 11/22/2008

This afternoon Jake and I practiced at the Gunnison Community Center.

We started practice with an extended warm-up. Jake mentioned the recent study regarding too much stretching the major muscles is counter-productive to the following work-out. I didn't change that much in the beginng but we did agree to do some more stretching during the cool-down at the end of class.

After doing forward and backward ukemi two laps each up and down the mats, we did one lap of shikko and then a second lap of shikko doing a shomen strikes with our jo.

We then spent about twenty minutes doing 13 jo kata from both left and right sides.

We practiced shomen-uchi dai-sankyo omote and uri.

We then went through the 3rd kyu test requirements from the United States Aikido Federation.

• Yokomenuchi Iriminage (2 ways)
• Yokomenuchi Kotegaeshi
• Tsuki Kaitennage (uchi & soto)
• Ushiro Ryokatatori Sankyo
• Morotetori Iriminage (2 ways)
• Shomenuchi Sankyo
• Suwari waza Shomenuchi Iriminage
• Suwari waza Shomenuchi Nikkyo
• Hanmi handachi Katatetori Shihonage
• Hanmi handachi Katatetori Kaitennage

We then practiced jo tori (jo takeaway) Irminage and jo tori kotegaeshi. We also practiced jo tori Ikkyo. We did do some strectching at the end of the class and I really enjoyed being able to practice for an hour and half.

Aikido for 11/20/2008

Jake and I practiced the following techniques:

• Kata-dori nikyo (omote and ura)
  
• Ryote-dori Kaiten-nage (omote and ura) both uchi and soto variations

Aikido for 11/17/2008

The focus of last night's Aikido class was tanto-tori (knife takeaways). After warm-up, Jake and I practiced the following techniques with the tanto:

• tanto-tori tsuki kotegoshi
• tanto-tori shomenuchi irmi-nage
• tanto-tori yokomenuchi shiho-nage omote and ura
• tanto-tori yokomenuchi Gokyu omote and ura
• tanto-tori ushrio kubishime

We won't be having class the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Jake talked to Joey and he is likely out for the rest of the semester. Jake and I also talked how to increase participation and we might do an Aikido demostration along with advertising that the class is free to take at Escalante Fitness Center.

Aikido for 11/15/2008

Today I purchased an adult membership to the Gunnison Community Center. There gymnastic room is large and covered with at least an inch and a half tumbling mat, making them great for Aikido too! This morning there was another martial arts class so started class at about ten minutes until 1:00 p.m.

Jake and I warmed-up and practiced a number of different types of ukemi for about forty-five minutes. We then went on to practice a number of irmi-nage, focusing on 180 degree turn on the heels that I studied this mornings. The turn was from Ikeda Sensei DVD on irmi-nage.

We then practiced four different styles of kosadori koshunages. We moved a larger mat to fall on but the regular blue tumbling mat where fine to practice break-falls.

After a second water break. We practiced tenchi-nage omote and ura before ending class we practiced kokyu-ho and the back stretch. We finished up at about 2:30. I enjoyed myself and got a good work-out as well.

Aikido for 11/12/2008

At the beginning of last night's Aikido class, Jake and I worked on tenkan foot-work, both sliding and stepping variations. This lead to examination of the our different kamae, Jake tends to have a wider stance while in my own basic left or right kamae, my back foot ends up near 45 degree angle from my forward foot and directly behind me. While this kamae presents a narrow forward profile, it is weaker from attacks at the side. I only end up in this exaggerated kamae after doing tenkan. The final techniques we practiced was shomen-uchi irimi-nage both the basic technique and then a more irmi-nage advanced form. Irmi-nage, after working on our tenkan footwork, reinforced how important foot-work is in irmi-nage. During the initial turn, there is a dead-spot where unless nage has uke sufficiently connected, shifting nage's body weight from forward to back foot creates balance problems for nage.

After class, I walked over to Ute hall and watched part of a Godzilla movie while enjoyed California, Vegetable, and Salmon rolls at an event by the Asian Club at the college.

On Saturday Jake and I are meeting 10:30 a.m. at the Community Recreation Center for at least an hour and half class. I am planning a more in-depth training session as the mats are better for break falls an sura-wazi techniques.

Aikido for 11/10/2008

This morning there was about 1/2 inch of snow. This photograph I took before I left for work. The snow melted off by the time I arrived home.

Last night at Aikido, Jake and I practiced 3 different Koshunages kosadori variations. We then worked on katate-dori shiho-bage (ai-hanmi) omote and ura. Jake wants to practice more so he and I will meet at Gunnison County's Community Recreation Center at 10:30 on Saturday morning for an hour and a half class. This weekend class will have a longer warm-up and because we will be able to practice on better mats, we will spend more time on ukemi.

Write or Die Results

	151
10
lab.drwicked.com

My results after responding to a verbal snippet from a cell phone commercial I heard on television :

Get in the loop, meaning in a broader sense that we (as the object of the verb) are trying to become part of a conversation between two or more parties. If we are outside the loop, is really a matter of information asymmetry, that the external parties are privy to information we are not, that we want to become at least a passive recipient of these messages. We may or may not want become more active in creating or responding to these messages but we do wish to join in a variable (but I would guess predictable along some common distributions) continuum of participation among the members of the of aforementioned loop. Loop is just a convenient linguistic modeling of these relationships. I can participate and create actions for responding to these messages, a foundation for the creation of large networks of agents, both original and models of reality. The loop.

Aikido for 11/05/2008

Last night I arrived late from Grand Junction. While I was warming up, Jake mentioned that he wanted a more active class and be thrown around. We started off with katatori irminage and after working on the head position in the initial turn and also throwing each other around, we stopped for a water break and then started practicing kokyu-nages, specifically uchi and soto variations from katatori.

I am sore this morning so even though we didn't practice for the full one-hour class, I did get a good work-out.

Aikido for 11/3/2008

Last night Jake and I focused on foot-work. I started off the basic Central Illinois Aikikai exercises, we ended up doing the following different styles that varied only with the footwork from a katatori ikkyo omote technique.

• Basic step back with the forward foot and cut down with the forward hand
• Basic back foot step back while sliding the foward foot. This style was more difficult to do with the ikkyo omote technique, it is better suited to the ikkyo ura variation
• Forward foot slides to the side while back-foot steps forward
• Back foot slide and meets forward foot while doing an atemi to the face, the final movement is the stepping back on an angle with the former forward foot. This style is what is shown in the "Basic Aikido" book by Doshu, so I call it the hombu dojo style.

I am headed for Grand Junction after work. I am attending Gold Rush training tomorrow and I should be back for Wednesday's Aikido class.

Aikido for 10/29/2008

Jake and I practiced kotegaeshi from a variety of different attacks and grabs. Here is the list of techniques from what I can remember:

• Ushiro ryokatetori kotegaeshi (2 variations)
  
• Shomenuchi kotegaeshi (2 variations)
• Yokomenuchi kotegaeshi (2 variations)

Random reactions to television commercials

• When it seems like your life is over: don't eat fast food.

• Look, I really like you. I am just stuck in a hyper-critical loop, doubting you while focusing on me.
  
  
• I tried to change it up. What does that mean? Change it up? Could I change it down? What does it mean?

Aikido for 10/27/2008

Tonight Jake, Joey, and I practiced the following techniques:

• Shomen-uchi ikkyo
• Shomen-uchi irimi-nage
• Ryokatate-dori tenchi-nage
• Shomen-uchi nikyo

The first three techniques are from USAF 5th kyu test.

Aikido for 10/22/2008

Last night Jake, Joey, and I warmed-up using some of the Systema warm-up techniques. (While rolling, I believe I bruised my upper hamstring. I didn't notice until I began to do forward ukemi when on my right side, I was in pain. For the rest of the class, I could still do the technique but doing ukemi on the side caused more pain than I am comfortable practicing.)

Before class, I threw Jake and he threw me following some of the ushiro techniques demostrated by the Y. Yokota Shihan's second class at the Midwest Aikido Center's seminar I attended in Chicaog on Sunday. I saw some old friends from the late 1990s and even Mike, a new friend from Iowa City who was also at Boulder's Summer Camp. Yokota Shihan's did this ushiro kokyu-nage where nage first leans forward to get uke leaning forward and then nage reachs up and throws uke by graping the neck. This is the first time I have practiced this technique and it is effective. When I was practicing in Chicago and this technique was demostrated, I made an effort to remember the details because I wan't to practice it in Gunnison. The other two techiques we practiced included:

• Ushiro kubishime kokunage
  
• Ushiro ryotetori kaiten-nage
  

Aikido and Systema 10/17/2008

This morning (my first morning back in Chicago) I went to the 6:30 a.m. Systema class taught by Choate Sensei of Chicago Aikikai. This is the first Systema class I have taken and I found Choate Sensei's movements that were softer than my usual practice. The Systema training involved more punching and connecting to one's partner. We also worked on some knife techniques which had some similarities with Aikido but also involved more direct interaction and response to your opponent's attack. Choate Sensei was working with me and he mentioned that in Aikido we often don't look at uke when preforming the techniques. He pointed that out in my practice and it is something he has noticed in a lot of Aikido training. Choate Sensei talked about Ushiro Sensei from Summer Camp. Ushiro Sensei said that a lot of Aikido practitioners had weak eyes. When I asked why we Aikidora have this problem, Choate Sensei said that it may be because we are too nice, that we don't want to hurt anyone. This is a good lesson for the day and something I can take back and improve both my own Aikido and my teaching. Another bonus was that I saw and talked to my friend Taro from Summer Camp and we are going to try to meet up again this weekend.

BTW, I am having a great time seeing Irving, Jamie, and sons. My plan is to explore Chicago today and then chill out the rest of the my vacation.

Aikido for 10/15/2008

Joey and I were the only ones at practice. I talked to Jake earlier and he was feeling ill. After warming up, we practiced the following techniques:

• Yokomen-uchi shiho-nage (omote and ura)
• Yokomen-uchi nikyo (omote and ura)

I am headed to Chicago via flying out of Denver. I am excited and can't wait to see my friends Irving and Jamie along with their sons.

Aikido for 10/13/2008

Last night Jake, Joey, and I practiced the following techniques:

• Tsuki iriminage
• Tsuki kotegaeshi
• katate-dori Shiho-nage (ai-hanmi) (omote)

I am getting excited about this weekend because I'm planning on attending an Aikido seminar at the Midwest Aikido Center on Sunday with Yokota Shinhan from Hombu Dojo. Next week, I am planning on attending the Boulder Aikikai Halloween seminar with Saotome Sensei.

Aikido for 10/08/2008

Jake and I decided to practice outside as we were unsure if this will be the last day of nice weather in Gunnison. We went outside and started warming up and then Joey showed up to practice as well. After the static warm-up was finished we then did forward and backward ukemi up and and down the hill leading up the Escalante Fitness Center, this was fun. The techniques we practiced last night were:

• Shomenuchi irminage
• Shomenuchi ikkyo omote and ura

Aikido for 10/6/2008

Last night Jake and Joey showed up so the class focused on basic ukemi (forward and backwards) we spent more time than usual on warming up and tai no tenkan. With the three of us, I rotated in an out of the techniques to maximize our training time. The only technique; Katate-dori dai-ikkyo omote. At the end, I had Jake attack me with a few different strikes (a more formal tsuki and a punch to the face) and I as nage, responded with ikkyo omote to show Joey how the practice of ikkyo at a slow controlled pace can scale up to a faster, more realistic attack.

On occasion, I experience a sense of grace and calmness when practicing Aikido that delegates all of my concerns, my worries, and even my joys to the moment at hand. My body and spirit combine, I feel integrated with my environment and uke, a sense of connection and peace. The irony of feeling at peace and connection with the universe while practicing a martial art does not escape me. Another paradox of my very human life and another reason why I love Aikido.

Trout fishing and Fall Colors

This afternoon instead of watching football, I drove to the Gunnison River before it widens out to Blue Mesa. As soon as I put my line with salmon eggs I caught a small four inch rainbow trout. This continued through the entire afternoon, I must of caught over twenty fish, only one was large enough to keep. A couple of times, I caught two fish on both hooks. Here are a couple of photos from my fishing day:


Here are some photos of the Gunnison River I took after I drove back to home. I fished for about an hour, I had one bite before it started raining. I drove home and cooked the trout with Warren Ellis's mashed roasted garlic with sweet potatoes.

Aikido for 10/1/2008

Jake and I were the only ones practicing Wednesday night.
We started off with a katate-dori kokunage and then worked on tsuki dai-nikyo (omote and ura). Jake and then spent the rest of the class practicing a modified randori (free-style) where uke would attack nage from any direction and from anywhere. It forced Jake and I to respond to kicks, elbow stikes, punches, and knees. Jake was questioning the practicality of some of the more formalized attacks used in Aikido and so through this randori practice, both he and I were able to see how we would respond to a more a conventional attack on the street. I noticed in my respones, I often ended up in sankyo as nage. It is easy to flow to and is an effective and quick submission pin. Next Monday Joey and BT both said they would attend so we might have four people on the mat!

Aikido for 09/29/2008

Monday night I brought my weapons for a night of a 1,000 bokken cuts. As I was walking up to Escalante Fitness Center, I drank in the beautiful evening as the sun was setting behind the West Elk Mountains. I dressed out and as I was finishing setting up the mats, Jake and I agreed to go and practice outside on the grass. We put away the mats and as we were walking outside, Joey stopped us and asked about Aikido. I told him we practiced Monday and Wednesday night and he decided to join us.

Starting a beginner during a more advanced weapons class was a good teaching challenge. We started off with learning how to the basic shomen bokken cut. We stopped and I taught until we finished off with a 100 cuts. We then practiced doing tai no tenkan first without the bokken and then with the bokken. We then practiced happundo exercise with the bokken that also allowed us to practice our turns. Next we practiced kose-dori katate-dori ikkyo omote with nage holding the bokken. We then practiced rolling on the grass both with and without the bokken. We then kokyu-ho omote with the bokken. To demonstrate how moving your center to throw is what this technique is about, both Jake and I grabbed Joey, Joey was able to move us enough to throw us. It was fun. On Wednesday, we'll be practicing inside again.

David Foster Wallace

I haven't written about the recent hanging suicide of David Foster Wallace because others have written about it better and with more passion¹. I felt connected to Wallace as a person for a couple of reasons. The first, is that I lived in Champaign, Illinois for over six years and recognized his common Central Illinois reference points; from playing on some of the same tennis courts in Champaign-Urbana, to an intellectual attitude and openness that is common to many of the people I still know and love in the area. The second reason I felt connected to him is that when my brother Jake was taking classes at Parkland Community College, his English professor was Wallace's mother. When I saw Jake this past weekend, he was shocked as I was about David Foster Wallace's suicide.

Besides loving Infinite Jest as one of my favorite books, (My first attempt at reading the novel failed, with everything I had going on in my life right after my divorce). My second attempt was in 2002 after a term off in library school , I started reading Infinite Jest and was able to immerse myself during a slow summer in Champaign. I read for days at a time, not moving too fast as the heavy damp heat settled in the apartment despite the AC. I need to go back and purchase the rest of his books that I don't own but now will with a sad heart.

¹ Mimi Smartypant's reactions and links followed by Sam Anderson's piece and these articles from the Arts and Letters Daily from the Chronicle of Higher Education.

I'll miss his footnotes and explanatory thoroughness they provided in enriching the main text. He showed these techniques worked for both his fiction and non-fiction.

Aikido for 09/24/2008

Jake and I were the only ones for class. From this class we worked on breath throws and maintaining a constant flow and speed in the techniques.

From suwari-waza, I had us shikyo (knee-walking) around the edge of the mat while alternating foward and backward rolls. We then practiced our tai no tenkan while in suwari-waza. We then stood up and practiced tai no tenkan, starting from suwari-waza does reinforce the balance and ending stance for tai no tenkan. By starting on tai no tenkan from suwari-waza, the rest of Aikido techniques flowed for the remainder of the class. Jake and I worked on kokyu-nages from a variety of attacks.

Las Vegas - Part III, "Trip Home"

Here is part of the fountain show, this is the best of the photos I was able to take:

Here is a photo of the Statue of Liberty in front of the New York, New York Casino:

The next morning, we got stuck in traffic trying to leave Las Vegas. In Utah we stopped for a rest break. Here is a photo of Jesse and Jarrett.

Jesse took this photo of Jarrett and I.


Happy Birthday Jarrett and Jesse! I had a great time in Las Vegas and I hope we can return sometime this winter.

Las Vegas Part II - "Accommodation"

Sunday morning we all passed out after our first night in Las Vegas. On Sunday, Jarrett and I both bet $50 on the the Denver Broncos beating the Saints by 5.5 points. The Broncos did beat New Orleans but not by enough to cover the spread so we lost our bets.

Jarrett and I went on a drive, down the strip and then we drove downtown Las Vegas.

That night, Jarrett and I walked back down the strip. I took this photo from the first night but walking down the strip is encountering Las Vegas icons, crowding each other for your attention.

Monday morning Jarrett and I went to a Gun Store where you can shoot fully automatic machine guns. Here is Jarrett waiting in line.

Here is Jarrett shooting the 9mm version of the M-4.

I first shot a .45 ACP Thompson Sub-machine gun, the classic gangster gun and WWII infantry weapon. It was so fun to fire this weapon. The second weapon I fired in fully automatic was the .223 M-4. Here is a photo after I had shot two clips of ammunition.

Monday evening, Jesse, Jarrett, and I took a cab and I took this photo in one of the casinos.

Las Vegas - Part 1, "The Anticipation"

On Thursday night I started to develop a cold. On Friday I went to work so I could release a draft version of a new library home-page for staff review and comment. I went home early and took a nap before leaving for Grand Junction. When I arrived in Grand Junction, I stopped by and saw my brother Jake, his wife Lisa and my nieces Ememy and Aura. I then picked up Jarrett and we drove to visit my brother Judd. We saw Keegan and his mother Devon before going back to Jarrett's and Jesse's. After having a low-key party we woke up Saturday morning and after Judd and Devon dropped me off at the airport, I picked up our rental car before driving back and getting Jarrett up. This is a photo of Jarrett Saturday morning.
This photo of Jesse and Jarrett was taken at Folsom National Park in Utah
We arrived in Las Vegas and after checking in, I took this photo of Stratosphere, our hotel.
This photo is Jarrett as we counted down until midnight Pacific Daylight Time when Jarrett will turn 21.
We walked down the strip and I tool this photo:

After Midnight, Jarrett and I went out and I didn't take any more photos for the fun but very expensive night. Jesse went back to our hotel.

Aikido for 09/17/2008

Jake and I focused on footwork and keeping a continuous motion through-out each technique. Here are the techniques we practiced last night:

• Mortetori juji-nage (omote and ura)
• Mortetori ikkyo (omote and ura)
• Shomen uchi ikkyo (omote and ura)
• Shomen uchi kotegaeshi
  

I'll be in Las Vegas on Monday so the next class will be next Wednesday. Jake would like to focus on a more systematic approach to our practice so I'll likely go back and start going over some of the 5th through 3rd kyu techniques and working on some the fundamental movements of Aikido for the next few classes.

Aikido on 09/15/2008

Jake and I were the only ones at practice tonight. He had a cold so we didn't practice too hard and ended class fifteen minutes early.
The techniques we practiced included:

• Katate-dori kotegaeshi
• Katate-dori sankyo (gyaku-hanmi) (omote and ura)
• Katate-dori sankyo kosadora (omote and ura)
  
• Katate-dori dai-yonkyo omote
• Katate-dori dai-gokyo

Aikido for 9/10/2008

No one came to Aikido tonight: BT had to work and Jake had a meeting. I set-up the mats and did some ukemi, tenkan exercises, and waited for twenty minutes before stowing the mats. Next Monday we'll back to regular classes.

Aikido for 09/08/2008

Tonight's Aikido class started at 6:30, Jake and I warmed up and then BT showed up. While BT dressed, Jake and I practiced a yokomen-uchi randori. After warming up, we practiced ukemi both forward and backward.
We then focused on these techniques:

• katate-dori Irimi-nage (ai-hanmi)
• katate-dori Shiho-nage (ai-hanmi) (omote)

At the end of class, we cooled down with za-ho sitting breath exercise. Jake will not be at Wednesday class, but BT plans on being there with hopefully Tank and Susie.

Aikido for 09/03/2008

When I arrived at the Escalante Fitness Center this evening, I noticed on a new activity board that the Aikido Class had been moved from 7:30 to 6:30 on both Monday and Wednesdays. I now need to contact Jake and others about the time change. I dressed out in my gi and hakama waiting for anybody to show up (Jake e-mailed me earlier in the day and said he couldn't make it). A group of dancers started assembling (they were the new class that runs from 7:30 on Wednesdays). I dressed back into my street clothes and as I was walking downstairs, I noticed BT was walking up. We talked about the time change and we waited for a few minutes to see if anybody else was going to show up. We walked out back and I showed BT Shomenuchi irminage but without the final throw because we were practicing on the grass. I also showed him the straight through variation as well as a front kick irminage (the first I have really done, I actually saw a variation on my new Ikeda Sensei's DVD)

Next Monday the class will start at 6:30 and BT thinks Tank will show up as well.

Double Dylan Part 2

On Sunday, Floyd and I got up at ate breakfast buffet at the Hotel Colorado. We left after ten and drove to Rifle where we turned off I-70 and drove North towards Meeker. It started raining and continued to rain off and on the entire trip to Park City.

Here is a rough outline of the entire trip using Google's Maps:

View Larger Map

This first picture I took from my Rodeo while outside Vernal. I liked how the cliffs curved around a central point.


When we arrived in Park City at around five o'clock, we parked in the third lot and got into the long line next to the road. Here is Floyd camped out and waiting in line. The second photo is of the line while we waited to enter Deer Valley Resort for the concert.


While waiting in line, the rain started again and turned into lightening and thunder. When the gates opened for the concert, we all scrambled for space. Floyd and I ended up at this location and I took this photo during a heavy downpour. We were huddled under a brown tarp.

When the concert the started, the rain let up and I took a lot of photos, trying to get a good one of Bob Dylan while he was planning. This photo is of the crowd and all of us Dylan fans (and after my third concert I gladly add my name to that list) enjoying the concert.

After trying all sorts of shots, I finally got a this photo of Bob Dylan.


During the encore, the rain started falling heavily again. After the concert, Floyd and I waited for about an hour for the traffic to clear. We made it back to Salt Lake City after some scary driving from Park City on I-80. Monday morning I drove from Salt Lake to Grand Junction and saw my dad, Jesse, and Jarrett. I left and drove onto Gunnison. All total, I drove about 1,000 miles on this road trip following Dylan from Aspen to Park City.

Double Dylan Part 1

Saturday morning I drove through Crested Butte to Kebler Pass. Here are some photos I took from the road.




I met up with Floyd in Glenwood Springs, and we drove together to Snowmass. We stopped and ate at a El Pollo Rico in Carbondale. I ordered the green chile relleo and corn tamale. I noticed many of the all native Spanish Speakers who were eating at El Pollo Rico ordered the roast chicken. Floyd and I arrived in Snowmass and were directed to the $10 upper lot. We caught a shuttle to the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Festival. I left my camera in my truck (stupid move). We walked into the festival and set-up in an area that off the left of the stage. Floyd went and purchased two beers and then not too much later Ziggy Marley opened up at 5:00. Ziggy Marley played his own and his father's music and I found his song, "Love is my religion" to be new to me and one I appreciated. After Ziggy Marley finished playing, I went and got two margaritas.

Bob Dylan and his band came out around 7:00 and after about three songs, Floyd and I packed up and left for a different vantage point to enjoy Dylan. Concert goers vary at different venues. The trappings of wealth were obvious at this concert and the group next to us were ignoring the concert to network and snark about who gives a shit. Floyd and I ended up to the right of the central control booth where we could see Bob Dylan better and the crowd were dancing and connecting to the music and being present with this opportunity for Dylan's classics and modern music.

After the concert, Floyd and I caught the shuttle back to my truck. We then drove to Glenwood Spring to our hotel, Hotel Colorado. Our rooms were on the second floor, past the Roosevelt Suite. The accommodations are historic and I recommend staying there in the later fall or winter as our room did not have air conditioning. Floyd and I went to the beautiful bar with the marble bar top. I drank two vodka tonics and then went to sleep in my bed.

Aikido for 08/27/2008

Jake and I practiced from 7:25 to about 8:30. BT could not make it but I did talk to him about next Wednesday's class.

Here are the techniques we practiced:

• Katate-dori Kaiten-nage (uchi-kaiten)
• Katate-dori Kaiten-nage (soto-kaiten)
• Tsuki Kaiten-nage
• Ushiro Ryotekubi-dori Kaiten-nage
• Free-style practice focusing on kokyu-nages
• Shomen-uchi suwari-waza irminage (2 variations)
  

Next Monday there is no class, on Wednesday class starts at 7:30. I believe that there will be more people so I plan on focusing on the fundamentals. I am headed to Aspen tomorrow for the Bob Dylan concert. Ziggy Marley opens, so I am excited. I am meeting my friend Floyd there and then on Sunday we are driving to Park City for another Bob Dylan concert. I should have some good photos from this trip. I'll be driving back to Gunnison from Salt Lake on Monday. Onward to Double Dylan!

Aikido for 08/25/2008

Jake and I were the only students practicing tonight. I added more warm-ups and I still need to create a portable shrine before we can do more of a formal start to class. I am trying to take Jake's advice from last class and include more formal etiquette into our practice. I also added Tai No Tenkan Shiho-giri omote and ura turns to the beginning stretches.

Here are the techniques we practiced tonight:

• Tai no Tenkan kokyunage (2 varations)


• Shomenuchi iriminage (ikkyo opening)


• Tsuki kote-gaeshi (omote and ura)


• Yokomenuchi shihonage (omote and ura)


• Shomenuchi irminage suwariwaza - a quick variation I picked up from Ikeda Sensei's DVD on suwariwaza with naga entering deep and grabbing uke's center before finishing off with the iriminage.


• Tsuki kote-gaeshi suwariwaza

Erin and Brandon's Wedding...

This weekend I drove down to Grand Junction for a friend's wedding. I stayed Friday night with my brothers Jarrett and Jesse. My brother Judd dropped off his son, Keegan, for us to watch until Saturday. After crying for about an hour, Keegan stopped and the rest of the time Jarrett and I constantly watched him get into everything. Here is a picture for Keegan from Saturday morning.

Later in the morning, I drove and bought a present and some clothes for myself. I swung by and picked up Jesse and we drove to Powderhorn Resort on Grand Mesa. My sister-in-law Lisa's sister Erin was marrying Brandon Taylor. I had met Brandon before, but hadn't met any of his family. My nieces Aura and Emerie, were flower girls. Here is a photo of them with my brother Jesse.

The wedding ceremony was held on the outdoor deck and I snapped this photo of Erin and Brandon as they were presented to all of us as a married couple.

Jesse and I rented a room and stayed the night at the resort. The next day, I dropped off Jesse and drove back to Gunnison. I had a great time and congratulations to the Brandon and Erin.

Aikido for 8/20/2008

Jake and I practiced tonight from 5:15 to about 6:20. We started off with me trying to remember Doran Sensei's katatetori iriminage. I didn't get quite the technique right but here are the techniques we practiced.

• katatetori iriminage (4 variations)
• katatetori ikkyo omote and ura (hombu style)
• katatetori ikkyo omote and ura (alternative varation)
• katatetori shiho nage omote and ura
  
• utemi to the face ikkyo omote and ura (hombu style)
• shomen uchi iriminage (3 variations)

Jake and I talked after class and I'll be spending more time warming up (this class I didn't go though a complete warm-up but with beginners starting again on Monday, I want to be more complete) also Jake recommend a more formal start to class. I will need to come up with a portable shrine because Jake is absolutely right, formal bow and start to class will improve our practice.

Aikido for 08/18/2008

BT, Tank, and Susie came for the Aikido class they are just beginning Aikido, so I started off with brief safety and etiquette talk. We went through the wrist exercises and some other stretches before introducing tenkan. Next, I went through forward and backward rolls. All of them were able to do sitting and kneeling rolls.

Next I went over the following two techniques:

• katatetori kokyu nage


• katatetori ikkyo omote (I am following the fundemental Hombu dojo style from the current doshu's Best Aikido)

The next class will be next Monday and I am excited about practicing Aikido after a great summer camp.

Fishing with Dad

On Sunday, Dad and I went to breakfast to Gunnysack for brunch we then went fly-fishing on the Gunnison River, starting at the Neversink recreation area. When we parked, I got out and saw this doe.

Dad and I split up and I walked through some brush surrounding one of the small off-shoot of the Gunnison. Here is a picture:

I walked to where this stream emptied back into the larger river and started fly-fishing when this man walked up and started fishing at this rock overhang. We started talking and he is a barber in Gunnison. Above his head is Highway 50. He told me in the Spring he caught a 22 inch brown. I was only able to get my line out to left of the bushes in the middle of the picture a few times with a couple of different flies.


After about a half-of-hour of fishing at this spot, I walked back to my SUV. Dad was there and we decided to drive to our usual fishing spot. We fished at the bank until 4:00 p.m. before Dad left for Grand Junction. I caught two small rainbow trout, not more than five inches, which I released back to the Gunnison River.

Trout fly-fising with Dad..

My Dad came up from Grand Junction on Friday night. We went to dinner at Sugah's and then watched a fly-fishing DVD that came with his new gear. I learned a key tip from the DVD: tip, top, ten. Tip, for the tip of the fly-pole. Top, bring the pole to 12:00 o'clock position and pause. Ten, bring the pole tip to the 10:00 o'clock position to cast the line out.

The Saturday morning we drove up to Taylor River to start testing out the DVD's advice. Here are some photos, the first is where I walked out on some rocks to free Dad's fishing line.

This second photo is Dad with his fly pole. Just after this photo, Dad caught and released a small rainbow trout.

Here is a photo of one of the other places from the Taylor River.

We then drove up to Taylor River. We stopped at the Nugget Cafe for lunch. Storms went through and rained but then when we finished lunch, the sun was back out. We drove around the lake and then stopped to fish. The wind whipped up the water, here is a photo of Dad on Taylor Reservoir.

The wind continued so we decided to leave. We stopped at the dam at Taylor Reservoir. Here is a photo of Dad looking down at the bottom, similar to the view from the second photo.


I'll post some more photos from Yesterday's Gunnison River fishing trip (where I actually caught some fish). I am also teaching the Aikido Basics class at Escalante Fitness Center at 5:00 today.