Shinto Muso Ryu Jodo Archives

“There is no way to peace, peace is the way.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Hello and welcome one and all. Happy Diwali to you. Yes, this week I join in the celebrations of Diwali, also known as the festival of lights.

1. Diwali is part of a five-day celebration that honors Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity.

Celebrants light lamps, set off fireworks and gather with friends and family to exchange gifts and enjoy holiday meals together, honoring community and a new year.

2. Uncovering and rereading old poetry books “The Heart Has Its Seasons” this book from the 70’s features photographs by award-winning photographer Larry Fink.

There are some great poems and plenty of prose. I spent time in Autumn: The Heart in Autumn; freedom and choice, decision and judgement, commitment and faithfulness, hope and promise, vision and adventure.

3. This week I went back into the dojo, the training hall in Toronto that I am a member of. I went with an old friend and we spent two hours training Japanese sword and short staff – Jodo.

It was wonderful to connect with another person, to discuss the martial arts, world affairs and the weather. We were training in the park at the start of the Pandemic. This week it would have been a challenge, the temperature dropping to below zero and a little snow flurry as well.

The featured photo is of the early morning snow flurry — that did not seem to bother the gaggle of geese enjoying the Beaver River.

4. This week I watched a documentary about surfing, Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton.

I love the look of surfing. This documentary has some of the most amazing looking waves I have ever seen.

5. My ear candy for the week was the music of the great Brazilian classical pianist Nelson Freire who died October 31st, aged 77.

RIP Maestro. There is a documentary on the life and times of Nelson Freire but I have not been able to find it playing on any of my viewing platforms. I found some great concert music, wonderful performances by Maestro Freire.

Thank you for reading. If you think someone you know would enjoy my newsletter please share it with them.

If you are looking for a great children’s book check out my new book, Samba in Brazil; Paperback version, on sale for a limited time. And the Portuguese version, Samba no Brasil, is also available on Amazon.

Or order one of my other books, Samba on a Snowy Day or the Brazilian/ Portuguese version Samba em um Dia de Neve.

Stay safe, stay well, stay strong and keep going.

Hello all!

Some things that interested me this week, and I hope will be of interest to you too.

Here are my five items, links or suggestions that should get you some inspiration and information.

1. I renewed my membership in the Ontario Coaches Association for another year. I renewed because I believe this is a valuable coaching/instructing resource. I have taken many National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) courses through the organization. One of the courses that I enjoyed, Fundamental Movement Skills, teaches the building blocks of physical literacy. The building blocks that will give children competence, confidence and motivation to try many different physical activities.

2. A child in one of my karate classes told me he had a peanut allergy. This came about during one of my classes and as I was teaching the kids how to make a proper fist and my analogy, was to imagine they had peanut butter in their hands and they should squeeze the peanut butter through their hands. My student interrupted me, “But sensei I can’t have any peanut butter”.

I have my first aid certificate and we deal with Epi-Pins and anaphylaxis is covered in the course but I decided I would take the allergy aware course too. And now I am certified. I must remember to say squeeze the pizza dough through your fingers.

3. I found a great movie on Crave this week, an acquaintance had told me about it, The Green Book a 2018 American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Peter Farrelly and starring Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali. The film was written by Farrelly, Brian Hayes Currie and Nick Vallelonga. The film, which won best picture at the Academy Awards, depicts the burgeoning friendship between a black classical pianist and his Italian-American driver as they travel the 1960s segregated South on a concert tour.

4. My scheduled meeting this week with Josh Miller, the illustrator of my soon to be released children’s book Samba on a Snowy Day was great. We usually meet at a Toronto library, this week the library was closing early and we took our meeting across the road to a bakery, coffee shop. We discussed the layout and reviewed all of the illustrations. I am very happy with Josh’s art work, he is a master illustrator.

5. What I am re-reading, Shinden Shinto Muso Ryu Jodo, an instructional book I keep coming back to as a master reference – It is in Japanese, with tons of photographs. Written by Hosho Terushige Shiokawa (1926-2014); a Japanese master martial artist who I was fortunate to train with in Japan in 2002.

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