Keikogi

This weekend I started putting together some products for my soon to be built martial arts supply website. And on that note, here's an image of the keikogi I'm excited to be offering for kenjutsu and iaido practice. The keikogi features an extra long cut and no side vents, making it the perfect choice for any art where a saya is placed thru the obi.

Eco Friendly Water Bottles

You like water, right? So you must like bringing water to the dojo, right? Now's the time to invest in a more eco friendly water bottle for your dojo time, like the stainless steel canteen water bottles shown above. They last almost forever, can obviously be refilled and aren't an oil bi-product. So, do your part today and pick up your eco bottle today.

Website Update!

Normally I like to keep my martial arts activities separate from my business, but this week I setup a websites for senior members of the ryu which I belong. Now I remember why I normally do mix my activities. After I coded out the website and updated the name server settings at Godaddy, my client (the senior members of my ryu) experienced severe email difficulties.

So, to make a long story short, if you are setting up a website on a previously registered domain name double check to make sure that no emails are connected to said domain before you update any settings. The results could be "unfortunate".

***Update,

I have made a bit of head way on this project and things seem to be moving along towards setting up a site with a new domain name. Consequently, I've also picked up work from another dojo member as well, so maybe I was initially wrong about mixing business with "dojo" business. We'll see.

Ukeme Drills

Ever since finding this video about backfall ukeme, we've been trying to work on this exercise at the dojo to which I belong. So far the practice has been promising and hopefully will improve in the coming weeks.

Mixing Martial Arts and Business

Normally I like to keep my martial arts activities separate from my business, but this week I setup a websites for senior members of the ryu which I belong. Now I remember why I normally do mix my activities. After I coded out the website and updated the name server settings at Godaddy, my client (the senior members of my ryu) experienced severe email difficulties.

So, to make a long story short, if you are setting up a website on a previously registered domain name double check to make sure that no emails are connected to said domain before you update any settings. The results could be "unfortunate".

Old Time Christmas Music

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Madacy Entertainment. All opinions are 100% mine.

It seems more and more common these days for everything to become more high tech. AS s this process progresses, old time traditions seem to be swept under the rug in the course of "improvements". Luckily, you can now find a great collection of 60 Christmas Carols For Kids on CD over at Amazon.

To be completely honest, I don't have children who could enjoy something like these cds, but I do have little brothers and sisters who are obsessed with computers, video games, and iPods though. As these items become more and more popular, old fashioned Holiday traditions might be forgotten.

To my readers, the ones who are my age or older, you probably remember tapes, maybe even 45's with your favorite childhood holiday songs. Now that the music is being recorded over to cds it's time to pass the traditions to the next generation. So, check it out and enjoy!

Fuchi, Kashira, and Kojiri

Here's a couple images of the style of fuchi, kashira, and kojiri I plan to mount my wakizashi with. I really like the plain, simple style of the set and feel this wakizashi will now be able to be worn with a variety of other blades. Well, at least it won't be a completely different feel or look from my existing katana theme.

Finally a contest I can relate to Aikido

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Incendia Health. All opinions are 100% mine.

So, Abbott Medical Optics Inc, a company who performs laser vision correction is having a iLASIK Video Contest highlighting the disadvantages of glasses or contacts over corrective surgery. Having run into this problem in a few dojo's around the country, I can definitely relate. What aikidoka has practiced with glasses on, or with a partner who was wearing glasses only to have them knocked off? I know I've dealt with the latter several times, and it can disrupt the flow of the dojo, no one wants to break someones glasses after all.

If I had a good enough video camera I would totally put together a video of submission. A video that shows just how inconvenient glasses can be during class at the dojo. There are some pretty good prizes on the line.

Here's the low down:


The Prizes
$5,000 Grand Prize

First Prize (one in each video category):
HDTV package — a $2,500 value

Second Prize (one in each video category):
The Flip UltraHD™ camcorder — a $199.99 value

The Details
1. Submit A Video
Users make and submit a video in one of the following categories:
• “My contacts are getting in the way of my good time”
• “My favorite sport or activity would be so much cooler with better vision”
• “You should see life after the iLASIK® Procedure”

2. Tell Friends To Vote
Once users submit a video, their friends can vote on it. And votes are one of the key factors in determining which videos win a prize.

3. Have A Chance To Win
• One Grand Prize winner will win $5,000 — selected from all submitted videos
• Three First Prize winners will win an HDTV package(a $2,500 value) — one per video category
• Three Second Prize winners will win the Flip UltraHD camcorder (a $199.99 value) — one per video category

Users can submit videos, view and vote on all entries at www.GottaSeeThisNow.com.

Here's a picture of my new tsuba

Here's a picture of the wakizashi tsuba I got for my wakizashi remount project. I wanted to find some rabbit or moon menuki to go with it in order to keep the theme along the lines of the Japanese rabbit in the moon myth, but instead sold my dragonfly menuki in order to get a pair with birds in branches. I figure that is more in line with the nature them I have going on right now!

More pictures soon!

Blogger Speed Issues

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Charter. All opinions are 100% mine.

Now, I normally don't like to diss my computer or the speed at which it operates, or my internet connection. But, when I work on Blogger I notice an awful lot of lag time in the image uploader. And I'm talking about minutes sometimes, depending on what the file size is.

So, today I pulled all the crap (compressed disk space and files I no longer needed) off my machine before getting to work and I still noticed a bit of lag. I figure the lag must be caused by my internet connection, and that's when I found out about the charter ultra fast 60 Mbps service!

Those of you who don't realize it should know that that's a pretty good speed internet connection. Right now my current internet connection speed is right around 54 Mbps, which isn't too shabby. But 64 Mbps would be a 20% increase! Uploading images, emailing large attachments, everything I do on the internet would be considerably faster! It might just be time to look into Charter as an option.

My Wakizashi Mounting Continues

This week I made some head way in completing my wakizashi remount project in order to wear my short sword during ken-jutsu classes. I was holding on the the above fuchi, kashira, and menuki, but decided to sell them (and did) in order to buy a more cohesive set for my Wakizashi. I plan to pick up a matching set of fuchi, kashira, and kojiri in a blackened iron imported from Japan this week! I'll send images as soon as the new set arrives!

Very exciting!!!

New Ken-Jutsu Kata

Last we my ken jutsu sensei taught me a few new kata! The first new kata starts in a combination of seiza and cross legged sitting. Basically, the form is begun sitting in the arch of the left foot with the right foot in front of the left knee. This turned out to be an extremely challenging position, forcing me to work on posture, balance, and flexibility all at the same time.

Next we worked on two new kata involving a draw and thrust combination. These two kata are performed from a standing position. They were both as challenging at the seated kata, and required their own set of skills. I'll be digging up my notes this week and will have names for you soon!

Two Sword Kata

While I don't know a whole lot about the style being shown in the video above, I do think the two sword, wakizashi & katana, kata is interesting. I received my wakizashi tsuba yesterday and can't wait to finish mounting my wakizashi to use during kata.

Cutting with Wakizashi

My last post made me start thinking about Wakizashi, and here's an interesting video showing wakizashi Tameshigiri! Enjoy

Wakizashi Tsuba

This week I've been searching for a wakizashi sized tsuba and was totally surprised at how difficult it was to actually find a reasonably priced item. You see, since my Kenjutsu teacher started letting me wear two swords (katana & wakizashi) during kata I think it's time to finish my old Kris Cutlery Wakizashi blade and start wearing it! I'll be sure to post some pictures of the final mounting and one of me wearing the whole rig once it's all finished.

Yoshinkan Aikido

I just watched this video on Yoshinkan Aikido and found it quite interesting. Having spent my aikido experience among the ASU crowd, seeing another style of aikido such as Yoshinkan was a lot of fun. Check out the video, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

It may be time for a trip!

With the weather getting colder in the North a trip to a warmer locale is starting to sound better and better every day. While this post may just be a "wish list" or dream trip for me, I still would like to share the details on the Accor Hotels 3-Day Super Sale Asia Pacific. Accor has quite a few destinations included as part of their 3 day promo. One destination that caught my eye was Japan, a land I've wanted to visit since I got involved with aikido, iaido and ken jutsu.

Anyhow, as I perusing the Accor hotel list I saw that they're offering a one hundred and twelve dollar (US) per night rate on a hotel room! That seems quite affordable to me, I would love to visit hombu dojo, maybe even take a class! I'd also, on my dream vacation, love to just see Japan. Destinations such as Edo Castle, Mount Fuji, and SENGAKUJI - Shrine of the 47 Ronin - would have to be on the queue of places to visit! Especially if I could actually afford to stay for a short period of time.

If you're thinking about traveling abroad, check out the Accor 3 day deals, it might make your trip a bit more affordable.

Two Sword Style

I wanted to share the results after I tried wearing two swords during kata in ken Jutsu. Two sword practice is something that is very rarely performed, at least in the dojo I have been a part of. Wearing a wakizashi changes noto and the body mechanics of cutting. If you haven't tried performing kata wearing two swords, I recommend you take is very easy and go super slow at first.

I went a little too fast I think and there were a few unpleasant "thunks" where mune met kashira during noto. Other than that, I enjoyed the practice! Good luck and feel free to post your results.

What a month! Web Design is really picking up!

As some of you may remember, I perform quite a bit of web design for a wide variety of clients. Like most of us, in the beginning they had little to no knowledge of web hosting termsor how to spot which companies offer the best web hosting solutions at the best price.

I've found that I often rely on subtle hints when suggesting a web hosting company to one of my clients. Especially when a client is getting ripped off by their existing web host. So, do your homework and compare web hosting companies before you dive in!

Make Money Online with your Blog!

If you have a blog, write regular post, give your honest opinion, and would like to make money off your efforts, visit PayPerPost v4.0. Pay Per Post connects bloggers with advertisers who want bloggers to write their honest opinions about a wide array of topics. Post participation is optional and you'll get to make a good amount of extra cash doing something you already were doing anyhow.

So, head on over to PayPerPost v4.0 and sign up today!

New Website Gig

Here's a video from the MMA group in Burlington Vermont which has asked me for a web design quote for their website. Right now I'm setting up a template for a new site, but I thought I'd give the Burlington Brawl a quick plug on my blog. Check them out and enjoy.

My Shodan Test - part 2 of 2!

Here's the second installment of my aikido shodan test at Aikido of Maine. I really enjoyed the bokken kata towards the end of the video. Check it out and enjoy!

High Speed Internet might make blogging more tolerable

I know it's not a huge deal, but a slow internet connection can really through a wrench in the gears of my web design, multiple blogs, video uploading, and for those of you who take part in it, online gaming. Today I was reading some stuff on the Ultra60 Information Page, which isn't terribly informative despite the title. They do give you a toll free number and hype up the service which is 60Mbps! That's right 60Mbps. Just imagine what you could do on a connection like that!

So, how do you take part or sign up? Give the Charter toll free line a call from the info page. Or, wait I could just give it to you right here : 877-959-1627. Just give them a call to see the 60Mbps internet service is avalable in your area. You might also follow Charter’s Twitter Feed for news and updates, but I'm not sure how helpful the Twitter thing will be.

My Shodan Test!

So, after much time and effort, here's part 1 of 2 of my shodan test!



Though the video took me a while (3 months) to edit and upload to Youtube, it was definitely worth it! Thanks to Gary and Anya of Aikido of Maine for allowing me to take my test in Portand and many thanks to the dojo members who came out to help me train for the test! Ok, check it out and let me know what you think.

Organics may need our help!

Some of you may have already seen the article in the Washington Post article, "Purity of Federal 'Organic' Label is Questioned. If you haven't, read the article and then check out this letter being sent out by Christine Bushway calling for bloggers to get on board to support the great organic products we all love.

By now many of you have read the Washington Post article, "Purity of Federal 'Organic' Label is Questioned," published July 3, 2009. This article, which is being picked up in other print and online publications, focused on old news and urban legends and chose to reinforce rhetoric that is not only inaccurate but serves a narrow agenda whose motivations went unquestioned in the article

OTA, on behalf of its members, immediately refuted the Post article with a full media alert. OTA has contacted the top editors at the Washington Post directly and worked through the holiday weekend to get our message out in the blogosphere and on-line derivative coverage. The Washington Post article was published in the Los Angeles Times, was the second most read article on the Nation section of the Post web site, the most e-mailed article on the Post web site, and author Kimberly Kindy has been hitting the radio circuit doing interviews.

This is a serious attack on the integrity of organic farmers and processors and has resulted in consumer mistrust of organic products. The Post article generated over 200 comments to their website with a dizzying array of primarily negative reactions. If ever there were a time for the industry to rally together, now is that time. OTA will keep the membership apprised of its actions to counter this attack, and will alert you to ways you can help.

Currently there is unprecedented opportunity to further the development of organic agriculture worldwide, for the betterment of the planet and our collective futures. For instance in the United States, we are seeing support from the Obama Administration with key appointments at USDA filled by those who understand organic agriculture and with increased organic funding that will reach historic levels in this year's budget appropriations. In addition, consumers, despite a tough economy, continue to support organic and value its place in a healthy future. This should be a time to expand the demand for organic products and move the industry forward in a positive direction.

However, this opportunity is now also at significant risk.

The "circular firing squad" that exists within the organic community is destructive. It is counterproductive for industry organizations to pit one "type of organic" against another, and a fallacy to believe that airing these internal battles will achieve anything but a discrediting of the value of organic agriculture and products overall. If anything, it provides further fodder for opportunistic negative journalism.

Every time we engage destructive tactics, or support those that do, we only confuse policy makers and reduce the likelihood of much-needed government support for organic agriculture. Mixed messages force officials to move on to issues and agendas from industries that have clear goals and asks. We also confuse the consumers who are looking earnestly to make good choices for their families and the environment, particularly during this time of heightened price consciousness.

Who wins when we point fingers at each other? I predict it won't be anyone within the organic sector, including consumers.

I ask you, now more than ever, to get behind your trade association and speak with one voice about the integrity and benefits of organic agriculture and products. Let's all take the big view and higher road in the months to come. It is critical to the future of our industry.

Aikido for Kids in Western Mass.

This week I took the first step in settting up an "aikido for kids" class with the Union 38 school district in Western Massachusetts. My idea is to provide aikido principals with in good mix of games as well as some standard paired aikido practice.

Sounds good right?

Well, in my opinion, it's even better in practice. In the past I've assisted my teacher with a class for at risk teens. He provided a good mix of discipline, technique, and fun for the kids at the same time. I hope to emulate this process and provide an entry level introduction to aikido.

I just found a great video on Youtube after searching for kids and aikido! I search with a purpose as I'm working on setting up an aikido program with the after school program in the Whately school district of Western Massachusetts. It's my opinion that aikido and positive role models can have a positive influence on children & adults alike, which is what I hope to provide with my aikido program!

Very exciting.

Private Hosting Plans?

Right now, the aikido-matt blog is hosted at blogger, a free service that has to include the term "Blogspot" in the url. Not something I'm terribly pleased to have in my visitors address bar, there's something about a private domain that seems a bit more legitimate. Maybe it's time to make a move to a private domain and web hosting plan?

That's when I started looking for the best vps hosting I could find for the least amount of cash. Enter Web Hosting Geeks and their site dedicated to sharing various products and hosting plans from some of the best web hosting companies available today. I was able to narrow my web hosting choices down by prices or features and windows or linux platforms. Kind of a one stop shop for web hosting plans, which can be a bit faster than bouncing around Google for an hour or two before finding what you want.

Tea Culture Katana Review

Having used several katana in my pursuit of ken-jutsu, I wanted to share my review of the Tea Culture katana from CAS Hanwei. To date, the Tea Culture katana is one of the nicest blades I've had the pleasure of using. At about 29.5", it feels good in the hand, not too heavy and not too light with a nice balance. The furniture is also quite nice, I especially like the "battle wrap" tsuka. The only gripe I have on the overall package is that there appears to be a scratch in the suede ito wrapping, it came this way and is unfortunate. Other than that, I'm quite pleased with the Tea Culture katana.

Now for some pictures.

My new Hakama

Last week I received my new hakama from Bujin Design! I ordered one of the heavy weight cotton hakama, and I must say I wasn't let down by the result. Everything feels well made and durable, it's not too heavy, and the length was just right.

After such a good experience with Bujin, I definitely recommend their services to anyone on the market for a new Gi or hakama.

Yoga and Aikido Practice

Over the past few years, as I've finally hit my thirties, I've found that my need for stretching has increased. That led me to find a local yoga class; I tried bikram and I thought it was a good practice, but I found it a bit too extreme. My local bikram teachers pushed a harder style of yoga where I found myself really hitting the poses. It was vigorous but not quite what I was looking for.

So, the search was back on, and I ended up finding a small yoga group at the Whately MA , town library. It was a slower practice, more affordable, and really emphasized building core strength. The prefect compliment to my aikido practice, and I'd highly recommend the pairing of yoga and aikido to anyone else. For more info on the Whately MA yoga classes, click here.

If you're interested in some goods geared towards the Yogic lifestyle, click below.

Kendo Tsuki

I just found the image above over at SFI, and wanted to share it here as well. There are many forms in aikido and ken-jutsu that use a tsuki attack. But, it is very rare to see it used so effectively in contact. Were that blade steel or even a wooden bokken, an attack like that could have been deadly.

Japanese Archery

Today I read an article about Japanese Archery and thought I should share with my blog visitors. Here's a quick quote:

ZUSHI, Japan – It is about as far from the Olympic sport of archery as it can get. The bow is taller than the person shooting it, and, to the uninitiated, it appears lopsided and unbalanced. There are no sights, no high-tech stabilizers.

And, of course, it is done on horseback, at upward of 40 mph.

It's called yabusame, and it is the sport of the samurai.

Each year, archers in feudal shooting gear climb atop their decorated mounts for a lively competition on the beach of Zushi, a town just south of Tokyo, galloping in the sand as thousands of onlookers cheer and shout. The first competition was held here in 1199.

The scene is like something out of a movie by the great Akira Kurosawa. Banners flap in the ocean wind marking the beginning and end of the shooting runway. Little boys in bright robes and black hats scamper about collecting the arrows and the debris from the wooden or clay targets destroyed by each hit.

"There is nothing like this outside of Japan," said Ietaka Kaneko, who heads the Japan Equestrian Archery Association and the Takeda School of Horseback Archery, which traces its origins back more than 800 years.

You can find the entire story here

Promotion

Last night I was unexpectedly promoted in my Ken-jutsu class. Sensei taught a great class, Aaron (my kohai) and I had a good workout with some very good lessons learned. Now that our ken-jutsu class has changed to Fridays at 5:00 I am very hopeful for paired practice and larger classes.

At the end of class sensei lit some incense and called me to the front of the dojo with him. At that point sensei signed my sensu with my new rank and appologized for the burden (I now have another rock to carry). All in all it was a great day!