Days 39-42
We interrupt this samurai related discussion to bring you this important message:
Ok, so it's not that important, but I needed to update. I am so bad at updating this every day. >_< Fail.
You'd think on the weekends when I have so much free time I'd be able to keep up, but this past weekend was kind of busy so I didn't get the chance.
I will try to do better. Studying takes up a lot of time. Not to mention my total absorption in the Japanese music scene. ^_^;
So I've been making a list of all the things I need to learn. It's a big list. Can I do it all in 1.5 years?
...
I don't really think I have a choice.
Samurai were generally very accomplished, literate people. Not just in swords but in other traditional arts as well. At least, Miyamoto Musashi was. He was a skilled samurai and also artist, poet, writer, and proficient in traditional tea ceremony. He believed that to know your own craft you must know others as well. You cannot limit your knowledge to one specific art or weapon. If you do, you think too narrowly and will have difficulties when you encounter an opponent.
The more experience you have with weapons of all kinds, to know their form and function and techniques, you will become a better strategist on the battlefield. In the same way, the more arts you study, the more versatile you will be in the battlefield of life. You will be a step above your opponent who may only know one or two.
Since I have always had many interests in various things, this is a good way to think. Even if I am not particularly good at one thing, there may be another that I am better at and can thus forge my way, but having knowledge of other crafts will benefit me even more on the "battlefield".
So I am looking closely at things I should study, even if I do not have the intent to master them, the knowledge I gain will be invaluable in life.
Obviously the first thing on the list should be swordsmanship. Also there is calligraphy, tea ceremony, sumi-e, poetry, music, martial arts, and traditional Japanese cooking.
I want to be a more accomplished person and have a wide knowledge of things. After I master the Japanese language I would like to go back and study my French again so that I can master it this time. I would also like to study Kyūdō (Japanese Archery), Ikebana, the violin, the Erhu (Chinese Violin), and Muay Thai.
I realize that's a lot to cram into a year. Obviously I won't be studying all that at once. ^_^; I'd have to quit my job and do nothing but train... Which I'd LOVE to do, but like everyone else, I have bills that need to be paid.
The most I can do is try my best. On the weekends when I am off work I can take lessons in martial arts, tea ceremony, Iaido, and calligraphy. I found a martial arts school that teaches all those things. So I'm saving my money for lessons. I'm really excited to start, but it won't be for a couple months yet.
Until then I'm going to work out at home and get in shape with some Yoga and Pilate. On the weekends I can go hiking in the national park.
Tomorrow we return to the discussion about what it means to be a samurai.
Ok, so it's not that important, but I needed to update. I am so bad at updating this every day. >_< Fail.
You'd think on the weekends when I have so much free time I'd be able to keep up, but this past weekend was kind of busy so I didn't get the chance.
I will try to do better. Studying takes up a lot of time. Not to mention my total absorption in the Japanese music scene. ^_^;
So I've been making a list of all the things I need to learn. It's a big list. Can I do it all in 1.5 years?
...
I don't really think I have a choice.
Samurai were generally very accomplished, literate people. Not just in swords but in other traditional arts as well. At least, Miyamoto Musashi was. He was a skilled samurai and also artist, poet, writer, and proficient in traditional tea ceremony. He believed that to know your own craft you must know others as well. You cannot limit your knowledge to one specific art or weapon. If you do, you think too narrowly and will have difficulties when you encounter an opponent.
The more experience you have with weapons of all kinds, to know their form and function and techniques, you will become a better strategist on the battlefield. In the same way, the more arts you study, the more versatile you will be in the battlefield of life. You will be a step above your opponent who may only know one or two.
Since I have always had many interests in various things, this is a good way to think. Even if I am not particularly good at one thing, there may be another that I am better at and can thus forge my way, but having knowledge of other crafts will benefit me even more on the "battlefield".
So I am looking closely at things I should study, even if I do not have the intent to master them, the knowledge I gain will be invaluable in life.
Obviously the first thing on the list should be swordsmanship. Also there is calligraphy, tea ceremony, sumi-e, poetry, music, martial arts, and traditional Japanese cooking.
I want to be a more accomplished person and have a wide knowledge of things. After I master the Japanese language I would like to go back and study my French again so that I can master it this time. I would also like to study Kyūdō (Japanese Archery), Ikebana, the violin, the Erhu (Chinese Violin), and Muay Thai.
I realize that's a lot to cram into a year. Obviously I won't be studying all that at once. ^_^; I'd have to quit my job and do nothing but train... Which I'd LOVE to do, but like everyone else, I have bills that need to be paid.
The most I can do is try my best. On the weekends when I am off work I can take lessons in martial arts, tea ceremony, Iaido, and calligraphy. I found a martial arts school that teaches all those things. So I'm saving my money for lessons. I'm really excited to start, but it won't be for a couple months yet.
Until then I'm going to work out at home and get in shape with some Yoga and Pilate. On the weekends I can go hiking in the national park.
Tomorrow we return to the discussion about what it means to be a samurai.