... kempo ...

19/5/2024: Yesterday, I made another post on the Jordaan dojo  facebook page. It took some time to be approved, but OK, that can happen. To my surprise he did not react,, whereas he  usually expresses at least a like, and more often even a 'love it' red. heart tag. Surprising, is he annoyed or is there something else? OK, we are a bit competitive, but that should not be a reason to ignore me. Well, we will see. If it so occurs, I will just drop kempo, and continue on my own way, however long it lasts!

5/6/2024:  ... about politics, monday evening the meeting with the kempo guys, which went surprisingly well, with an authorative guy, a smart guy, with a stern look on his face, both into formalizing their concerns in a worried, slightly authorative manner, meshed by a somewhat forced smile, and another one, easily annoyed, and of course the one who is shrugging his shoulders, and an expression of what do I know on his face. When I left I was called a nerd, which I took as a compliment, indicating that I payed attention to details, In effect,I remained as neutral as possible, and with some distance observed the interactions between them. However, I still felt involved, if only for the long time we have been training together and the (significant) role kempo played in my life and personal development!

After visiting Japan, for my third dan exam, where I got the assignment, as I felt it, to help guard the future of Shorinji Kempo in Amsterdam, I felt the moral responsibility to contribute to the existence of Shorinji Kempo, even  after our sensei retired, and contribute to the new, more democratic and modern style, when the guys took over. At the meeting I also made a personal statement, that, with regard to my current condition, I stay on the side, but wish to be involved, however with less active participation,  and as I now practice, more focus on advice and acting as a teaching guide, by explaining technical issues and correcting posture and technique. I emphasized the existential value of kempo, and the importance of supporting the individual needs of the kenshi, and their personal concerns. which for me was the primary motivation to practice kempo. Also, now that we are somehow entering a new stage of our life together, as the children grow older and more independent, the moral core of martial arts become perhaps even more important, as a way of life, and for me,  not the least important, as a means to participate in a community, active to the extent my condition allows for it, but also providing focus for attention on issues of life, physical and mental development, balance, and again, a motivation for disciplined practice, as a way to guide my process of aging, and to deal with the various problems and dilemmas of life, the chaos, the institutional issues related to finance, schools and work, and the need to keep control over the resources that support our, in general, modest life. And, with children, I can only say one thing, life goes on! So, go kempo!

6/9/2024: ...  Yesterday, nobody showed up for training, so we skipped training, and instead had a ceremonial tea, and a long talk, about travelling, discipline, and, of course, kempo, how to stimulate the actual presence of people at the training sessions, and how to avoid personal conflicts due to transgression and escalation of personal issues, either due to direct contact or personal history. I felt a bit like talking my way out of it, but perhaps I should accept that, as my personal strategy.  At least I can talk the walk. even when not be able ...

12/10/2024: On facebook, I wrote: warrior performance :: what do you know  about skin therapy? ... don't ask me, ... whatever way I talk about it, these are just words, .... it is not magic, don't fall in a stupid trap, but listen to the expert, and wait -- please -- I observe, no, I do not judge, face it, life is a game of chance, so go for it, and why not, indeed ... go kempo!

13/10/2024: ... today I plan to write on facebook:   fighter experience -- attack force -- life is not a joke, stand-up for your right, face reality, and fight violence if needed, in practice, however, in my opinion, or vision, the key is to connect, whether you like it or not, develop the attitude, wait, search your memory, observe, listen, smile, speak free, and take the challenge to join the party, take it as an adventure,  including school, children, work, money,  the modern context,  and the stress of public city life,  use your voice and make some noise,  sing your song and find the flame that allows you to play the game, to learn the skill to drop your rage, empty your (busy) mind, have a rest and some sleep, create a plan, a habit of motion, leave your cage,  exit the cave, your favorite corner in the house, and travel, go outdoor, hit the road, look at the space, listen, scratch your face, take a walk, follow the crowd,  and talk, experiment, scribble a word, draw an image or write a poem, use paper or a tool, a pencil or a pen and a bit of zen to set yourself the goal, at the level of your age, to train, do exercise, improve posture and balance, get some action, guard the pain, and gain the benefits for your brain, remember, energy is a gift, just think of any scenario or image that comes to mind, it is education for life, with as a reward a sense of self value, relax body and mind, the origin of your soul, monitor and count your points, but -- please -- my advice,  if I make sense, keep control and act in a slow fashion, because if you ask me why, well, you know,, don't be smart, you must go with the flow, and remember,  in my opinion, twinkle, smile, indeed, why not... go kempo! 

18/11/2024: Finally, my cycle project is finished. Finished in the sense that the major amount of work, re-cycling all the recorded material, so to speak has been done. Finally, I can again sit down on my corner, and read and write at leisure. All the work had a price though, in the sense that my posture of sitting behind the screen has caused me pain in the legs and an overall stiff body. My wife is now treating me for this with her acupuncture and acupressure techniques that she learned in her TCM study, which will be completed by the end of the year. Already now she is looking for opportunities for her therapeutic practice, and busy with creating her brand. For me, now writing on my new tablet, ait is time to think how to spent my time, take up my exercise again, and draw, write and scribble on my new gadget, indeed remarkable, which I must admit I own by being seduced by clever advertisement, But such creative activities have an important role, in my opinion, simply to deal with important issues in life, and to cope with the life style problems that may be a consequence of such activities, and build up resistance, there is, as I have indicated in other situations, a simple answer ...  go kempo! 

22/2/2025: shadow -- travel issue ... life goes on, that was the conclusion of the howa session of kempo a few days ago, with a small number of kenshi, talking about courage and place in life, following a circle, clock-wise, each describing in a few words their opinion and experience with these issues, some with real dilemmas to deal with, others, including myself, in a more general way, with a reference to life, practice and science. Surprisingly, there was almost no attention for the issue of energy, while, in my opinion, this forms the soul of kempo, together with posture and breathing, to regulate the working of the brain in situations of fear and action, where there is a threat of violence, so do your exercise and practice, indeed ... go kempo! 

28/2/2025:  children -- wait action ... another day, a bit in doubt whether I should write, and why, since I could also sit in my corner and read about dance as (brain) therapy, but indeed, when in doubt -- twijfel --, so why not, draw a line and take the opportunity to reflect, on the issues of life, children and the feeling of responsibility that brings, and the stress of family life, with three dominant women, the youngest of which has a flu, lying in bed, watching her iPad, but taken well care of by her mother, even with a massage, that she accepted apparently with some reluctance. The weather is still cold, and I am feeling old, but why complain about the pain, there is no gain in that, just take it slow and go with the flow, with some exercise to give life some spice, and, when I speak about flow, indeed  ... go kempo!  

2/5/2025:.strategy -- key issue / smile -- connect circle  .. writing is a way to take distance, but according to a theory about brain plasticity, it might also strengthen the link to that particular item, positive or negative, so the question is what to do with my feeling of solitude, with the political issues playing with kempo, which now also include me, because, having the courage to be disliked, I emphasized the importance of formal clarity, and a clear consideration of what I later called the range of support, that is thinking through the various scenarios, both with respect to the personal involvement of individdual benshi, as well as possible financial issues when problems occur, The answer to my contribution was, in dutch, geen tijd, geen zin, niet nodig, a genuinly toxic statement, clever though, and an efficient weapon against my intrusion, but, 'although I admire the effectiveness I also find it insulting, and from the perspective of future cooperation, unacceptable, and will thus, for the moment withdraw my involvement with the issue at hand, ... zoek het zelf maar uit ..., I go kempo, my way!

28/5/2025:  .. yesterday there was another kempo training, especially for black belts, but almost nobody, that is of the other branches showed up, actually only one, who came too late. For myself, I forced myself to go, despite the pain in my body, and the reluctance to meet the other guys, and be confronted (again) with kempo politics. A relief in some sense that nobody showed up, but still I did not join the after party, and went home, to eat and sleep. I also did some work for my authomatic annotation tool, and now try this out on various documents, including this note, it might be a real transformation that allows me to use writing as a therapy, for daily-practice, in addition to my upside-down exercise and go kempo! 

3/7/2025: ... reflection(s)... I am a bit in doubt whether to share a memory on facebook, or not, it is the statue that I associate with a moral voice, near the park, the caption could be monitor - warrior fight-manual, but my doubt concerns my intention to play, in a way, the invisible man, and posting it would, obviously, contradict this, showing instead my need for attention and respect, even though my current condition is perhaps not fit to engage in an actual fight, although perhaps now more than ever I need the attitude to stand up for my right, and indeed, fight and write, and both promote and cultivate the martial art(s) as a way of life, enabling one to engage with and confront the dilemmas and issues of our personal, that is both domestic and social life, and be able to face such confrontation(s) with both vitality and patience, or resilience, to be able to look for viable solutions, in the spirit of go kempo ...  

8/7/2025:: ... again the end of another day, with still a bit of time to write, and considering the number of note(s) so far written, almost a moral obligation to write again although the purpose seems a bit unclear, but then again writing is writing, an exercise of hand and spirit, ken zen pen ichi nyo, in other words write and fight, even though the actual kempo training is less inspiring than in my experience from the past, where indeed, I often acted like a show-off, to experience the performance trance that was at the time, for me at least, dominant in our training sessions, inspired by our sensei, who was an actor, ... now, on the other hand, I enjoy the experience of being the guide on the side, looking at, and instructing other people, still showing my skill(s) by inflicting pain, that they accept with a grimace of joy on their face, especially when I explain that I bring about the pain by aiming at their brain, ... again I admire their energy and enjoy the pleasure they obtain from training, and to finish this note, my last words act as a signal -- go for it!