Tempus Fugit (Time Flies)

Greetings! I  just passed the 22,000 mark in hits on this blog. For some reason, it feels like a big deal to me. Probably because I never imagined I would have that many people interested in this blog. What amazes me still is the views are from all over the world, yet are split almost evenly between the martial arts posts and the tree care.
I will eventually get to the point of this short article. First and foremost, I am  slowly getting closer to completing the second book I have been working on. This book is purely my take on Ryukyu Kempo Karate, as learned from my teacher Taika Seiyu Oyata.


My first book was printed privately, by a friend. I had a limited number of copies printed for family and friends at my expense. I never intended to try and make money off of my teacher or his name/martial arts. It was mostly done for fun, a labor of love meant to help me remember my teacher Mr. Oyata and a way for others to see not only his genius and wisdom, but also his irreverence and sense of humor. I wrote it for me as much as I wrote it for him.

This second book is more of a way for me to share information about this system of karate from my point of view.There are many people training in RyuKyu Kempo that never got to know my teacher, Taika Seiyu Oyata. I would like to share some information about him,  his karate and a short guide to basic and intermediate ideas.

 I haven't decided yet if I am even going to publish it-I may just print a few dozen copies for people I have trained with-people I like,  people I actually respect -you know, martial artists that actually train in martial arts and family/close personal friends.
Money doesn't mean anything to me when it comes to my book- I don't believe everyone is entitled to it just because they plunk their money down. I also feel the same way about my teacher's martial arts.


I have been labeled an elitist and a malcontent for my views in the past. I find this amusing beyond belief-Not the malcontent part,that is certainly true. I wear it proudly.The elitist label is a source of never ending hilarity to me. It's..just..too...funny. For what it's worth, I quit worrying about offending people or what other people think about me roughly 50 years ago!

Here is a simple truth-Not everybody truly deserves my teachers martial arts. Let me share a few of my thoughts on this with you and why I don't teach commercially anymore:
Should I teach martial arts to the lazy/uncommitted? People who feel entitled to learn everything just because they are paying me for it? Not through any actual effort on their part."Oh-you paid me, but only showed up for 3 classes in a month, I will reward all of your hard work and dedication and teach you secret neck strike #7"😀

Should I teach martial arts exclusively to the self entitled? Rich assholes with poor character-indulge them simply for their cash? "I despise you as a human being, you are a self indulgent wiener, but your check cleared-this is secret tuite #12"😀
 

How about the thugs/ bullies?-people who would use martial arts to intimidate or hurt others, should I create a small army of thugs with martial arts skills because they gave me money? No-I believe there are people who most definitely are not entitled to learn my teachers martial arts.


I believe I have every right to decide who I will train and who I will share my knowledge with. The malcontent label I have most definitely earned, but I also have my reasons. Most of my problem with organized martial arts has been politics-factions, groups, organizations......etc. This group is this, this group is that, this guy hates that guy, this group hates that group.(Yawn.....) Like a never ending bad soap opera-As the Stomach Turns. It all seems very juvenile to me, like high school or junior high cliques.It was tiresome years ago, it is intolerable now. I am done with it all. Done with groups, factions, martial artists slandering each other.I cannot imagine a worse waste of time or brain cells.

Here's a Thought- Maybe that's what Hell is for martial artists-spending eternity listening to other martial artists squabble, all bitching about each other😀😀.


Does anybody just train because they love to? Train for their love of the art? Just focus on martial arts alone? I know I do.Screw the belts, rank, titles, groups.It doesn't have to be that way. I simply like training outdoors, in a park or the woods-with not a solitary human being around. Just me and my martial arts. I am able to focus intensely on whatever I am working on with no distractions.Some would call it Paradise. Our time on this Earth is precious and fleeting-choose wisely.

My teachers gift to the world-his martial arts and wisdom, are treasures beyond monetary value. These are the things I will focus the remainder of my life on-the things my teacher taught me, trying to be the best martial artist I can be. I am passing my martial arts on to my son and a few other worthy
individuals who have been training with me for many years-they have earned it.

Peace!

A Tale of Two Oaks

 

“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity... and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.”

― William Blake

 

The picture above was taken in a park by my house. There are two Bur Oaks in this picture.Bur Oaks are one of my favorite tree species-they can easily live 200 years or more if left alone.Very little affects these trees. The wood is incredibly dense, strong and decay resistant. The perfect Oak for the Midwest.

I truly believe every picture does tell a story. I will go a little further and state that every tree tells a story if we slow down, look closely and take the time to study and value them.

The larger tree in the background, to the right in the picture is a fairly mature Bur Oak. Years ago I was a City Forester. I was able to intervene and keep this tree from being cut down on a few different occasions. You might say I have a vested interest in the health and longevity of this particular Oak. When I first learned to climb and prune trees professionally, using rope and saddle-this was the first tree I climbed and pruned. I learned this tree is incredibly old when I was cutting out some large deadwood and began counting rings in the wood. This is not the largest tree in this park, but it is one of the older trees. It grows in an area with quite a bit of limestone in the ground, which has slowed the progression of root growth and root spread. This has had an effect on the size of tree and trunk growth, canopy growth. Growth is slow and measured, you can see it on every branch, every year, a large natural bonsai effect.

I practice martial arts in the shade of this tree-when it's raining, I train under the dry, protective canopy.The acorns this tree produces are massive, the large, mossycup variety associated with Bur Oak trees.This tree is easy to climb and I find myself up in this tree a few times every year, admiring the dark green leaves, muscular branches, the thick grooved bark. This Oak is, quite possibly, one of my favorite trees in the world.

 The smaller Bur Oak in the foreground has great sentimental value to me. I planted this tree when my grandfather died, in his memory. He loved and valued trees all of his life. I learned to fell and cut up trees for firewood from him, how to split firewood. Learned how to prune fruit trees in the small orchard on his farm. He was a wonderful human being, a bright light- filled with knowledge and kindness.I remain forever grateful for the things he taught me, the time I had with him. 

I check on his tree every time I am in this park.This Oak hardly needs checking, it seems unimpressed by insects, disease, wind, rain. Like my grandfather, this tree is tough, stoic- seemingly unaffected by the storms raging around it, defying the wind- there is a lesson here for all of us- taught by a humble tree.

Veritas est libertas-Truth is Freedom

This blog has always dealt with the truth. I started this blog as a way to share information and the truth
about tree care. It  has slowly evolved/devolved into my personal blog about trees, martial arts and general musings on both.

I say exactly what I think-My truths may not be your truths-take it or leave it-it's just my opinion, like everybody else. If it has value to some-great, if you don't like it-that's ok too. Feel free to go somewhere else.😀

Dealing with the truth has never been popular. Pointing out the hard truth to people will make you even more unpopular. Everyone has their own truths-stand up and own what you believe to be true.

We live in a world where people talk tough behind their computers,make rude comments to complete strangers online, insult or threaten people with no thought of consequences.A simple truth- I can guarantee you people would not talk this way if you were standing directly in front of them, looking them in the eyes.
There is, at times, a great deal of negativity associated with modern martial arts-it's unfortunate.
Martial arts is and should always be viewed as a self empowering, positive energy event.

My teacher, Mr. Oyata ,repeatedly stressed to us  how ridiculous it was to argue with anyone
about martial arts-whether online or in person. "No can change mind, doesn't matter-no stupid talk"
He thought it was beneath us, an exercise in futility-I couldn't agree more, especially about stupid talk.

What I have come to understand over the years is most people don't really want to hear the
truth about anything-they want you to tell them what they want to hear. Life is not a popularity contest,I prefer to deal in the truth as I see it.

As I get older, it gets  much easier for me to see and speak the truth as I see it.
The best part about being me right now you ask?   I don't have an agenda-there is a feeling of
 deep contentment that comes with having clean hands.
I sleep well at night! A clean conscience is a wonderful thing-see, I told you the truth can set you free!
 
Right now I have a few people I am training with and we are perfectly content.Some people want a school, a following-some people are perfectly content with neither of those things. Martial arts/training does not have to be a commercial enterprise. In the old days, some masters felt it wasn't right to
"eat "off of karate-they held it in higher esteem, it wasn't for sale. It had to be earned and it was passed down for family and close personal relations.
I tend to agree with this outlook-you can take offense if you want to-God knows people get upset these days when the weather changes or the wind blows. It's not directed at anybody , it's my honest feeling about my martial arts-not yours. Do whatever you can live with-it's on you.

It's getting much harder these days to find people willing to work hard for real martial arts.
I get the feeling that people want things to be easy-Mr. Oyata used to tell us-"I no easy teach"
He wasn't joking either! There was never anything easy about training with him and I would
not have traded a minute of it.
For me it's always been about passing on my teacher's art to the right people.Decent, honest people with
strong character.Nothing good or worthwhile is ever easy.

I have been fortunate to have some good teachers and to train with some very talented martial artists.
  I always had a deep, abiding respect for the really skilled martial artists that were also  humble.
The truth?-These type of people are also getting much harder to find these days.

A word of caution-Be careful about blindly following people.
The sad truth is not everyone is worthy of your trust and devotion.
I have discovered this painful truth for myself on a few occasions.
An eternal optimist, I still like to believe that most people teaching are sincerely trying to pass on a martial arts system-with good intentions, training people to the best of their abilities.

Just remember-in martial arts as well as life-people and teachers have their own agenda.
At times, you should ask yourself- What is this person's underlying motivations?
Are they adhering to a code, a specific creed? Are they sincere, honest and humble?
Or are they driven by Money/Greed?  Ego? This is nothing new, we should not be surprised, but it
is disappointing to witness firsthand-money should not be the motivating factor in life or martial arts.
Another truth-There will always be people that need followers to massage their ego.

Mr. Oyata used to talk to us/caution us about about getting a big head-letting your ego get in the way of
your learning and training.He was a wise man-his teachings and wisdom were and still are priceless to me, they continue to sustain me.

Always look for the truth in everything -it might just set you free.
Peace

Reading Comprehension- Helping You Understand the Words and Sentences I am Writing

In response to some recent comments about a few of my blog posts, I just want to make sure
people are not only reading the actual words on this page, but that they are capable of comprehending, actually understanding the words and sentences I am writing.

I have decided to share some valuable information I borrowed from a website.
This is a teaching aid for the First Grade Level on Reading Comprehension
I am asking everyone to please take and actually pass this simple test before they comment on my blog posts.

I believe, with some extra effort,  some people will be able to understand/comprehend the words and sentences I am writing on this blog. Have a nice day!

Trees of Mill Creek Park

VanBooven Tree Care, the company I help manage, has been doing work at two designated Arboretums in Kansas City Missouri.
We recently completed work at Loose Park and Mill Creek Park. I have a few photos of the trees
in Mill Creek Park I would like to share. Mill Creek Park is on the East side of the Country Club Plaza. This is another iconic Kansas City park, with some interesting large, old trees.

This work is part of the fourth contract I have landed for Arboretum/Park pruning in KCMO.



Vanbooven Arborist Luke Becker-Pruning the first tree at Mill Creek Park, a huge , old Ash tree.

Pictured below: VanBooven Arborist Chris Brewer pruning a large, old double trunked Black Oak.
We removed some large hazardous deadwood and also reduced significant portions of the canopy.


Pictured below-Another shot, from a distance, of the same double trunked Black Oak.

Pictured below-Arborist Luke Becker pruning one of the many mature Oak trees in Mill Creek Park.
Luke is not only an ISA Certified and Kansas Certified Arborist, he also has a degree in Horticulture
from Kansas State University.

Below-One of the giants of Mill Creek Park-This Red Oak is over 80 feet tall, with a massive trunk.

Below-Pruning a large, mature Elm-this tree needed quite a bit of work, looked great when we finished it!.

Below-Another shot of the first grouping of trees we started in at Mill Creek Park.

Below-I am always on the lookout for cool or unusual looking trees-this Mulberry growing along the walking trail does not disappoint.The large burls-shape and texture, make for an interesting photo.

Below-The same burled Mulberry being pruned!

Last photo below- I really like this one-A shot of the fountain running, with happy, freshly pruned trees.

Most days I have the greatest job in the world-we are always grateful for the opportunity
to work on Arboretum/Park trees. Shout out to Alice Hannon-KCMO Urban Forester for all of her
help and guidance on these projects.  Thanks to Chris Brewer, Luke Becker and D'Angelo Hicks  for putting in the time and expertise to make this project another VanBooven  Tree Care success story.

Public Martial Arts, Private Martial Arts and Martial Arts Infomercials

 One of my favorite pictures of all time-Taika Oyata and I at the Yagi Hotel, Okinawa Japan
in 2002. Jim Logue is in the background.
I have always held my teacher and his martial arts in the highest regard!

 Public Martial Arts, Private Martial Arts and Martial Arts Infomercials-
Taika Oyata used to tell us "most people will never understand my karate".
As time went by, I understood what he meant. Most people would never spend the time it takes
to truly understand his martial arts. It is not uncommon for people to take the path of least resistance, to focus on the easy tasks, the low hanging fruit. I personally trained, at the very least, a couple of hundred people at two martial arts schools over several years. There are only a few of these people still training, the ones that are still training  have become quite skilled.
I will take a little credit, but mainly the credit is theirs-they possessed the drive,  the desire to focus on one martial art-to try and learn/understand Taika Oyata's art-they never gave up!
I  respect  most of the the people from Mr. Oyata's system that are still actively engaged in his martial arts.

It is difficult to teach, especially large groups of people. You have to put a lot of time in, explaining every nuance-it was difficult enough to learn this system, trying to explain it all becomes another thing in itself!

I am currently focusing on our research group and training with/sharing information with a small group of people. We have a dedicated group that has been meeting /training with Hanshi Steve Stark. We have chosen to keep our group private and to not share/ post videos of what we do, what we are working on. I believe at the higher levels, martial arts should be somewhat of a secret-I am not sharing information or techniques with people who have not sweated and bled with me for this art.
I can guarantee you that martial artists from times past did not share their techniques or knowledge with outsiders or people they barely knew. Why would they?
I am inclined, along with our group, to keep my martial arts private. I am a proponent of
private martial arts-small groups of people with shared values working towards a common goal.

To be clear, I refuse to accept money for teaching anyone martial arts-I will either train someone or I won't. I don't expect people to understand or agree-this is my way.
I feel there are some things money should not be able to buy-some things must be earned.
To be quite honest, not every person is worthy of my teacher's martial arts or deserves them.
 Some of the old masters felt you should not "eat" off of karate, I feel the very same way.
I am not judging anyone that makes a living teaching martial arts-it is difficult to do
and I wish you continued success, it's just not my way.

I believe there are many traditional martial artists teaching Mr. Oyata's art in a respectful manner. I wish them success, they have my respect and my blessing.

There are currently any number of people posting video online of Mr. Oyata's kata, drills, techniques.
People are free to do/post whatever they want and I will feel free to comment on these events.

Some of these videos remind me of  a huckster shilling his wares, trying very hard to sell you something or prove to the world how much they know, how great they are-some of it seems a little desperate to me!  Like a bad case of the look-at-me's!!
I guess some people are not content just training and teaching small groups-they need an audience, lots of attention.
My personal feeling is it's hard for anyone to have much respect for people that seem to be trying waaaayyy too hard- selling Mr. Oyata's art.

Don't listen to me, I am just stating how I feel-Do whatever your conscience allows.
I take comfort in the fact that I am not selling Oyata martial arts infomercials-performing techniques on somebody slow punching at me or just holding their arm out for me to perform a technique on.
I wonder if in days past traveling martial artists shilled their martial arts to passerby-
"Step right up ladies and gentleman and I will show you the secrets of tuite, my opponent is going to slow push, slow punch or just hold his arm out, look how I twist him up and take him to the ground, I am truly great! sign up right here!!😆

It is no great secret that many of Taika Oyata's students do not like each other -this group hates that group , this guy hates that guy-it all became very tiresome years ago. Who cares?

I am however,  a little concerned about what type of people Mr. Oyata's students have become and how they represent themselves.
I believe there are a few individuals misrepresenting themselves as close, personal students of Mr. Oyata.
If you were a close, personal student of Mr. Oyata, you should have been ,at the very  minimum, a Godan level martial artist in his organization.
All of the close, personal students of Taika Oyata, those students he felt were of good character and qualified to pass on his martial arts, received a scroll in his family art, Oyata Shin Shu Ho Ryu.
Not everybody made the cut-there were some individuals he did not allow to receive a scroll in his family art. I truly believe this omission speaks volumes about their character and
abilities.

I encourage everyone  in Ryukyu Kempo and Ryu Te to teach for the right reasons-to hold Taika Oyata and his martial arts in the highest esteem and  to remember the words of our teacher, his teachings, the Dojo Kun, the Guiding Principles. These things matter greatly.
 Taika Oyata had an ideal, it was Oyata Shin Shu Ho Ryu "To strive to attain true moral goodness and express it through one's every action" . 
Taika Oyata gave scrolls to those he thought would pass on his martial arts, that were of good character and worthy to teach his martial arts.

I am content to continue my training with our research group and finding a few worthy people to train privately. I will leave the  martial arts infomercials to everybody else.

Perseverance -A Pillar of Martial Arts and Life

Martial arts is a marathon, not a sprint-it should be a lifelong endeavor of physical, mental and moral improvement.

Martial arts has always been a journey of self discovery, self-reliance.
We all need good teachers and the support of senior students, fellow students, but
we ultimately must be able to stand on our own two feet and fight for ourselves.
I have always loved the personal empowerment of karate-watching people discover they are strong-they can do this, they can be good at this- powerful, self reliant., fearless-that this power is inside them, of their own making-they own it.
As a teacher, this was and is always a beautiful, powerful  moment to witness-when you see students realize  they are strong-they can do this, that they are good at it, that they continue to improve and they will never give up!
I tell people martial arts is a game of inches, not yards. It can be hard to track your own
improvement, it tends to be incremental. For some people , instant gratification is necessary. The repetition-endless kata, drills and exercises are too boring, too tedious . Many people give up, stop training when it becomes difficult or they become bored or complacent. As a teacher, I can tell you all about the frustration and sadness you feel when promising students drop out , give up or just never come back to a class.

I cannot give someone ambition, strength or endurance/perseverance. It has to come from  you.
A good part of life is just showing up with a respectful, positive attitude- in martial arts you should also be listening
carefully to your teachers,not just listening, but reading between the lines.
Sometimes your teachers are waiting for you to ask the right questions-if they just give you the answer, if they show you everything, you have not worked for it, have not earned it-it's like cheating on a test.

Nothing good or worthwhile is ever easy.

The good teachers are hard on us-they demand more, they push harder, not satisfied until they see you are giving everything you have-they are waiting for the moments when you rise up-when you meet the potential they see in you.
We owe it to ourselves, our teachers and all the great martial artists whose footprints we follow in kata to never give up, never stop trying-not being complacent or convinced we have mastered something.
The world is full of people who give up when things become difficult.
I am convinced a person's true character is revealed when things are difficult, when life or circumstances have you down. Will you rise? Or will you just stay down, defeated.
How badly do you want real martial arts training?
What are you willing to endure?

In my younger days I used to worry about who was better than who. I felt like I was competing against everybody at all times. I used to train like a madman before tournaments- then a funny thing happened. I was furiously  training at headquarters and Mr. Oyata was watching me-He asked me what the hell I was doing, what was wrong with me.
I told him I was training for the tournament and he told me to stop and come over to him. He looked me in the eye

and told me you can only train-you can't train for the tournament-you are either ready-right now, or you aren't.
Ladies and gentleman-ponder those words for a minute-that is true wisdom from a master of martial arts.

 I have never forgotten his lessons and I will never forget the martial arts he taught me.

I am no longer competing with anyone but myself. It is a constant struggle to fix bad habits, correct kata motion, make changes in technique that work for me, my body, my timing. I believe I am halfway to my true potential in martial arts.
It is entirely possible I will be a martial arts master at 106 years old!

We all aspire to greatness in our martial arts. Only through  many years of constant practice,
dogged determination-a fierce will to succeed can we hope to rise to any level of greatness.

As human beings, we are equally capable of wondrous, great deeds in our lives. We can inspire others through our example and actions. I believe the expectation of my teacher was that we all become better martial artists and better human beings over time-you can't get there overnight.

I firmly believe that inside of every human being is a tiny spark of the original fire, a small piece of the divine-what  will you do with that inner fire, with that spark-what will you feed it with? 

My teacher, Taika Seiyu Oyata left the world an incredible gift-His wisdom and his martial arts.
What will we do with it?