Week 8: More on Aikido

Aikido of San Leandro

It is another Aikido weekend – in fact, a big one, since it’s Divisional Training. During divisional training, we get together with the other dojos in our division for two days and train together. It’s a lot of fun and quite an experience.

Because of that, this week’s shirt is another Aikido shirt. This shirt is another one from Aikido of San Leandro (ASL). Our first day of training is at San Leandro, our division headquarters, so I thought it would be appropriate to wear one of ASL’s shirts again.

This is one of the shirts designed by one of the students in that dojo. He owns a graphic design company so his shirts are very artistic. I love the overlay of the dojo’s name, Iwama – the style of Aikido that we practice, and the calligraphy. The calligraphy on this shirt is from one of the scrolls seen in the dojo. I believe it is one of O’Sensei’s, the founder of aikido. The first character looks like “bu”, the character for “martial, valor, courage” and the last two are “ai” and “ki”: harmony and spirit. I’ve been trying to find out what the scroll means, but I have been unsuccessful. It is still quite beautiful. Perhaps someone who knows Japanese can help me interpret this.

Hikari Dojo 10th Anniversary shirt

Also, since I typically wear my home dojo shirt this weekend, I also have a picture of our 10^th anniversary T-shirt in this post. This shirt is one of my favorites: I love the combination of om’s, hikari’s and our logo on the left.  This shirt is another one made by the same designer in collaboration with our Sensei. On it is also a quote from O’Sensei. Since it is difficult to read from the picture, I will share the quote below:

Always keep your mind

As bright and clear as the bright sky,

The great ocean, and the highest peak,

Empty of all thoughts,

Always keep your body filled with light and heat.

Fill yourself with the power

Of wisdom and enlightenment.

- O’Sensei (Morihei Ueshiba)

For more info on aikido, check out aikiweb.com. For our dojo in Northern California, check out our website at aikido-hikaridojo.com.

Week 7: Hawaiian Kapa Style T-shirt

Full view of T-shirt: I even signed it!

This week’s t-shirt is a bit unique; it’s because I designed and printed it myself. It is a bit simple, but means a lot to me. Also, since I am on a brief sabbatical from hula, I miss my hula sisters, my kumu hula (hula teacher) and dancing with the group weekly. Writing about this brings me back to enjoyable memories.

I made this shirt as part of my hula halau (hula school) project. Each year, for our halau birthday, my kumu hula temporarily switches from dancing to crafts. We had two years of lei making (different styles), so she figured that stamping would be a good change of pace.

Stamping is part of our study of the Hawaiian culture. Originally, the stamps were applied to kapa or Hawaiian bark cloth. Ancient Hawaiian women would spend the whole day creating kapa while the men would hunt or fish, gather fruits, and cook. Pounding kapa is a long process: it takes days. That is why men do most of the food preparation.

Detail of design: The middle one is the lehua.

The stamps that we used are traditional bamboo stamps with patterns carved on one side. These are called ‘ohe kapala. My kumu shared with us that each stamp has a meaning.  For my shirt, I chose the lehua flower, the fern, one that represents animal footprints, and the sun. The design symbolizes my family: the lehua symbolizes me because that is my favorite Hawaiian flower; the fern, my husband, since it symbolizes a masculine energy; and the footprints for our cat. The nine suns represented the nine years we’ve been together (I made this a couple of years ago – we’ve been married for almost 12 years). I chose a horizontal pattern because it’s simple, and that pattern is in the traditional Hawaiian style.

Stamping is one of my favorite Hawaiian crafts (the other is making leis – particularly the crochet ones). I would like to have my own set of stamps, but I think it would be overly challenging to carve the patterns in bamboo. I may start out with something easier like rubber stamps and go from there.

For more information on making kapa, check out the “how to make kapa” page of kapahawaii.com or the one on kapa designs and patterns.

Week 6: Relax, Enjoy The Ride

I still miss skiing. Some development happened last week, and it looks like we will not be able to ski this season again. No worries, it’s all for the good, and we plan to be back on the slopes next season – slowly, but with a vengeance and maybe new skis.

Since I miss skiing, the T-shirt this week is from the Bay Area Ski Bus. Half of the time we go to the Sierras, we take the Bay Area Ski Bus (or fondly called “The Ski Bus”). We take the Ski Bus mostly for day trips. We let the bus driver do the driving for us. That prevents us from getting tired from the drive up, putting chains on when the weather sucks, and driving down after a long ski day and after a Bloody Mary for Hubby and a Snuggler for me.  

Their choice of resorts varies week by week. It gives us a chance to get to know the different resorts at Lake Tahoe and collect updated trail maps. I think now, you have a choice of more than one resort per weekend.

On the drive up, you get to take about a 2-3 hour nap. You can even bring a pillow, eye cover, and blanket, if you wish. You are woken up with ski or snow videos and then breakfast follows. When we were taking the bus, breakfast usually consisted of bagels or muffins, cream cheese, yogurt, and juice – sometimes, Red Bull was available.

We usually get there when the resorts open at 9, so there was a good chance of freshies. The only times we were late was when there was a big storm, lots of traffic, or an unfortunate instance getting lost or the bus breaking down. No worries though, in the years that we've taken The Ski Bus, we've only been lost once, and the bus broke down maybe twice. 

Once you’re there, you get ready and put on your gear, while the Ski Bus staff gets your lift ticket - No need to line up! Then, we ski until we’re all worn out. That was all day for me, but that was in my younger days.

After skiing, there is usually a party around the buses. There are soft drinks, Red Bull, of course, Chex Mix, cookies, and occasionally some wine sponsored by a local winery. We enjoy a raffle of resort or ski bus swag – which is where we got this T-shirt. Then, you can either sleep or catch a movie or two while the driver takes us back to the Bay Area.

We have not taken it for the last two years, but we will ride The Ski Bus again next season. They usually had two or three buses, sometimes four, running per weekend. But now, I believe it is more. It’s a lot of fun and a great value.

For more info on the The Ski Bus, check out the Bay Area Ski Bus website and enjoy a ride or two. See you next season.