Aikido @ Permas Sport Complex

It has been a long 15 years that this dojo has been going on. 27/6/2019 (Thur) is our last Aikido class at here.

During this 15 years, Permas dojo has trained and mature many Aikidoka. The place where I started as an assistant leader till become an instructor. From a 5th kyu I started helping and teaching here till in a 4th dan now. Sorry that I have to close this. Dojo in order to have more time to grow other dojos at other places.

Life is like a cycle, new born will get old one day, old will pass away which give path to another new born. 😊 To fill a cup of water again we need to empty the cup first.

Actually I'm lucky enough that my only 2 students here still want to train under us eventhou I given them information of the neatest dojo for them to train in.

I read an interesting quote online: ' Brith is painful and delightful. Death is painful and delightful. Everything that ends is also the beginning of something else.'

Here are some of the photos on our last training and dinner gathering with some the students also.

Mindfulness in us

The word mindfulness had becoming more and more popular recently. Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we're doing, not been over reactive or overwhelmed by what's going on around us.

It is something we are naturally possess whenever you bring awareness to what you're directly experiencing via your senses or to your state of mind. Via your thoughts and emotions, your are beening mindfull.

Mindfulness can be practise in many way, by watching the movement of sea waves, watching the movement of tree branches, feel the wind when wind is blowing. Feel the touch of the sand with your hands, seat on a chair and do breathing therapy or medication etc.

Mindfulness training help us to handle our emotional mind well, it help to build our nature sense of surrounding also. To feel the taste of water when we drink instead of drinking without tasting. Just like we drink wine, whisky etc. Give yourself sometime to be alone might also help you to free away from daily stress also. It can help us to see and handle suitation or problems more easily.

Martial art and sports is also part of mindfulness. In this I choose Aikido, in Aikido we need to do movement together with our breathing. We need to train our balance and senses, we need to blend with our partner to create a smooth flowing motion, centre and harmony. It's a kind of zen in moving form, the so call moving zen.

So have you find your way to have a mindfulness lifestyle, the way to clear your mind when things happen? I hope everyone of us can find their way to feel peace and harmony, maybe one day we will meet on the mats training Aikido together 😉

Challenging 2017.....

It has been a long time since I last post any update here, is a challenging year for me and my family. My eldest son was sick since Feb 2017, he was amittied in hospital due to serious purging n vomitig where it took him 2 weeks to heal.

During the 2 weeks he was admitted twice in hospital. After that was heal the nightmare started. He started to have headache everyday where he can't go to school, and we admitted him to hospital for checkup again. His headache was 24 hour consistent and it get worst everyday. Where he slowly was unable to walk due to headache, unable to wake up early in the morning. Where doctor was mentioning about virus attack due to his liver condition was no good. Things get worst everyday he become over sensitive with touch on his body. If we touch his body he will feel pain, there are time where he cried loud at night saying whole body pain, seat down also pain, stand up also pain. Many times we are thinking of giving him steroid treatment but the virus was still unfound.....

I have been running both hospital wards and aikido class most of the time, and I'm very thankful that my students are there to help me taking care of my class whenever I had urgent issue. 8 time adimitted into hospital, all kind of virus blood test done, 4 brain MRI, 2 E.G. Done, with only medicine for migrain to be taken. 6 different hospital visited more then 20 specialist and doc seen. My life was a mess but aikido training n teaching help me to stay strong. Thou I had time where I'm on the way to break down, my wife, family and students is there for me also.

I can say is a mental training of my aikido inner deep instead of my hand on techquice. When I teaches small kids in aikido class I feel so sad when I see my son having problem of illness. Where I need to drive from my workplace back home during lunch time to wake him up, support him standing , feed him food or water where it will took him about 40 min to 1 hour where he will get back to normal and started walking. Been able to walk for few hours a day for him is a wonderful gift for us that time.

Every week we need to visit min 2 different doc both western n eastern medicine hand in hand. Lucky his condition improved where we are able to wake him up everyday early morning n his physical condition improved. Yet a new story started 😊 After weekly discussion with doc we pick up new knowledge weekly. We are still monitoring his body condition always but we found out he has this in born psychology behavior hidden inside him where this illness trigger it. Which we found it hard to control his emotion and behavior.

His 4 MRI was sent to kl hospital n the doc there was wonderful, the doc
gather his whole department and even sent my son MRI to US specialist where both country doc mentioning his brain was normal but his headache was real. Which will cause him body weakness and emotion swing..... we where refer to UMMC hospital after discussion etc we try our best to bring him back to school. New nightmare comes where is impossible to bring him to school on July 2017, but we need to dress him up almost everyday. I need to carry a 50kg young boy almost everyday from ground floor to level 4..... in his sleeping condition, but he manage to attend class for few hours slowly, of cause in between there are many small stories such as lost of memory for few days, escaping from school, fighting with me outside class for not wanting to go school etc, Aikido teaches us to fall and get up as a uke where my life story with my son is always up and down everyday. Constant believe in fate and training bring it into our life. My son was classified as a school refusal or we can say school phobia in medicial term.  Not many old people understand what is the meaning of it. Is part of a psychology issue for kids and teenagers.

Yet another things we learn in Aikido is to feel n follow the flow, we decided to change to a private school for him, where is a christian church school taking ICCA cert. During the decision of changing school for him is a night mare for me, most of the family members doesn't really support my decision n I had some small understanding between my family and my wife. Now his will always have mood swing or meltdown where we always need to bring him for psychology clinic for counselling, giving him OT etc. He is also classified as an Asperger kid where most family members don't agree with it but only me.

I'm suppose to be taking my 4th dan this year, but after so many issue happening, everyday is a challenging and thankful day for me where I think my mental test is already way above my hand on technique. My son will always once awhile mood swing where we need to learn to teach him, refuse to go school once awhile where both me and my wife need to try our best to encourage him. Is challenging but we know we are not the only one having family problem.

Thankful for the mindfulness training in Aikido that always make us strong, I don't know how long I can still hang on but I will always try my best as a father, a husband, an aikido instructor.......

Goodbye 2016 and Welcome 2017

It has been a wonderful 2016 for us, Thou we do not set up any new dojos and do much marketing to let people aware of us in 2016, yet we still manage to maintain Hibana Bushidoo well, at least we manage to go for Aikido Seminar in Singapore, manage to have few dan grade promoted. Many small small things happen yet is a good learning for us and everyone here :)

Here are some photos that i manage to arrange here for the whole 2016 and edit in a clip in Youtube, many many more not added in, but is ok cause is always in our memories. From Chinese New Year blessing for students, to grading, to self defense class, to Aikido seminar, to birthday celebration etc....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjKwdjBnCew&t=3s

Hibana Bushidoo Aikido Demo 2016

Here is our Aikido Demo for a Aikido Seminar in Singapore.

4th Aikido Shinju-kai All Instructor Demo and Seminar

So finally this event was over, is a wonderful event. Training with friends oversea, meeting of oversea instructors yearly. Having a nice seminar and lucky the demo was ok for us also. This year we have 2 instructors represent Aikido Shinju-kai Malaysia doing this demo, Instructor Calvin from Ju Ai Aikido and me Bryan Loi from Hibana Bushidoo. Hopefully every year we can always attend as a big group as usual. :)

Think before we react.....

In Aikido training sometime we will say about, connection, reaction, focus, eye contact, ukemi etc, all these small repeating details that we always train is not just for the dojo only. Many always say Aikido in your daily life, which I've been trying to do and always remind my students to do. Sometime is not easy but I hope we can always keep that in mind.

An uke attacks but always try to maintain balance and contact, nage blends always connecting, extending etc. When we talk or do things, we must try to maintain this kind of relationship and ideals, sometime we are uke, sometime we are nage, sometime we need to be empty and just stay.

Aikido sometime involve a lot of thinking not just on technique but ideals of life. Quote from O-sensei

"One does not need buildings, money, power, or status to practice the Art of Peace. Heaven is right where you are standing, and that is the place to train." Morihei Ueshiba

Many reasons were involved when we chose someone to help out in the dojo, it doesn't mean that someone who is teaching must be very good in technique, maybe their characters are much better, maybe they are more friendly when they are teaching others, maybe they don't select which type of group or ages to teach. But those that always use to help out was less and less assign of helping also have reasons involve, maybe is time for the younger generation to train up, maybe your character and attitude changes.

We must remember we are not the best as we are learning always, if we have a mind thinking we are the best, harmony in dojo will be loss. Don't always use quote that "this Sensei say this, this Sensei do that" when classes are carrying out by other Instructors or leaders and your are in a viewer position, that shows no respect to the dojo, your friends and your teacher decision. Remember uke and nage relationship? Students that watch beside the class should only seat and look instead of walking into the mat, talking in front of the teacher for the day about what we feel is right or wrong, even if the teacher was a lower grade then you, much younger then you, or is you junior.

Mount Fuji is for everyone but if we keep picking fault about the ways and ideals people are doing and teaching in the class, we are putting barrier along the road for climbing up the mountain for both our junior and ourselves.

Hope we always will remember, when is the role of uke, the role of nage, the role of emptiness, changing of this 3 roles always in things we do and training, may everyone find our own harmony and peace in life :)