Hatsunuki in Houston

[Emily Egan]

To all on this forum,
The weather was cold, dry, and very clear this morning for our group's first ever Hatsunuki in Houston. For those unfamiliar with the custom, Hatsunuki is the term for first draw of the year and is usually performed on Jan. 1 at dawn.
After warming up with one repetition of Batto Ho, the five of us each took turns doing Mae to the east as the sun rose. Afterwards we retired inside to enjoy steaming hot sake, a potluck breakfast, and each others' company. This was a very pleasant way to start the new year, and I hope everyone else had a great first draw or practice.
--Emily Egan

[JimmyCrow]

Emily

I'm glad to here that your groups Hatsunuki went well down in Houston. I had hoped to be up in Denton this morning with everyone from the Dojo but I have been sick for the last 3 days. Sick or no sick I still drug myself out of bed this morning at sunrise, faced the rising sun and performed Hatsunuki by myself in my front yard. It was not the same as being with Ray Sensei and the rest of our group but it was better than nothing.

Keep up the good work down there in Houston and I look forward to training with you and Joe again up in Denton.

[Douglas Wylie]

It was a little damp in our end of the world so we did ours indoors. We left the door open to get some of the bite of the cold air.

Everyone came out and reaffirmed their commitment to iai. We had hot sake and breakfast. It was inspiring.