Akemashite Omedeto Gozaimasu!

[Nathan Scott]

Mina-sama,

I don't know about ya'll, but I for one will be out for the holidays starting tomorrow mid-day.

I hope everyone has a GREAT Holiday and New Year!

Make sure to kiss your dojo, clean your girlfriend/wife, and patch up your dogi....

ando,

Eat lots of Osechiryori & drink lots of Nigorizake (I know I will)!

Anyway, don't crash the whole internet while I'm gone ~ see ya in a week or so. I hope Santa-san hooks up with a tengu who passes on to us all the "secrets" of aiki to start off the new year discussions with!

Kampai,

[Brently Keen]

Greetings Everyone,

I've been away and preoccupied for a while, but I wanted to say Happy New Year to you all! I hope your holidays were filled with much cheer!

Nathan, I'm sure that was just a typo on your part, but in the interest of promoting harmony and peace on earth, a tengu pointed out to me the following deep, but fundamental secret of aiki I'd like to share with everyone:

Kiss your girlfriend or wife first. Then clean the house or at least the kitchen, then after that feel free to clean the dojo, and patch up the dogi (if your dogi doesn't need patching just fold it neatly after washing it of course). Go train, then repeat the above, in the same order.

Remember repetition is the key to success and eventual mastery. The above pattern is just a kata, there are many henka (variations), but the real secret is to discover the principle, and practice applying it (oyo waza) until it becomes second nature. That way you'll find it much easier to maintain balance and comfortably position yourself to execute aiki and accomplish your objectives without fighting.

If you cannot manage your own responsibilities in a way that promotes harmony in your own house and in those relationships that are important, then it doesn't really matter how skilled you are in the dojo (or the street), because something will be out of alignment.

Lastly, go easy on the Nigorizake!

Here's to a balanced, safe, peaceful and successful New Year, God Bless!

Brently Keen

[Edited by Brently Keen on 12-31-2000 at 07:36 PM]

[Nathan Scott]

Hi Brently-san,

Nathan, I'm sure that was just a typo on your part...

Kiss your girlfriend or wife first. Then clean the house or at least the kitchen, then after that feel free to clean the dojo, and patch up the dogi (if your dogi doesn't need patching just fold it neatly after washing it of course). Go train, then repeat the above, in the same order.

Oh, that's why my girlfriend was swearing at me in Japanese (actually, it was supposed to be a bit of overy-subtle humor. I'll have to work on that a little more!)

Lastly, go easy on the Nigorizake!

Oh, now he tells me. Obata Kaiso had some really tasty Nigori (cloudy, unfiltered sake) at his get together on new years. Much better than Shochikubai nigorizake!

Well, things seem calm here. Guess I'll go back to sleep.. I mean, work.

Regards,

[Nathan Scott]

BTW, anyone else have a "whack" at mochizuki (mochi pounding)?

If you like bashing things, that's good times. Something for the whole family!

[Neil Yamamoto]

Hey Nathan, welcome back to reality.

Try out the Momokawa Pearl if you liked the unfiltered sake. The other Momokawa are pretty darn good too.

I popped a ligament in my right elbow for new year. Geez, should have drank the sake after class instead of before.

Pounding mochi was a standard in my family when I was a kid. I am thinking of making my own mochitsuki since I got directions for making the darn thing. All the raw materials are at my uncles, so I may do it this summer just for a lark.

But why, oh why, do i want to do hard labor in making food when my mom has a mochi machine and all you have to do is shape it when the little buzzer goes off? The same reason I do martial arts I guess.

[Nathan Scott]

Hi Neil-san,

I wanked me ankle (again) too. Those injuries are not only healing slower these days, they're also coming back in the same places. It's so wrong.

Try out the Momokawa Pearl if you liked the unfiltered sake. The other Momokawa are pretty darn good too.

O.K.

Pounding mochi was a standard in my family when I was a kid. I am thinking of making my own mochitsuki since I got directions for making the darn thing. All the raw materials are at my uncles, so I may do it this summer just for a lark.

That sounds interesting. I wouldn't mind doing some more pounding - maybe I'll come up and give you a hand. Where I was, the usu (mill stone) was made of concrete because the previous one had broken. The kine (hammers) heads were of natural wood, as if selected from a tree or something, while the O-kine (big hammer) head was - I believe - octagonal. We whacked through about 150 pounds of gohan (sticky rice).

But why, oh why, do i want to do hard labor in making food when my mom has a mochi machine and all you have to do is shape it when the little buzzer goes off? The same reason I do martial arts I guess.

That's what we started saying about half way through too. We could all take turns pushing the "start" button instead!

I have to admit though - it was kind of cool to eat zoni (mochi soup) yesterday using mochi that we had pounded up ourselves.

Regards,

[Dan Harden]

Hey Neil

Momokawa Nigori Genshu "Pearl" cannot be beat.

I introduced it to a local retailer and it took off as a sake item. He now sells it to me for $8.60 a bottle. Although I love it, it is dangerous stuff at 18% alch. Sweet and tasty.....and goes down far to easy after training

Dan



[Edited by Dan Harden on 01-02-2001 at 10:20 PM]

[Neil Yamamoto]

Hi Dan and Nathan

Oh yeah, Momokawa is sneaky stuff with that 18%. The Pearl is just a little sweeter then I like my sake so I can tell when to quit with it, my taste buds say enough to save me.

But the Silver and the Ginjo Diamond. Oh, you will feel like some one is making mochi with your brain for ingrediants and your skull is the usu the next morning.

Ozoni is not my favorite, I still like good old yakimochi, freshly made and then cooked until lightly crucnhy on the outside. Even better, fire up your bbq and then use a skillet on there to keep it from falling into the flames. I did it like marshmellows once, toasty brown on the outside and soft and warm. Just like grandpa used to tell me about in the old days.

Eat it or drink it, amazing how useful rice is.

Yeah, if I do this come on up Nathan. I'll let you know if I actually decide to make one. We can take turns pounding and then take turns turning the mochi machine on and off in between beers.

[Nathan Scott]

Happy New Year everyone!

[Cady Goldfield]

Am about to take a sip of Momokawa "Sapphire" myself now -- I sleep like a baby after a thimbleful. The "Pearl" is lovely, but "Sapphire" is better for warming in the cast iron sake warmer.

Nathan, what's with the wacky dates on those posts... Jan. 3? 2? Yup, looks like you got the last one right.

Happy New Year...

cg

[Yamantaka]

Yes...May we all have the best New Year of our lives!

[Nathan Scott]

Happy New Years!

This year has been Yaegaki sake, which is quite nice, and amazake (sweet New Year sake) so far, along with O-sechi.

Another mochi pounding fest too. I'll write more when I feel more like staring at the computer!

Hope your all having a good one,

[Nathan Scott]

Happy New Years!

This one is a little late, but still before kagami-biraki at least. Hope everyone has been dreaming of Mt. Fuji, eagles, and eggplants.

Me - I've been feasting on osechi and ozoni every morning. This is kind of what it looks like:



Hope everyone else is off to a good start,

[Brently Keen]

Nice! You just made me homesick & hungry.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL & YOURS AS WELL,

Brently Keen

[Nathan Scott]

Happy New Year's all!

I had to work New Year's eve, but had New Year's day off. We got up early for "hatsumode" (first visit to a shrine or temple), and observed the Shingon-shu esoteric Goma (fire ceremony). Cool stuff.

Good luck in everyone's training this year,