January 13 2024
Journey to Shodan
Journeys often begin from
a distance further than we think they do.
In this case, my journey,
the journey to achieving Shodan, began in my early
years, in the year 1985.
I attended The London
Oratory School in Fulham, London, England. This is a
Secondary school, the equivalent of High School. In my
third year of school, I started walking a specific route
to High Street Kensington Station, along North End Road,
where I would catch the train home. I passed a thrift
store on the way. One day, as I passed, there was a
beautiful katana displayed in the window. I stopped and
stood in awe, marveling at the workmanship and
craftsmanship of the weapon. My mind raced through
adventures, too fast to be made conscious, however, the
impact was great. My first short story was inspired from
this meeting.
Years later, around 2004,
I had the urge to learn Iaido. I hunted around for a
school and teacher, however, my search proved fruitless.
Many months later, I was then contacted by a Mr. Tony
Giles who emailed me and said he could teach me the
basics. Coincidentally, he lived on North End Road, the
same route I had walked in years previous. He first
served me as a guide, and later, through the years,
became my very close friend. He sadly passed in 2014.
During this time, Tony
bought me a hakama. However, I never felt I deserved to
wear it as I hadn't learned even the basics. Our
training sessions were short. Tony guided me more than
anything. It was up to me to apply myself. I didn't have
the self-mastery I possess now in my older years, and I
definitely wasn't ready to begin this most important
journey.
More years passed and I
met my magnificent and extraordinary wife Cindy
Higginson. I married her and moved to the United States
in August 2017.
Around February 2018,
after I was settled in a bit, I shared with Cindy how I
really wanted to find a place to learn martial arts. She
fully supported my idea and suggested I do a Google
search.
The first place that
showed up for me was The Gi Yu Dojo. I was wholly
inspired by Sukh Sensei's message, with the video
showcasing students at the dojo. I got in contact and
received an invitation to come observe class. I recall
with fondness talking with Doug Sensei.
I was accepted into our
marvelous and supportive dojo community.
Starting out as a white
belt, I had a fairly steep learning curve, in getting to
know my own body. Left and right were confusing to me. I
felt I was all over the place, with little coordination.
Also, I was terrified of being thrown to the ground.
After training for three weeks, I would come home and
complain to Cindy that I'm rubbish, "I'm never going to
get this!" She has always been lovingly supportive and
would say "You've only been training for three weeks!
You'll get it, stick with it." Very wise words.
The first hurdle that I
successfully jumped over was my San Kyu (green belt)
rank test in December 2018. Bryan Strait was my uke. We
trained for our test at the dojo and privately in his
basement at home. I recall being very excited and
feeling I was prepared in a good way. I spent every
evening leading up to the test for weeks going over my
techniques solo at home in our tiny kitchen. The space
was sufficient for training.
My Ni Kyu (purple belt)
rank test was a little tougher, taking place in December
2019. My uke was Bryan. There were a few techniques I
had difficulty with. Yoko Nagare (Side Body Drop), Gan
Seki Nage (Throwing the Big Rock) and Musha Dori
(Warrior's Catch) didn't come easy, but not impossible
to make better.
I was grateful to have
passed and remember affirming to Sensei that I would
keep on training and developing. In fact sitting here
while I'm writing this, I have a smile on my face.
The next few years were
particularly challenging because of Covid. Cindy and
myself had moved into our new home. The dojo stayed
closed for most of 2020. Not being in training was
difficult, especially when time passed. However, one
crucial positive aspect came out of it: I realized how
much our dojo means to me. They say absence makes the
heart grow fonder, which is very true.
I think often on what
Sensei says about folks who have "given up" on their
training because of X, Y or Z. I see everyone as an
individual with their unique journey and judge in no way
people's choices. The only soul I can judge is myself. I
am very grateful that I overcame this hurdle (if there
even was such a thing in this particular instance.) The
dojo is my personal "temple" in the exterior world. We
all have our inner temple which reflects into the
physical.
It was fantastic to return
back to the dojo in 2021. I continued my efforts in
preparing for my Ichi Kyu (brown belt) rank test. Ron
Houck and I tested in December 2021 and earned our belt.
Techniques which were more challenging were Tate Nagare
(Standing Flowing Body Drop), Ippon Seo Nage (One
Shoulder Throw) and Muso Dori (Empty Catch). From the
beginning of my training, I had a fear of being thrown
to the ground. I had overcome this by the time my brown
belt test came around. Changing your thinking and your
relationships with the world around you takes time, and
is entirely possible.
It was around the early
Spring of 2022 when I started thinking about testing and
preparing for Shodan. I was confident that with enough
training I would be ready to test at the end of that
year. I spent the time training when my health permitted
me to with my good friend Jeremy Penn as my uke. As
December started to get closer, I was caught in between
two places in my mind. On the one hand I didn't feel
prepared at all, and on the other hand my ego demanded
that I test no matter what. The result ended in me not
testing, as during the time around the DaiKoMyoSai my
health took a downward spiral.
The next opportunity to
test came in the Summer of 2023. Having continued
training and preparing, I was set to test with Lucas
Bumgarner. However, once again my health took a
downturn, and I missed the opportunity.
They say everything comes
in threes. I finally was well enough and prepared enough
to test at the end of 2023. Both my good friends Bryan
Strait and Jeremy Penn trained with me as my ukes. I
tested and passed my Shodan with Jeremy as my uke on
December 2nd. A very proud moment for me in achieving a
new waypoint. A few days later I also became a United
States Citizen, an American.
During training, an
individual's soul is bared fully with no hiding in
shadows. I am grateful to have been shown many facets of
myself that I continue to work on and fix. This is
important work in dealing with personal ghosts and
demons.
I want to thank Sukh
Sensei and all the wonderful members of our Gi Yu Dojo
Community for their time, support, patience and
friendship. Thank You.
Thank you to W.S. Sensei,
Aman Sensei, Jaye Sensei, Doug Sensei.
Thank you to Brittney,
Sam, Todd, Don, James, John, Michael, Chris, Adam, Mary
Ellen, Andreas, Bryan, Jeremy, Lucas, Ron, Gabe, Neal,
Holly, Victoria, Cameron, Trevor, Brittney, Mira, Ahna,
Nina, Sean, Dwight, Sandeep, Scott, Bryan, Jeremy.
Thank you to all our
predecessors and ancestors for gifting these martial
arts for our continued study.
Thank the most important
person in my life for her continued support, love and
compassion. To my dear wife Cindy Higginson. Thank You.
www.giyudojo.com
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