Quote

                

                    “What wisdom can you find

                                             that is greater than kindness?”

                                                                        – Jean Jacques Rouseau

Z A N S H I N: The Journey to Awakening

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Z A N S H I N

                                           Journey to Awakening

        After fifty years of martial arts practice, I am no longer able to continue.

      There are several reasons for this, but the main reason is my health has changed. I was able to keep practicing in a limited way after having both hips replaced, but when my heart developed an irregular rhythm, the medications to correct that left me weak and light-headed. The past few months have been a difficult time of readjustment to this new person that I have become. I have less stamina, less energy, less breath. Even my thought patterns changed. I have gradually been able to compensate for my new limitations, but martial arts practice was no longer helping. My balance was off. My speed was gone. And worst of all, my sense of indomitability had vanished, and a kind of desperation had settled into its place for a time.

         I have come to terms with all of this. My health is now balanced out, and I am exercising more, and eating less. All in all, I am feeling better than I have in months, despite going or not going to practice.

      Of course there are other reasons I stopped going. The commute was an hour's drive during rush hour, after which my brain would be fried and my heart would be irregular from the stress, not to mention ten dollars worth of gas for every practice. I don't miss that.

        But more central to the point is that my teacher, Grandmaster Jim Garrison retired from active involvement and moved two hundred miles away. The new Soke (headmaster) is Master Michael Martyn, a man with less time and less rank than I, but who is much better trained, and well suited to the position. Pacific Rim Martial Arts Academy, where I have practiced for the last 35 years, could not be in better hands than Mr. Martyn's. And it is his judgment that I am ill-suited to be a student at Pacific Rim any longer.

       The system has evolved, the techniques have evolved. I have not. I am “old school,” rougher than appropriate for the youngsters of today. They are uncomfortable with us old, rough black belts, and some of them drop out rather than toughen up.

        And of course there is the subjective view of respect. I was perceived as being disrespectful by discontinuing a seminar, when in actuality, I was having a medical emergency. But no one asked me how I felt at the time. I have never intended disrespect to anyone in the martial arts world, let alone my long-time teacher, who taught that seminar. I just thought at the time that it would be a great idea to not have an atrial fibrillation induced stroke. I suppose I should have told them I was leaving; That was probably the disrespectful part.  But I wasn't feeling very well, and not thinking straight either. As I said, my view of this incident is completely subjective.  As are all views. Anyway, it is in the past now, and time to move on.

        One has to think about this; I practiced in this system for 40 years-- five years with Mr. Kim at his school in downtown Portland, and 35 years at Pacific Rim. For 39 of those years, I was viewed as a good student; I was polite, respectful, tenacious, and eager to participate. And then the last year, my fiftieth year in the martial arts, my fortieth in this system, I become less active, less able to participate, more distracted by my own crises.
It was simply time for me to go my own way and find my own balance.  The decision for me to go was mutual, and I have only one regret; the black belts were my friends, and I will miss spending time with them.

        But I have not stopped practice. The principles and philosophy of Hapkido are indelibly etched into my brain, and will affect my thoughts and actions the rest of my life. For that I am thankful. I've only stopped going to class.

       My impression of the heart of Hapkido is that we must strive to optimize our force-of-being; that is to say, our health, our mental acuity, our personal integrity, and our connections to those who touch our lives. By practicing Hapkido, we are seeking to manifest our best selves, seeking to be strong both outwardly and inwardly. The actual self defense techniques are only an expression of this. The real practice is within oneself. With this in mind, my practice is ongoing and uninterrupted.

Karate is no different from other martial arts in fostering the traits of courage, courtesy, integrity, humility, and self-control in those who have found its essence.

– Gichen Funikoshi, founder of Shodokan Karate

               After so many years, not practicing martial arts is like awakening from a lucid dream, and trying to remember who you are again.  I'm in the midst of creating a new paradigm for myself, and am no longer accountable to anyone else for its success or failure.  So, who am I, and what are my goals? The goal of seeking to manifest my best self has not changed. In fact, it has intensified. I have more time to devote to regular exercise-- walking, swimming, circuit training, heavy bag work. I'd like to get in better shape so that eventually, I can maybe get my side kick back. Round-house too. I'd like it to not hurt when I arise from a chair. I'd like to not find an automatic frown on my face when I look in a mirror. I'd like to look at my rank certificates hanging in my writing room, and smile. It was all good. But it can be better still.

        This is the life I find myself within:

                  Let it be mindful,

                              Let it be purposeful,

                                                Let it be joyful.

                                               * * * * * * *

ZANSHIN: Change

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Z A N S H I N

by Dick Morgan

Change

       I thought about starting this article with the title, The End of an Era. My Teacher for the last 40 years, Grandmaster James R. Garrison, is stepping down from his position as headmaster of Pacific Rim Martial Arts Academy. He is moving out of the area, retiring to a farm near Roseberg, in Southern Oregon. He will still keep his position as Vice President of the World Oriental Martial Arts Federation, still oversee WOMAF business outside of Korea, still be in charge of promotion and rank, and still conduct seminars at Pacific Rim, as well as occasional seminars around the United States. And he will still teach at Pacific Rim occasionally, but not all the time. He is stepping down as Soke (headmaster) of Pacific Rim.

       Grandmaster Garrison's martial art history is extraordinary. He has studied under a list of masters that reads like the Who's Who of martial arts: Robert Dewar, Jhoon Rhee, Koichi Tohei, Walter Todd, Wally Jay, John Chow Hoon, Willy Cahill, Mitsugi Saotome, Sangcook Kim. Grandmaster Kim took Mr. Garrison with him on many trips to the far east to study martial arts from masters in Japan, Hong Kong, and Korea. Together, we have had seminar experience with Dan Inosanto, Fumio Toyoda, James Nakmura, Ellis Amdur, George Ledyard, Rene Ledemeyer, Art Gitlan, and many more I can't remember. Through Grandmaster Garrison, I have met and made friends with many accomplished martial artists through the years: Tom Wilson, Steve Fedux, Jason Mix-- there are just too many to remember. And those who have advanced to the rank of black belt under grandmaster Garrison Garrison have all been stellar individuals with high integrity, because so much was required of them.

       The picture is clear. Pacific Rim has always been a Mecca for those who wanted serious training. And of all the martial arts personalities I have met, I still believe Grandmaster Garrison to be the best teacher I have ever studied under in my fifty years in the martial arts. He brought not only his long history of serious martial art practice, but a life-long study of its history and philosophy. He has the most complete martial arts library in the Northwest, and possibly in the United States. He has the complete written records of the entire history of Hapkido, and the only filmed copy of the entire 48 katas of Shosuishuriu Jujitsu. Many of the Sosuishitsu (renamed) practitioners don't even know there are 48 katas, and only practice the 42 they know of.

       These forty years have been an extraordianry experience, an inimitable and stellar

personal history of my own. I feel rich with it.

But the history will continue. The new Soke, or headmaster, is Master Michael Martyn, sixth degree Judoka, and North American representative for the World Martial Arts Federation. A high work ethic and a fierce competitor, Master Martyn has practiced Judo for 25 years. This is a man who, at an international seminar, walked up to the Japanese students, and introduced himself the same as we do at Pacific Rim. He bowed and said oni-gashimatsu (Thank you for what I am about to learn) to the biggest Japanese Judoka, a man who towered over him. A man who threw him down hard and repeatedly before showing any mercy, slowing down his movement so that Mr. Martyn could learn. A lasting friendship developed between Mr. Martyn and Mr. Agamisu, who later became the head Judo instructor for Tokei University-- the source of most of Japan's Olympic Judo team members. Several of the Tokei University judo team members, all Olympic medalists, have come to Pacific Rim to train with us.

This was a man who endured a Judo seminar sponsored by the World Martial Arts Federation in Tokyo, And after five grueling days of training, was the only non-Japanese student to finish the seminar. Afterwards, he shrugged as he told Grandmaster Garrison, “It was just like training at Pacific Rim!”

       This is a man who has a thriving Friday night Judo class, filled with adults and kids of all ages, eager for randori. ( Judo free practice)

         Pacific Rim will be fine.

         I still don't like change.