Couchsurfing in Okayama

Hello to everyone out there.

As you can probably tell from the frequency of my posts, I am the kind of guy who is more inclined to run around having as much fun as possible rather than sitting around all day blogging about it. That being said, I would have even more fodder for fantastic blogs were I to be visited by itinerant vagabond couch surfers. Couchsurfing.org is essentially a hospitality network. People extend certain courtesies to travelers, in exchange they get the opportunity to hang out, share travel stories, and show someone around their neck of the woods. It is a completely awesome concept, and works out better than you could hope by facilitating the itinerant vagabonding by linking like-minded folks together. You can use it to find impromptu tour guides that will give you some real local flavor, not just find couches to crash on, so in that way it is a wonderful travel tool. Yes, you could be that guy on the couch!

Only problem is I have no street cred with the couch surfing community. My part of Okayama-ken might not get that many visitors, but surely some folks are passing through here. If I have ever crashed on your couch, or you have ever crashed on mine, or we have ever traveled anywhere with calamity and hilarity ensuing go on my couch surfing profile and give me the props I so richly deserve.

Just don't be disappointed if its a futon instead of a couch.

Baddest Motherfuckers in the History of Japan Vol. II - Mas Oyama

Back due to popular acclaim, here is another installment in the Baddest Motherfucker series. If Mas Oyama was still around and knew I hadn't started with him he could break me in half like you do your two chopsticks before digging into a plate of gyoza. Of course he's enough of a badass he wouldn't care either way, would  continue training hard,  and go about his business of emasculating live bulls of their horns. More on that later.

His full name is 大山倍達 (Ooyama Masutatsu)  which could mean many things, but I like to translate it as Great Mountain Two-fold Master. Thats one hell of a name, and very fitting for this man who did a great deal of training up in the mountains. He was born in 1923 in Korea with a Korean name I can't hope to translate, and later chose to live in Japan, becoming a citizen in 1964. He trained in Karate in Japan under Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of Shotokan Karate, as well and Judo and boxing, but it was Karate that he devoted his training to.


As with any badass, the tales of his exploits have grown with time, and its tough to tell legend from truth, mystique and myth from historical fact. Either way it is not doubted that he trained himself to a brutally high level of skill in the martial arts. He did it in the old school Japanese fashion; He went up into the mountains and trained in nature. He went to Mt. Minobu, a site famed for being the location where our previous badass, Miyamoto Musashi, developed his style of two sword fighting. What do you do when you live on a mountain and train Karate all day? You meditate, punch and kick the crap out of rocks and trees, get all hardcore under flowing waterfalls, and work on your conditioning. He decided to do this for 3 years, and become the most powerful Karateka in Japan.

He wound up coming down from the mountain top after 12 months. He wasn't pleased with this, but his training sponsor wasn't able to support him any longer. He came down from the mountain and proceeded to win the Karate tournament in the Japanese National Martial Arts Championship competition because he was an unstoppable beast. After this he returned to the mountaintops for 18 more months of hardcore badassery, in order to make good on his original plan to train in nature for 3 years. More conditioning, more zazen, and more technical practice on the mountain top.


His skill as so great he eventually earned the nickname "Godhand" because of the sheer brutality of his striking. After he returned to society he started demonstrating his Karate in 1950, eventually opening his own dojo in 1953. In 1952 he traveled all across the U.S. for a year accepting all challengers, and beating the tar out of 270 dudes that thought they could take him. He also demonstrated his skill by wrasslin bulls. By wrasslin I mean punching the crap out of them. His shuto is known to have shorn off many a bulls horn, and he is even said to have punched 3 bulls in the head so hard they died outright from the impact. Feats of this sort earned him the nickname Godhand.

At the Oyama dojo Kyukishin ryu evolved through a process of ji-sen kumite. Basically, full contact fighting. People from many styles came to train there because of the nature of the sparring, and it is said they would incorporate any techniques that they saw value in for real situations. They trained hard, and they were hardasses because of it. Kyokushin is one of the largest karate organizations in the world, and they carry on Oyama's tradition of full contact sparring, though they have rules in place for safety these days. He did a great deal for spreading Karate around the world, and demonstrated the vast potential of a human being with great discipline.


The man earned the name Godhand, and that is why he is one of the baddest motherfuckers in the history of Japan.

Bamboo Groves Abound

In the bamboo groves there is a unique quality of light, and a different sound to the wind. A stand of bamboo that has been growing for a long time is a special place to be. It grows densely, tall and straight. The density belies a spacious and open quality to the grove that is quite welcoming; there is room for the breeze to blow through yet there is still shade to cool the air.

For centuries in Japan artisans and crafts people have used this resource to its fullest potential. It is elegantly used in traditional architecture, though now it is used more in a decorative design fashion. Traditional musical instruments like the Shakuhachi, tea ceremony regalia, baskets, fencing were made from bamboo, and it is frequently used as a barrier in landscape design and gardening. It is the crucial component of Kendo swords, and is a frequent motif in traditional Japanese brush painting.

In Japanese martial culture the bamboo is a potent metaphor for the human spirit. It embodies, and possesses the characteristics, of a certain type of strength of character. When the Taifun comes, the great winds, houses are destroyed, trees are uprooted, but the bamboo only bends and does not break. It can appear delicate, but in its flexibility lies its strength and ability to endure and persist. A strong man is the same way. Through tough times and through hardship a man may have to adapt and flex, but he must never break, and always remain rooted in his essence and sense of self.

Walk this path in the Okayama mountains if you want a sublime journey.

It is advisable in your meditation practice to create an environment that is favorable to mindfulness. In the Japanese martial arts your kamae are some of the first and most basic things you learn. At first they are physical positions, but as you familiarize yourself with the kamae and their uses the concept comes to include your mental posture, your spirit, and attitude. Being mindful of these aspects integrating with the physicality of the kamae is the difference between standing in kamae and being in kamae. I find the bamboo groves conducive to mindfulness. You should practice when you feel inspired, and in a place that feels uplifting and sacred. Use the qualities of the space to demonstrate the qualities of character you are cultivating. Be spacious and open, be cool in the shade, and let your thoughts pass through you like the breeze through the grove. Feeling these qualities is the difference between sitting in the bamboo grove, and being amongst the bamboo.

If you find the right piece of bamboo, you have the world's greatest walking stick. The dragonflies will congregate to congratulate you on your luck.

What does it take to become a Renaissance Man these days?

This is a question I wind up asking myself quite frequently. Its clearly a process, and one with no end in sight. It shuns specialization for diversity of knowledge. The broader your knowledge base becomes, the more multifarious and divergent your future paths of inquiry can be. Specializing means your growth and knowledge are continuing down a certain route, to a fixed point. A mental model for this could be a pyramid, the more it grows, the more finite the space it occupies. For a Renaissance Man knowledge grows, terracing up and out, shooting new roots down and repeating the process until your capacity takes a form resembling the Banyan Tree.

The Bohdi Tree, under which Buddha is said to have achieved enlightenment, was a Banyan tree.

As it grows more space in enveloped in its shade, its relationships with its surroundings become more multitudinous, and the sundry possibilities are many. Generalizing in terms of mental models of personal growth only has value in the context of a discussion, and everyone is going to do what they think is best at any given moment. It is, however, worth thinking about. Robert Heinlein, a science fiction writer and commentator on social themes, put it better than I ever could.

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently and die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."
-Robert A. Heinlein


Theres truth in those words, if ever I heard it it uttered. We should all follow the advice of Wu-tang Financial, and diversify our bonds! Keep some projects and curiosities cooking on the back burner while you concentrate on what is right in front of you. Develop yourself physically, socially, artistically, spiritually. Decide for yourself what knowledge is most important, and most worthwhile, and pursue it. Follow the tangents, enjoy your hobbies, and consult the expertise of those that have gone before you. Satisfy your curiosities.


Thats what I've been trying so far. We'll see how it all shapes up. What do you all think? What does it take to become a Renaissance Man these days?

Climbing Hard in Okayama - Yosedake, Kawakami-cho

For those of you who didn't know, I like climbing. There is nothing better for pure enjoyment and challenge, and its very worthwhile way to spend a beautiful late summer afternoon. It appears to be a global truism that the folks you meet climbing are some of the most interesting, capable, good-hearted people you will meet anywhere. They tend to have a healthy amount of guts, an appreciation of nature, and a sense of adventure. Thusly did I meet a couple badass guys who love to climb, Tetsuya-san and Shuji-san, who are both familiar with the lay of the land. They helped me to realize that my neck of the woods here in Takahashi is primetime for quality crag.

So we tore up some routes with the simple names like Overhang Easement, Easy Face, and the Dongo. These pictures are from the 5.10 Easy Face, which we dubbed the Ironic Face because we found it to have a good bit of challenge. I intend to take the liberty of giving these routes English names, because in America the route names tend to be a bit more creative. The Kawakami-cho area of Takahashi, and this is practically my backyard,  is replete with some of the best single pitch climbing I've encountered and according to this website and map there is plenty more all over the place. As you can see I have quite a bit of exploration to do. Allow me to explain why climbing is so much fun.

For one thing, its risky. Anytime you go out to the crag you are potentially risking your health, even your life. Safety is paramount when you climb and you take the precautions you can. Even so, gear can break, belay accidents can occur, climbers fall, wind or lightning can come from no where, and the rock itself can break and sabotage your climb. If you pay attention and take the necessary precautions you are generally alright, but a certain risk in inherent. Nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say. Since you decide to venture, you stand to gain.

You use your hands, your feet, your wits, and your willpower to vertically navigate some of nature's most beautiful handiwork. It takes equal measures of technical skill, nerve, and guts. You invariably face the natural human fears of falling, or heights, and overcome them. You defy gravity, and affirm your physical and mental health. There is always more, and you can always push yourself further, and climb something harder. Your only limits are those you place on yourself.

Climbing has innate value in and of itself as a recreational, enjoyable activity. Additionally, it has value as a life metaphor and can teach you more broadly applicable lessons as well. You know your goal. When you scope a route you know where you want to go, but its not clear exactly how you get there. You formulate a basic plan from the ground, deciding how to ascend, what might be a good area to take a short rest and a chalk up, and how to navigate your way up the rock face. As you get closer to your goal there are nuances of the the vertical landscape that make themselves apparent. Things you could not possibly notice until you were right on top of them. Plans change when you get better information. Things you counted on, literally, turn to dust in the palm of your hand. You continue your flow, adapt, keep moving forward, and always have to do what seems best at the time. There is a time for patience, and a time for decisive, explosive action. You need to be able to do both, and have the sensitivity to know when the time is right for either.

I like metaphors just as much as I like climbing

Before long you get where your going. You look back, and see that you have come a long way, and you are able to view things from a new, elevated perspective. If you ever decide to take that route again you have valuable foreknowledge. You can advise others on what they might encounter at certain points in their ascent. You've developed by going through with the process.

All the philosophical metaphors be damned, climbing is just plain fun.

Baddest Motherfuckers in the History of Japan Vol. I - Miyamoto Musashi

This is the first installment in what will become a series of posts chronicling the baddest motherfuckers in the history of Japan. It may be a little cliche to start with Musashi, but if you don't know about this man you should.

Miyamoto Musashi is arguably one of the baddest, sword swinginest motherfuckers in the history of time.

Art by Phuong Possible

He was born and raised in an area of Okayama-ken not far from where I am living, in the Mimasaka area. Expect an update to this post after I travel to the Musashi museum in the village of Ohara. He was trained by his father, Shinmen Munisai, in the art of the sword and jutte from a young age. It is said that at that time the jutte was effectively used in concert with the katana; the jutte could be used to neutralize an opponents weapon while the katana would strike the killing blow. No doubt this way of combat informed the fighting style of his school Ni Ten Ichi Ryu which is still practiced today, and is characterized by the two sword fighting style Musashi mastered and passed on.

He fought, and won, his first duel at the age of 13 and after that it was on. No one could stop him. He talks about his first duel in his treatise on martial, the Go Rin No Sho, or Book of Five Rings. (I recommend the translation by William Scott Wilson) Arima Kihei, an exponent of Shinto-ryu kenjutsu, was travelling and fighting to hone his skill, and posted a public challenge. When the duel was scheduled Musashi showed up with a bo staff, knocked him down, and beat his ass with great severity.

Musashi left his home 3 years later and proceeded to continue dueling, as well as fighting in major battlefield engagements. He fought on the losing side of the Battle of Sekigahara, a turning point in the campaign that would establish the Tokugawa Shogunate. After surviving the battle he sets off on a vagabond style quest to develop his swordmanship with no teacher and no master. He did enjoy the patronage of daimyo later in his life after he was well established as a travelling itinerant badass, and this patronage afforded him the opportunity to learn the ways of other art forms. Hagakure nut-huggers should take note that the baddest samurai  forgoes conventionality in every way. (the Hagakure bandwagon will be the subject of a future, derisive post)


"Do not sleep under a roof. Carry no money or food. Go alone to places frightening to the common brand of men. Become a criminal of purpose. Be put in jail, and extricate yourself by your own wisdom."  - Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings

I haven't mentioned that many of his over 60 documented duels were won with wooden bokken against opponents with live blade, kusari-gama, yari, and rokushakubo.

He proceeds to Kyoto, and singlehandedly decimates the Yoshioka school of fencing. A common theme in his martial art is finding a way to imbalance his opponent mentally, surprising them, and doing something highly unexpected. He arrives late to his first three duels with the top swordsmen of the Yoskioka school. They are seriously pissed, feel dishonored, and this means their technique is not on point. Musashi beats them all using his bokken. By the time the fourth brother gets a crack at Musashi the Yoshioka's have planned an ambush. However this time Musashi shows up early, hides in some bushes, and ambushes their sorry asses while they are all standing around waiting for him to show up late. That's how its done.

"Under the sword lifted high, There is hell making you tremble. But go ahead, And you have the land of bliss." - Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings

Daruma painting by Musashi

剣聖 - Kensei

Musashi epitomizes the term Kensei, which means "sword saint". A Kensei surpasses the skill of their contemporaries and the word has connotations that go beyond technical skill to the realm of artistry. Musashi said that to truly know the nature of one Way is to know them all. His lasting fame into modern times has a great deal to do with his exploits with the sword, but can be credited in equal measure to his acumen as a strategic thinker, his painting, calligraphy, and sculpture. The Book of Five Rings is regarded as a strategic masterpiece read by politicians and businessmen as well as martial artists, and his art work is exhibited in the finest museums. His Way took him down the path of the swordsman, but his artistry was so great that he transcended his art form. That is why Miyamoto Musashi is one of the baddest motherfuckers in the history of Japan.

"The true science of martial arts means practicing them in such a way that they will be useful at any time, and to teach them in such a way that they will be useful in all things." - Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings

Being Here Now

Be Here Now. That is today's mantra. It is not something you do, but it happens when you are simply able to be what you are.

Hiroshima Castle in the sunshine.

Through our relationship with our actions and thoughts, a tendency to develop attachment to outcomes can arise. Certain attachments can diminish our openness to much deeper processes, and our openness to life itself. Don't stifle the creative potential of your place in the natural unfolding of events. Commit to the process, to letting something greater than yourself move through you. Be a conduit, a vessel, and enable the process. The usual suspects for attachment are people and relationships, power, social positions, material objects; do not abandon these elements of your life because they are important and worthwhile. Know their limitations, know your own limitations, and you will not be bound to the current limits of your own imagination. That is freedom.

We have to free ourselves from the tendency to manipulate and control outcomes. If you are too busy doing that you may miss the momentary flash of true inspiration, and bypass extraordinary things that are, in all reality, completely possible. Live with uncertainty, because without that there is no real freedom.

By now I am sure you are wondering what the hell this blog is about. Me too. If you are open to the uncertainty you may enjoy reading it from time to time. My intention is write about travel, martial arts, meditation, show some photography, and tell a damn good story. Enjoy your journey.

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