明けましておめでとうございます！(A-ke-ma-shi-ta O-me-de-to-go-za-i-ma-su!)

As promised this morning, I’m sharing my annual thoughts on Hatsugeiko, our “first training” of the New Year . . .

The posted picture is a traditional Japanese New Year’s decoration. Kagami Mochi, literally “mirror rice cakes,” large round rice cakes with centuries-old meaning.

The mirror is one of the three imperial regalia of Japan, representing three basic virtues: The mirror for wisdom from reflection, the sword for courage in action, the jewel for the humanity that comes from the balanace of mind, body, and spirt.

The myth of Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, recalls how her brother Susanou, the Storm God, destroyed her rice fields. Angry, Amaterasu hid herself in a cave, leaving the world in darkness.

Crops died without Amaterasu’s light, so the other gods made a plan to bring her from hiding, setting up a large mirror to showcase the goddess of merriment as she danced around a bonfire.

Curious about the merry-making, the Sun Goddess peeked from her cave, saw her reflection in the mirror and, forgiving her brother, revealed herself at last.

Kagami Biraki is a celebration of Amaterasu’s “enlightenment,” a traditional Japanese ceremony performed by “breaking” kagami mochi or a round cask of saké, symbolizing the mirror . . .

A window of self-reflection, personal redefinition, and self-refinement to prepare for a New Year full of promise and potential.

2023 marked the 30th anniversary of the founding of our community, but it was not an easy year in light of Yamada Sensei’s passing – as if the previous two years were not hard enough.

It truly inspires me how our community inside and outside the dojo rose to the challenges. There is always room for improvement and a new perspective.

Peachtree’s insignia is the Japanese idealized circle, enso, stylized in orange to resemble a peach.

That is how I see Aikido training, striving physically and spiritually to attain and maintain that perfect circle, on and off the mat, calm inside, dynamic outside, centered, never ending.

We just need the right attitude – to be ready to redefine ourselves physically and spiritually. Without the right attitude, you cannot truly succeed in any endeavor.

The samurai memorialized this martial attitude in the pleats of their hakama which stand for the seven virtues of the samurai code –

- Rei, humility

- Makoto, sincerity

- Yuki, courage

- Jin, humanity

- Gi, integrity

- Chugi, loyalty

- Meiyo, honor

What samurai could truly succeed without these virtues to guide his thoughts and actions?

Focusing not on a goal but the training itself, only with a true heart can we begin to train . . .

Yagyu Munenori was sword master to the first Shogun Tokugawa in the late 16th century but his Yagyu considered his son Matajuro a failure. Matajuro was determined to prove his father wrong.

Matajuro left home to train with Master Banzo, a truly great sword master, but Master Banzo had no interest in training Matajuro who Master Banzo recognized as only interested in a fast track.

“But what if I train hard?" Matajuro asked. "How long will it take?"

“The rest of your life,” Master Banzo said.

“I can’t wait that long," Matajuro said. "I’ll accept any hardship to be your student.”

“Oh, in that case, it will take ten years.”

“What if I train twice as hard?” Matajuro pleaded.

“Then it will take thirty years" Master Banzo answered.

“What?" Matajuro cried. "You just said ten, now it’s thirty! I don’t have that much time. I have to show my father.”

“With that attitude, I expect it will be closer to seventy years.”

After much begging, Matajuro became Master Banzo’s student with the promise that Matajuro would never touch or talk about a sword.

For the next year, Matajuro worked very hard, cooking and cleaning for Master Banzo until Matajuro felt like a slave. Frustrated and depressed, Matajuro thought about quitting . . .

Then, one afternoon, Master Banzo picked up a stick, hit Matajuro on the head, and walked away.

The next day, Master Banzo attacked Matajuro again. And each and every day following, when Matajuro least expected it, Master Banzo attacked him.

Soon Matajuro lived in a constant state of alarm until, one morning while cooking, Master Banzo attacked again, but Matajuro raised a pot lid . . . and blocked Master Banzo's strike.

“Now,” Master Banzo said with a smile, “You may begin to train!”

We’ve got a lifetime to learn, on and off the mat, right?

Last but not least, please join me in congratulating Miki-san and Yuzen-san on their 6th Kyu promotions today - and to Binh Dam Sensei, who joins our Technical Committee as Fukushidoin, a USAF certified Assistant Instructor.

I'm looking forward to training with you all.

Ready? . . . Set? . . . Go!

See you on the mat!

Blue