Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
1
January 2013 Newsletter Goju-Ryu Karate-Do Kyokai
www.goju.com _______________________________________________________
Shogatsu from Motoo Yamakura
Traditionally, Japanese people do not celebrate New Year in advance, but do a thorough cleaning at the end of the year, physically and spiritually, then celebrate New Year in January. This will be the year for Snakes, representing wit and wisdom. Families celebrate the holiday from January first through the third and focus on new beginnings.
Since this is a time of new beginnings and peace, preparations begin several weeks in advance. Our home and clothes are thoroughly cleaned. All duties from the previous year are to be completed before Japanese New Year. Traditionally, homes and entryways are decorated with pine, bamboo or plum tree. A thick straw rope, called shimenawa, is decorated with white paper strips and placed at the house entrance in honor of the new year ahead. This will keep evil spirits at bay. A Japanese flag is hung from a pole in front of your home. The base is covered with pine needles and bamboo. A special altar with kagamimochi (flat, round rice cakes), sake (rice wine) and other specialties is set up. Some host a Bonenkai party, usually at a restaurant. These parties for coworkers, business associates or other friends are held throughout December. The purpose of the party is to leave the worries and troubles of the passing year behind. Cards are sent to friends and family. Similar to Christmas cards, these cards are marked for delivery on the first of January. The cards wish prosperity, longevity and happiness to the recipients. Enough food is cooked in advance for the three-day celebration so you won't have to cook during the holiday. Relatives are invited to your house to join you on these special days. A Japanese New Year party is focused on family. Foods that are typically served include toshikoshi soba for longevity, osechi ryori, otoso and ozoni. Some families watch "Kohaku Uta Gassen," which is a television show featuring Japan's most famous singers. We watch the sunrise on January first. This brings in the New Year and starts what should be a stress free day. Children are given New Year's gifts, called otoshidama, which consist of money placed in envelopes. We ring a bell on New Year's Eve to usher out the old year and eat toshikoshi soba, or year crossing noodles, in the hopes that our family will extend as long as the noodles. You can also visit a shrine or a temple. Several temples and shrines ring bells at Midnight in Japan on New Year's Eve. The JO-YA-NO-KANE, is the symbol of the old year going and the new year coming. It is believed to be 108 evil spirits exist and the each ring represents cleansing the old acts and sins and welcomes the new beginning. Gojuryu's ultimate kata Suparunpei, named 108, signifies this importance. Joyanokane!
Did You Know? by Rich Stamper
Did you know that without all members participating in the GKK, we will cease to exist? Make it a New Year's resolution to host a seminar, write an article or volunteer your time in some way.
Thanks
by Bill Handren Thanks to the following Newsletter contributors for 2012. I really appreciate your help. Paul Babladelis, Tom Baldridge, W.M. Damith Bandara, Kim Barrington, Peter Carbone, Mark Cramer, Bob Engel, Michael Galose, Carol Gittins, John Herrmann, Patrick M. Hickey, Jim Jackson, Shelia Leggett, Roger Lewis, Matt Loiselle, Frank Matt, Ken Maunz, Angie Monday, Gustavo Munoz, Ed Myers, Sebastian Pirrone, Pastor Fred Prince, John Roath, Andreas Salchow, Dwight Scales, Dave Shaneman, Rich Stamper, Ramon Suazo, Zak Zaklad
2
The Point© by Bill Handren Palmer Spring Floor
"......and all the king's horses and all the king's men, couldn't put Humpty together again."
he MRI report read like a vocabulary exam for spine diseases; stenosis, scoliosis, sclerosis, vertebrae subluxation, severe degenerative disc disease, facet joint spurring, spondylosis, arthritis and multiple compression fractures. The prognosis was depressing; "your spine is completely worn...good curves though. There is nothing which can
be done surgically", Dr. Kuo, spine surgeon. "Too much damage for any pain management injections. Physical therapy won't help; it's for people too lazy to do any exercise and you are already doing karate and lifting weights. I can write a prescription for anti-depressants", Dr. Koehn, Pain Management Specialist. I decided to forgo anti-depressants. The human body will heal itself a good deal as long as one doesn't give up or do something stupid. Forty years ago I tried a high round kick on my first day of taekwondo class and promptly landed on my hip. The floor was carpeted concrete and I learned a valuable lesson - concrete and falls do not go together well. I decided to borrow the Palmer Spring concept from gymnastics and build my third sprung floor. Sprung floors of various designs have been used for decades in dance halls and gymnastics. The concept is to reduce impact for the dancer or gymnast. This floor would be twelve feet by twenty-four feet, the largest I have made and would allow enough space for any future kata. Yes, puzzle mats are a good option for a home floor, but the impact travel is very small. In other words a one inch thick mat will compress to maybe a half an inch. This floor will compress two inches. I am not an engineer, so imagine falling on a sheet of plywood set on a trampoline and you will get the idea. The base material I chose was compressed plastic sheets from Menard's - 4x8 x ½" thick. I wanted something completely water proof as this was for a basement dojo. The sheets were made in China and I learned the Chinese regard measurements as suggestions rather than exact dimensions. The lengths varied as much a ¾ of an inch and the concept of squared was foreign. I imagine the manufacturer's company Kanji translates as "close enough." But, after having some friends bring the sheets downstairs, I was stuck with what I had.
Step One; Holes were pre-drilled starting six inches from the edge. Each hole was twelve inches apart for a total of 32 holes per sheet. By starting six inches from the edges, we end up with a twelve inch spring spacing throughout the floor. The Palmer Spring Caps were then mounted to the sheets
Step Two: Each sheet was set flat on the floor to snap the Palmer Springs - which I had already snapped the plastic bases on - into each cap. Each sheet was stacked out of the way as work progressed
T
3
Step Three; Sound construction practice required I cut one of the sheets in half to stagger the edge seams. These half sheets would be set at each end of the center row.
Step Four; Four foot long, six inch wide strips of ¾ inch plywood were ripped with a circular saw. Each strip was marked with a 3" centerline to serve as a guide for securing the sheets together. Each plywood strip overlaps each floor sheet 3"
Step Five; A brick and 1 ½ inch thick foam blocks were placed under each seam every twelve inches. I originally used the plywood strips as the only support at the seams. However, although there was a screw every six inches in each strip, some screws started pulling out. Now, the seams are much more rigid than the rest of the floor so I lost some of the desired flex at the seams.
Step Six; The first row used three full sheets. The second row uses two full sheets and the previously cut half-sheets to stagger the seams. The final row uses the remaining three sheets.
4
Step Seven; Half inch thick puzzle mats are placed on the floor. The purpose of the mats is to cushion the surface and prevent the screw heads from poking through the final sheet of vinyl. Step Eight; The floor was covered with a 12 x 24 sheet of vinyl flooring (not shown). This made for an ultra smooth, seam free surface. Total cost was under a thousand dollars which is cheaper than the roll out foam floors sold by Dollamur. A one inch thick puzzle mat floor would have run about seven hundred dollars but would have been a mold problem on the concrete floor.
I love my gigantic cushioned chalkboard The final floor has about a one inch deflection as my body weight is placed on it so it isn't mushy. It would probably be a good floor for judo, but ¾ inch thick plywood would be a better choice in place of the ½ inch thick plastic sheets for repetitive breakfalls. It is 100% waterproof, can be dismantled if necessary and with four inches of height above the concrete floor has good ventilation to prevent mold. Humpty would have loved it. M. Yamakura Chairman 3763 Old Creek Road, Troy, MI 48084 [email protected] Ed Myers CEO 11568 Reed Road, Whitehouse, OH 43571 [email protected] Dwight Scales USA Director 1940 Bobolink Lane, Toledo, OH 43615 [email protected] Greg Dodge GKK Marketing Director 2430 Georgetown Ave., Toledo, OH 43613 [email protected] Deb Crawford USA Business Manager 5705 Northlake Road, Springfield, IL 62711 [email protected] Bill Handren Newsletter Editor 115 West North Street, Dwight, Il 60420 [email protected]
