Best training environment

[Shinkengata]

As many of you know, i just recently moved to Upper Lake, CA, about 2 hours northwest of San Francisco. My wife and i drove for four 10-hour days from my home of Mississippi to get here. We arrived Saturday afternoon. I've taken the time to do a bit of exploring around the ranch here where we are staying. What i have found is one of the most beautiful and varied landscapes i have ever seen. The house is seated right on the very inside of a formation of mountains in the shape of a horseshoe. There are various streams and waterfalls that run through the mountains and along the side of the ranch. There are numerous huge boulders and fallen trees to practice balance on, there are plenty of steep grassy hills on which to practice Gogyo No Kata, there are countless secluded locations for zazen and meditation where the only noise is the gentle sound of the running stream and the birds. This is the best natural training environment i have found yet. What is the best training areas you guys have found in your years(or months) of training , and what made these areas so suitable for taijutsu training?

 

[Cryozombie]

Honestly... and this may sound hokey...

I work on rooftops. Nothing like a good 12/12 roof to teach you to understand where your balance is, and your center of gravity... and the need to remain calm and relaxed...

 

[Shinkengata]

Honestly... and this may sound hokey...

I work on rooftops. Nothing like a good 12/12 roof to teach you to understand where your balance is, and your center of gravity... and the need to remain calm and relaxed...

I can definitely understand that. I did shingle and metal roofing a while back. Metal roofing is even more perilous than shingle because the only real traction you have on metal roofing are the screw-heads in the ribs of the sheets.

 

[Shogun]

Outdoor. Well, as you may or may not know, I live in Oso, WA. apart from the whole state being a giant evergreen tree, Oso is the greenest part of that tree(nearly). at the foot of the North Cascade mountain range, I pretty much live on a mountain. rivers, cliffs, fields, ...even grottos. plenty of outdoor.

see pics (http://www.theslowlane.com/bhaminfo/2climb.jpg)
(http://www.jabrennan.com/projects/parks/darrington/darrington.jpg)

What is the best training areas you guys have found in your years(or months) of training , and what made these areas so suitable for taijutsu training?

Watch, someone will put; Noda, japan, Hombu dojo, at the dojo, or some other crappy answer......

 

[Shinkengata]

Cool photos, Shogun. That looks a lot like where i live. It's very dry here, though, so unless i wanna be responsible for burning down the entire county, i think Kayakujutsu is off-limits.:uhyeah:

I agree that the "hombu dojo" answer would be kinda crappy, because im talking about TRAINING. You go to a dojo to learn. TRAINING is conducted on your own or with a partner(s) outside of the dojo. That seems to be a concept that some don't grasp very well. They think the training and learning all exists within the dojo and seminars, and then wonder why they get their **** handed to them in a challenge or sparring match.

 

[Don Roley]

What is the best training areas you guys have found in your years(or months) of training , and what made these areas so suitable for taijutsu training?

Well, if you want to brag about training locations outside......

Thousand year old temples and shrines are pretty good IMO.


:2xbird:

 

[Grey Eyed Bandit]

Something I have to do before I die - visit and train in the Bujinkan dojo of South Africa.

http://www.bujinkan.co.za/V1.html

 

[Don Roley]

I know the guy that runs it. He trains with my teacher in Japan.

Nice dojo, crappy country. One of his students, who had trained in Japan, ended up killing a guy with the guy's own gun to defend his lover only to be shot by the guy's partner.

Dojo nice, but I don't want to go to that part of the world unless I have terminal cancer and want a quick death.

 

[47MartialMan]

1.) As many of you know, i just recently moved to Upper Lake, CA, about 2 hours northwest of San Francisco. My wife and i drove for four 10-hour days from my home of Mississippi to get here.

2.) We arrived Saturday afternoon. I've taken the time to do a bit of exploring around the ranch here where we are staying. What i have found is one of the most beautiful and varied landscapes i have ever seen. The house is seated right on the very inside of a formation of mountains in the shape of a horseshoe. There are various streams and waterfalls that run through the mountains and along the side of the ranch. There are numerous huge boulders and fallen trees to practice balance on, there are plenty of steep grassy hills on which to practice Gogyo No Kata, there are countless secluded locations for zazen and meditation where the only noise is the gentle sound of the running stream and the birds. This is the best natural training environment i have found yet.

3.) What is the best training areas you guys have found in your years(or months) of training , and what made these areas so suitable for taijutsu training?

1.) Long drive. What part of Miss are you from?

2.) I cant beat that. You have it "made in the shade"

3.) I had only a brief visit to a realitive in NC.

 

[Shinkengata]

1.) Long drive. What part of Miss are you from?

2.) I cant beat that. You have it "made in the shade"

3.) I had only a brief visit to a realitive in NC.

1.) Yes...very long drive. I'm from Oktibbeha County.

2.) Funny you mention shade...it's very bright and sunny out right now...and kinda hot. I think i'll wait until it cools down to go outside and start training. I also have traces of Poison Oak rash on the side of my face and my left forearm from yesterday's escapade...

3.) North Carolina has some beautiful scenery. Never been there myself, but I've seen pictures.

 

[Dale Seago]

It's good to see you've arrived -- and yes, it's a beautiful area. I and some of the folks in my dojo used to occasionally spend weekends -- including outdoor training -- nearby at Harbin Hot Springs, south of you just outside Middletown.

 

[Shinkengata]

It's good to see you've arrived -- and yes, it's a beautiful area. I and some of the folks in my dojo used to occasionally spend weekends -- including outdoor training -- nearby at Harbin Hot Springs, south of you just outside Middletown.

Very beautiful place there, Dale. I may have to check it out one of these days. I haven't found a dojo anywhere close to here yet, though.

 

[Dale Seago]

I haven't found a dojo anywhere close to here yet, though.

That would be 'cause there isn't one. The nearest regular training to you would be Larry Gregg's dojo down in Santa Rosa. Larry and his group keep to themselves, but Larry isn't a bad guy and he does go regularly to Japan.

 

[Shinkengata]

That would be 'cause there isn't one. The nearest regular training to you would be Larry Gregg's dojo down in Santa Rosa. Larry and his group keep to themselves, but Larry isn't a bad guy and he does go regularly to Japan.

Oh boy...that means i get to train with other people maybe once every few months......

 

[Dale Seago]

Oh boy...that means i get to train with other people maybe once every few months......

Well, there's also my half-day "monthly mini-seminar" from 10 AM -- 2 PM in San Francisco the 3rd Sunday of each month, as well as a few weekend-long seminars coming up -- see http://www.bujinkansf.org/training/

I'd definitely recommend the West Coast Buyu Camp if you can make it.

One that isn't on my site yet is Shawn Gray (owner of kutaki.org) -- he'll be over from Japan and teaching in SF the last weekend of July.

 

[Kizaru]

What is the best training areas you guys have found in your years(or months) of training, and what made these areas so suitable for taijutsu training?

Great topic for a thread!

A few years ago I lived in outside of Tokyo in a city called "Ichikawa", and in an area of that city known as "Onigoe". The characters for "Onigoe" are 鬼越, which loosely translated, I was told means "(to) overcome a demon". During the early part of the Edo period, a demon was exorcised in that area and a Shinto shrine was erected on that spot. On the shrine grounds behind the shrine itself was an area of blackened, scorched earth about 30 yards square that I used to train in.

I moved to a new area a few years ago, and lucky me, there's another Shinto shrine about 2 minutes walk from my apartment. This one's been sitting at the top of a hill for the past 500 years or so, and there's a pretty good view of everyone from there. The grounds of the shrine have stone walls of varying heights, from 3 feet to about 9 or 10 feet that I practice doing shoten no jutsu on/up. There are plenty of trees to hang makiwara on, and the caretaker has been kind enough to let me store an old tatami mat in the shed on the grounds to use as a shuriken target. I've also been lucky enough to get permission to bring training partners up there as well. As I understand it, in the old days Shinto shrines were frequently used as training areas for Budo...

There's also some mountains to the West and to the North of the Tokyo area that I've been out to as well. One of these days, I'm going to get a camera and take a few pictures. I think it's really interesting how the environment you train in can influence a person, and how someone can "pick up" the feeling of a place.

:asian:

 

[Shogun]

Thousand year old temples and shrines are pretty good IMO.

Ppfff.....jerk. lol.

I sometimes break from normal Aiki keiko when I go to Tsubaki Kannagara. (kannagara.org)

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

While nothing seems to beat training at a temple, which is an experience all in
itself. I have always enjoyed training outdoors on a beach or by a waterfall!
There is something special about the connection or closeness of water and
beautiful sunshine! If you have the opportunity to train outside, jump at the
chance! I regularly take my students outside to train and even when we
are training in the freezing Michigan winters it is awesome! However, I am
realy jealous that you get to train at a temple regularly. The last time I was
in Japan we managed to train at one and it was great!

Brian R. VanCise

 

[Shinkengata]

Interestingly enough, i found out today that there is a Buddhist Temple in Ukiah, about a 30 minute ride from where i live.

 

[Genin Andrew]

Interestingly enough, i found out today that there is a Buddhist Temple in Ukiah, about a 30 minute ride from where i live.

It isnt a thousand years old by any chance is it? You sound like you may score second place for having a prime training environment! This is debatable of course, Techno's rooftops are also very cool.