Shinkengata
Green Belt
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?