{"id":2216,"date":"2018-06-13T10:23:27","date_gmt":"2018-06-13T14:23:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/biran.birankai.org\/?p=2216"},"modified":"2019-04-26T14:16:46","modified_gmt":"2019-04-26T18:16:46","slug":"camp-preview-essay-on-boyet-sensei","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biran.birankai.org\/?p=2216","title":{"rendered":"Camp Preview: Essay on Boyet Sensei"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"fb-root\"><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"525\" height=\"296\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9HfCMNDZiKg?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<header>\n<h3 class=\"meta\">The Practice is the Purpose<\/h3>\n<div class=\"meta\"><strong>By Rob Darmour, Multnomah Aikikai<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"body entry-content\">\n<div id=\"item-5b1de29770a6ad65229281c2\" class=\"sqs-layout sqs-grid-12 columns-12\" data-layout-label=\"Post Body\" data-type=\"item\" data-updated-on=\"1528685455032\">\n<div class=\"row sqs-row\">\n<div class=\"col sqs-col-12 span-12\">\n<div id=\"block-7fa4661d293d5dd9431e\" class=\"sqs-block html-block sqs-block-html\" data-block-type=\"2\">\n<div class=\"sqs-block-content\">\n<p>The first time I met Boyet Sensei he was wearing a black, rabbit felt hat with a wide brim and no decoration other than a simple black band chasing around the crown. \u00a0A bold yet natural choice for the cold weather of Vancouver BC in February 2017.<\/p>\n<p>Attending his seminar at Mountain Coast Aikikai caused my practice to shift. Until then, I was practicing the techniques being taught. \u00a0A beginner working at the surface.<\/p>\n<p>My eyes absorbed, my mind decoded and my body moved.<\/p>\n<p>What I found in Boyet Sensei\u2019s teaching was essential, direct and fluid. A bold simplicity that resonated with my creative values.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou do not have time\u201d he said while we worked through a shomen bokken technique. \u00a0He emphasized how important one, clear movement was in meeting the attack of an opponent\u2019s weapon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou will be dead,\u201d he finished, underscoring that speed was a matter of timing and reduction to essential movement. \u00a0It was not a matter of more, but rather less.<\/p>\n<p>His lesson was simple; nine words, one clear meaning. \u00a0It catalyzed my Aikido practice with new perspective because he taught through the language of my creative values. I left the dojo in Vancouver excited to put the weekend\u2019s learnings to daily practice.<\/p>\n<p>It had triggered the shift, but the avalanche was still to come.<\/p>\n<p>A year later, March 2018, Portland was emerging from winter\u2019s slumbering rhythm. A bouquet of purple tulips rested with a wild, natural gesture on the kamiza at Multnomah Aikikai. \u00a0Boyet Sensei was in town to teach a seminar at my home dojo.<\/p>\n<p>I had just come off a rather taxing period in my career that ended abruptly. I was feeling listless and disinterested creatively. \u00a0A problem for a designer and perfect timing for the kind of provocation a mentor can inspire.<\/p>\n<p>I spent the whole weekend on the tatami, eager to absorb all the Aikido I could. \u00a0To my surprise, what I learned illuminated a path beyond the dojo and helped to reignite my dimming passion for design.<\/p>\n<p>Once again, Boyet Sensei was direct in his practice. \u00a0No fluffy stuff, no extra movement; all practicality, applied simply.<\/p>\n<p>A year before I was encountering all of it for the first time; I was just happy to get a signal. \u00a0This time, I was tuning into the finer lessons that come with familiarity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCopy from someone better than you until you have made it your own, then find another person.\u201d He lectured between techniques.<\/p>\n<p>I thought about all the senior students and instructors I had learned from. \u00a0Gweyn\u2019s ukemi, Bill\u2019s kokyu-ho, Thoms Sensei\u2019s tenchinage. But had I committed myself to it? \u00a0Had I owned my practice? Had I possessed my creative identity?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou do not have time\u201d he said about the little extra movements he was trying to prune out of his students. Once again, those five words echoed the clear message that changed my mindset a year prior.<\/p>\n<p>The way that Boyet Sensei demonstrated techniques struck like a bolt of lightning. \u00a0Just enter, turn, and there it is; Ikkyo. The clarity of movement leaves nothing mysterious, and the reduction reveals beauty.<\/p>\n<p>He spoke in familiar language.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou must be beautiful, and to be beautiful, it must be simple.\u201d Boyet Sensei explained during the Sunday morning Iaido class. \u00a0\u201cit may take fifteen, twenty years, but if you train, you will find it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the creative arts, it is no different. \u00a0Form follows function. Less is more. But getting there is a messy exercise with a lot of wasted movement. \u00a0Out of the process emerges the value.<\/p>\n<p>Boyet Sensei reminded me that the practice is the purpose. \u00a0Beauty will come.<\/p>\n<p>This is a lesson every creative from Dietre Rams to Paul Motian and the Eames have tried to pass on. \u00a0Owning one\u2019s way of being, their \u201cdo\u201d is born in practice. Beauty is a result, not a destination.<\/p>\n<p>Boyet Sensei had connected my Aikido practice with my creative values. \u00a0His teaching changed the way I do both. It guided me below the surface and gave me a deeper perspective of my Aikido journey. \u00a0It made my practice personal and I felt recommitted.<\/p>\n<p>I try to remind myself to find the simple path and follow it boldly. \u00a0In ikkyo or in life.<\/p>\n<p><em>Rob Darmour is a 5th kyu member of Multnomah Aikikai. This essay first appeared in the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.multnomahaikikai.com\/dojo-news\/xyst57dscggd5w3hp55g5c37fp9sld\">Multnomah Aikikai blog;<\/a> click the link to see the original and view a brief montage of Boyet Sensei practicing Iaido by Sam Brimhall.<br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>More newly posted clips of Boyet Sensei can be found at the Birankai Aikido Video Channel on Youtube:<\/p>\n<div class=\"youtube_channel default responsive ytc_display_thumbnail\"><div class=\"ytc_video_container ytc_video_1 ytc_video_first ar16_9\" style=\"width:306px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=tASHZySTj40&amp;rel=0&amp;modestbranding=1\" class=\"ytc_thumb ytc-lightbox ar16_9\" title=\"Rafael DesMoya: Katatedori nikkyo soto direct\" data-iframe=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tASHZySTj40?rel=0&amp;modestbranding=1\" data-title=\"Rafael DesMoya: Katatedori nikkyo soto direct\"><span style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/tASHZySTj40\/hqdefault.jpg)\" title=\"Rafael DesMoya: Katatedori nikkyo soto direct\" id=\"ytc_tASHZySTj40\"><\/span><\/a><\/div><!-- .ytc_video_container --><\/div><!-- .youtube_channel --><div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Practice is the Purpose By Rob Darmour, Multnomah Aikikai The first time I met Boyet Sensei he was wearing a black, rabbit felt hat with a wide brim and no decoration other than a simple black band chasing around the crown. \u00a0A bold yet natural choice for the cold weather of Vancouver BC in &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/biran.birankai.org\/?p=2216\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Camp Preview: Essay on Boyet Sensei&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8,7,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-birankai-aikido-shihan","category-birankai-summer-camp","category-birankai-aikido-instruction"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2RSKg-zK","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biran.birankai.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biran.birankai.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biran.birankai.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biran.birankai.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biran.birankai.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2216"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/biran.birankai.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2227,"href":"https:\/\/biran.birankai.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2216\/revisions\/2227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biran.birankai.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biran.birankai.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biran.birankai.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}