Become a member of Shintaido of America!

Become a member of Shintaido of America!

News

Hello!

Greetings from the board of Shintaido of America! It’s time for our annual membership drive. Last year we DOUBLED our membership – can we do that again this year?

Like everyone else, we are slowly getting back to practicing in person, with live people, sometimes in masks, sometimes not touching. Shintaido North East just had its in-person kangeiko (just a little late…). The theme was “connection”, and we revelled in the opportunity to be together again at last.

  • Connie Borden, Rob Gaston, and Sandra Bengtsson co-teach a weekly Sunday ZOOM class from 9am to 10am Pacific Time. Everyone is welcome to join. Many of these classes are available on the Shintaido of America YouTube channel.
  • Shintaido North East hosts an online keiko every Saturday from 12.30 – 1.30 EST. A different instructor leads each time. For more information, please contact Brad at brad@bradlarson.com.
  • PACSHIN hosted Kangeiko 2022 as an online event again. Very pro!
  • Ito-sensei teaches regularly on Zoom from his home in France.
  • The audiobook of Aoki Sensei’s Shintaido textbook was launched at an online Zoom party on January 4. Narrated by general instructor David Franklin, it is available on the Shintaido of America YouTube channel, as a podcast and via the Shintaido of America website. Join a monthly podcast discussion group on the last Tuesday of the month. Contact Connie Borden.
  • Several new scholarships are available to subsidize participation in cross-regional and international events. Your membership makes you eligible to apply! Contact Connie Borden – bordensheets@aol.com.

In addition, Shintaido of America supports our community of practitioners by providing:

  1. Shintaido of America Website (www.shintaido.org) Check it out! New things are happening all the time! We now feature a media page that includes our newsletter, YouTube and Podcast links.
  2. Body Dialogue is now completely digital and appears in real-time as postings on the website.
  3. Shintaido of America YouTube Channel: New videos every few weeks.
  4. Shintaido of America podcast
  5. Liability Insurance for instructors and students – so you and your students are covered no matter where you practice. This is available to you at no cost.
  6. Curriculum development is ongoing, especially the Kenjutsu curriculum.
  7. Support to our instructors and the National Technical Committee
  8. Communication with International Shintaido Technical and Exam Committee (ITEC)
  9. Leadership by Shintaido of America and ESC as the organizing and sponsoring organizations for international activities.
  10. Shintaido of America examinations and Shintaido of America Diplomas

Membership fees are still only $60 for all supporters. We have kept the same membership level for several years. For ALL of the benefits listed above, your annual membership works out to only $5 a month, or 16 cents a day!

Electronic payment can easily be made here.

Alternately, a check for $60 payable to SOA can be mailed to:
Shintaido of America,
18 Washington St, #115,
Canton, MA 02021

Sincerely,
Connie Borden, Chair Shintaido of America Board of Directors
Shin Aoki, Chair Shintaido of America NTC
Brad Larson, Treasurer
Nancy Billias
David Franklin
Herve Hofstetter
Michael Thompson
H. F. Ito

Here are a couple of comments from new members, one from the East Coast, one from the West:

“The teachers and Sensei of Shintaido are exceptional beings of love, precision, non-judgment and discipline. I get to a place of stillness and peace at the end of my practicing the art of Shintaido that I cannot achieve any other way.”

– Laura Sheehan Barron (San Francisco)

“My introduction to this practice was several years ago at the Day Street dojo in San Francisco, where I was introduced to Taimyo. Because of the pandemic for the last two years, using Zoom, I have taken advantage of being able to practice Shintaido more often. To be able to experience a gasshuku [in person was exciting.]I was apprehensive about the weekend, but not long after walking through the door into the dojo space I could feel the energy. That energy kept growing throughout the day. Not having the years of practice that most of you have had, I enjoyed the instruction and corrections that I was given. I cannot remember if I have ever felt that a potluck dinner was as tasty as what I had that evening. Thank you all for making me feel welcome and sharing your energy.”

– John Bevis (Martha’s Vineyard)

“Good is bad, bad is good!”

“Good is bad, bad is good!”

2022, All Years, Body Dialogue Newsletter

by H. F. Ito

Previously I sent a post about “Good is bad, bad is good.” This is my most recent follow-up (February 2022).

Unfortunately, the legal non-profit entity based in France known as International Shintaido Project was dissolved in June 2021. (Thank you Jean-Louis de Gandt, for your hard work to both help write bylaws and then guide the process of dissolution.)

However, I am very happy about several things that happened recently within the international Shintaido movement: 

  • The International Technical and Examination Committee (ITEC) offered SanDan/Senior Instructor and above exams via Zoom in the summer of 2021. *
  • A Zoom lecture of Shintaido history, given by Peter Furtado at the UK Kan-Geiko at the beginning of 2021, was beautifully recorded and saved for future viewers **
  • Pierre Quettier’s book of Rakutenkai interviews was successfully published at the end of 2021 ***
  • The SoA Podcast started this winter, with David Franklin giving readings from the book Shintaido – the body is a message of the universe. ****
  • British Shintaido broadcasted another fascinating Zoom event on February 20th. SOA instructor Margaret Guay spoke about “The body is a Message of the Universe” looking at it from her Body & Mind Centering practice point of view.

• 天の時
Ten no Toki (the unpredictable timing of heaven)
Because of the new Coronavirus, we were confronted with many regulations that slowed us down and prevented us from practicing any group movement in person. This slow-down felt to me like a message from Nature!

• 地の利
Chi no Ri (the strategic benefit of position)
When we were confronted by the problem of the Coronavirus, new communication strategies like Zoom emerged almost simultaneously, and those strategies opened new opportunities for human relationships and communication, not only to maintain our previous connections but also to grow and foster them in ways that were previously unimaginable.

• 人の和
Hito no Wa (the transcendent harmony of human communication)
Shintaido is blessed with a networked circle of well-trained Shintaido instructors who now can teach not only in local groups, but also anywhere in the world with no travel requirements and no scheduling restrictions. So, the body wisdom of Shintaido is now available in places where – and to people for whom – it used to be out of reach.

The many difficulties and opportunities that face Shintaido today remind me of a Bible verse that I memorized as a very young man, when I was involved heart and soul in the Rakutenkai community:

“…No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. “(from 1 Cor 10:13, NIV)

So, let’s keep going!

H.F. Ito (thanks to Lee Seaman and Tomi Nagai-Rothe for their help with editing)

Links

* https://sites.google.com/view/is-high-level-exams-2021/main 
** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lILawAVhKAM
*** https://sites.google.com/view/shakunetsu/
**** http://www.shintaido.org/podcast/podcast-series-one/