James Cumming, a longtime Shintaido practitioner from England now living in Brattleboro, Vermont, has given me his boh (six-foot staff) and has asked me to find a new home for it. This item is a treasure. It’s made of Japanese oak, which is difficult or impossible to get any more. The boh is probably forty years old and in magnificent condition, still straight and giving off no splinters. It is one of a batch that Aoki-sensei brought from Japan for the Second Shintaido International.
It comes in a beautiful cloth cover, decorated with colorful images of cranes. The fabric is from Japan and made in England.
Also, the boh is imbued with James Cumming’s wonderful Shintaido spirit. I have gotten to known James and his wife Vangie in the years since Bela and I moved East. You might check out their website, Paths to the End. This picture of James on a falconry outing comes from that site. I’d like to make whatever we do with the boh a tribute to James’s longtime dedication to Shintaido and a thank you to him for the donation.
I’m looking for creative ideas for what to do with this wonderful piece of wood. For example, we could have an auction to raise money for Shintaido. If I was an auctioneer, I might set the initial value of this boh at ~$150, but it’s priceless. Or someone could nominate a particularly deserving candidate who needs a boh. What else could we do with it? Please post your ideas as comments to this blog entry. I’ll read them, and I hope other people will also, and we’ll decide what to do with this beautiful boh.
Shintaido North East will be holding their Kangeiko in Massachusetts March 14-15. The theme for this weekend is, “Cutting through the False to See Anew”.
To register, please email: Matt Shorten mattshorten@yahoo.com by March 1, 2020 with the following information:
● Name: ● Email: ● Phone: ● Are you staying at the B & B lodging (y/n) ● Any dietary needs (veg, vegan, dairy, allergies):
Please bring payment: $128 (or $188 if you are staying at the B&B) payable to Shintaido North East to be collected Saturday morning.
And our 3 keikos will be at the Petersham Town Hall, a short drive away.
Details and prices will be forthcoming soon. Please contact Matt Shorten at 978-503-8225 or mattshorten@yahoo.com soon about attending Kangeiko, so we’ll know how many rooms to reserve.
