Month: June 2020

So I’m sure many of you are wondering why I’m posting so many pictures of plants. Tbh, because the dojo is closed, I don’t have anyone to nurture except for my plants. I also am very limited with what I can do in my house during the stay-at-home order, so yes, plants seem to be the only thing fulfilling my life right now instead of budo, shopping, and nice cafes to work LOL.

However, during my time away from the dojo, I have been able to notice some similarities between plants and #budo (more specifically in regards to #teaching); each plant has its own medium, watering, sunlight, and nutrient requirements in order to thrive well, just like how each individual student has their unique requirements for nurturing, teaching explanations, etc.. in order to perform well. Some plants require more sunlight to grow, some burn, just like how some students need more attention from the teacher, while others need more independence and space because too much individualized attention can make them stressed out. Some plants are naturally more finicky than others, just like how some students are harder to get your point across to than others. Some plant species are easy to grow for some growers, while for some others, it’s considered temperamental and not easy to care for—it honestly sounds just like different teachers exchanging information about their experiences about one particular student at the #dojo . Most importantly, you cannot assume that one type of medium will work for ALL plants; I do not use #leca for my phalaenopsis orchids nor my succulents, however, I use them for my aroids. The equivalent in teaching is to NOT use the SAME explanation of a #waza or concept and expect all students to get it. That’s not how it works. Some students may also need more repetitions than others in order to master a technique, while others, using only your explanation and method, may need less to get it.

I honestly felt like smacking myself in the head that it took me until NOW to fully sink in what #Kliebard (1972) said about the curriculum metaphor, “Curriculum as a Garden.” Kliebard said that when you are developing a curriculum for students, you want to envision a garden where many different species of plants, each with their own specific needs and attributes, and provide a unique, nurturing environment for each plant. No two plants are alike, so with this care, you are able to grow each individual plant to its full potential. This is how students should be viewed when you are teaching. Kliebard also mentioned how gardens can be fun for everyone as well. I can now see his metaphor and also realized how difficult it is for people in competitive #martialarts to be able to nurture others. You definitely cannot be successful without the ability to nurture.

Well, I guess in the plant world, instead of ‘ego’ being the deadly sin within the community, it’s greed.

People are so selfish and immature. I honestly strongly and wholeheartedly disagree with not sharing the name of a seller of a plant. Isn’t the point of plants is to share? Also, I’ve never heard of a single seller who didn’t want their name to go out and get more business…

You post up pictures of your collector’s plant to show off, but then when people ask you for cuttings, you refuse (which is understandable if the plant is too young), but then if they ask for a seller for them to purchase their own stock, you refuse to give the name out?

Sounds like hypocrisy to me.

And that crosses the line for me.

My first thought with this is always, “Didn’t you learn how to share in pre-school?…”

I’ve never heard of anything about how not sharing resources is beneficial to society…

The most bizzare thing is seeing how the Indonesian plant sellers are on Fb; they ‘spy’ on the U.S. market prices and then mark up their plants to the same amount, despite it being dirt cheap over there. I understand the demand, but it sounds greedy to me tbh.

When I was starting to observe this, I began to think about all those dojos that are “recreational” and not about competition as much, and how those dojos attract more of the ‘budo hobbyists’ instead of the serious competitors. It’s interesting, and I guess I see the parallels in THAT aspect.

Perhaps a lot of people who join naginata are kind of like how I am in the plant world, where I’m doing this as a recreational hobby but not making a career out of it. I just am able to stay away from the politics because it’s big enough and I’ve chosen to just keep myself as just, “an individual with plants.” They want to use budo as a getaway from their daily lives–a place to relax.

However, there are some good people and great people you meet (just like in budo).

Hilariously enough, for some reason, fate and karma made me end up in Japan, AGAIN, for plants…

I ended up buying my variegated adansonii from Kunzo

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こんなの手に入れたけど… #自然と顔がほころんでしまう… . これは @tstropicals #滝沢先生より届いた貢物？ アノヒトガオレニミツイデモイミナイヤロ……… . ちゃうちゃう 贈り物？ 超貴重な#エンコリリューム！ 一株だけ今度のドリームガーデンに出すけど 誰も買えない値段をつけとく……… あはは じゃあ出すなって？ いや ちょっとだけええかっこしたいだけ… 俺にもそんな時がちょこちょこっと必要なの……… そういう年頃になりました……… . #encholiriumpedicellatum . #滝沢先生に感謝！ #花宇宙 #ドリームガーデン .

A post shared by kunzo nishihata (@kunzo_n) on Mar 29, 2019 at 6:45am PDT

LOL, he reminds me of that Pokemon Breeder from the Pokemon Day Care Center from Red/Blue 😂😂

He’s a master, well-known for that around the world, and doesn’t do it for the money.

I guess a sensei version of Kunzo is a good thing to look forward to becoming 🙂 I think he sets a good role model for the budo community in general.