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Cafe Maru

bringing things learned in the dojo to outside the dojo <3

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Posted on May 5, 2018May 7, 2018

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    Naginata Influencer

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    iamtheyin
    I finally got to do what I’ve always wanted to d I finally got to do what I’ve always wanted to do with pottery: #calligraphy . I remember first using cobalt on porcelain back when I first went to Kyoto in 2006. I’ve been trying to search for a place to do it again but couldn’t find anything like it here. I thought that I start pottery so that I make pieces like these from start to finish, but my pottery didn’t initially go in that direction 😅 I noticed @chrisgarver at my studio always doing the classic cobalt on his amazing pieces. He was so kind to teach me how to use it on pottery and let me try it on one of the vases he was supposed to paint on. To be honest, I was very surprised at how the texture was a lot like regular sumi (ink), but also at how difficult it is to pain on a non-flat, still surface. It was a lot of fun and I definitely want to do it again! Of course, I had to write Musashi’s Senki piece (the one hanging in the Shimada Museum in Kumamoto) in both kana and gyosho on this. It was the perfect combination. It’s especially hard to find non-tacky #budo calligraphy on pottery. Thank you so much Chris! #戰氣 #戰氣🔥 #宮本武蔵 #書道 #かな書道 #戦気 #陶芸 #shodo #calligraphy #japanesecalligraphy #calligraphyart #musashi #miyamotomusashi
    I felt nostalgic and decided to post this old pic I felt nostalgic and decided to post this old pic of myself thinking that not knowing my future was the most painful thing one could experience, but upon seeing this picture again, I guess I could safely say that I had many moments of happiness then and that there are always trade offs to every situation. I never would’ve thought that this would be one of my last photos with sensei. I guess despite going through a stressful post-grad time period of not having a job and not knowing the security of my future, I really didn’t let those things prevent me from trying my best to make the most out of the situation and find moments of joy and comfort in being under my own skin.
    My first official #kanacalligraphy attempt at #miy My first official #kanacalligraphy attempt at #miyamotomusashi ‘s senki’s bottom poem. He took this from a classic Chinese poem written by Haku Kyoi (白居易). My #shodo sensei said that technically, this would be a kanji piece, but she still made it “kana style” The line is [寒流月を帯びて澄めること鏡の如し] which could be roughly translated to, “The moon on the cold stream like a mirror.” He picked this line specifically from the Wakan Roueishu (和漢朗詠集) because he said that this line best describes the ideal feeling in battle. I guess if you can do Soshou (cursive script), you can do Kana. I feel like writing this on some porcelain pieces ^_^ #戰氣 #戰氣🔥 #宮本武蔵 #書道 #かな書道 #戦気
    #happyhalloween ! Because of the recent #mortalkom #happyhalloween ! Because of the recent #mortalkombatmovie and all the students at school talking about it, I decided to dress up as #kunglao from #mortalkombat ! The main inspo came from #mortalkombat2 where he first appeared, but I added some inspirations from the recent movie + later games, with a touch of a feminine flair at the top. It was nice to have people recognize me, since I usually dressed up as more obscure characters for #halloween during childhood. Also Thumper the @bad.bad.rabbit wanted to be Kung Lao too! So with the help of @laurenmaul and @seikou_calligraphy I was able to make her a costume! #kunglaocosplay #kunglaocostume #mortalkombatcosplay #halloweencostume
    Good morning, here is to a fresh day (despite bein Good morning, here is to a fresh day (despite being sleep deprived and injured)
    On Sunday, it was Mental Health Awareness Day, and On Sunday, it was Mental Health Awareness Day, and I wanted to add on to what other female athletes like Maria Sharapova, Naomi Osaka, and Simone Biles have been doing lately with normalizing the talk about mental health in athletics. In martial arts, you’re trained for hours in tough circumstances so that you can get better both physically and mentally within your discipline, however only the successful results of those hours of intense training are talked about, not the process. The process is honestly that part that takes up most of your energy and your journey in your field. There are good parts, but there are a lot of ugly parts that are unfortunately part of the reality of doing budo, and also lingers on in your psyche. Whenever you try to talk about your vulnerabilities and troubles to others, most of the time, your concerns are either brushed aside or ignored and replied with, “Well toughen up!” This leads to an unhealthy amount of baggage that you carry on due to not facing your issues upfront. Naginata can be very lonely at times. There are many times where I felt as though I could not relate to others in intensity and dedication to the discipline, the bullying and toxicity that many people in the community have unjustly placed on me also always seems to follow me in my shadows, and the grief I still feel for my sensei’s death from almost a decade ago is still something that I feel as though I cannot talk about with many people. However, seeing other athletes talk about the importance of mental health has given me the courage to talk about it and help normalize talking about this topic to others. One thing I can say right now is that your struggles do not define you. And like Naginata’s physical skill, the mental discipline is also a skill that is part of that long journey.
    My plant-filled desk. It’s so nice to have a day My plant-filled desk. It’s so nice to have a day off (especially on a cloudy day) to just sit here with my plants and do my desk work.
    Jumping for joy with my last ounce of adrenaline, Jumping for joy with my last ounce of adrenaline, after getting through a long weekend of judging promotion exams and seeing my students all pass. Of course, nothing could depict me better than this photo of me in edgy athleisure clothing doing a dynamic jump in my childhood dojo, in front of gorgeous calligraphy that has one of my favorite Budo proverbs written on it. To top it off, being surrounded by good, positive people, made this moment even more awesome.
    Musashi was able to do calligraphy and paint as we Musashi was able to do calligraphy and paint as well as be a very good swordsman. Perhaps creative outlets are needed as well in order to get very good at something 🧐
    “If you are good at one thing, you can get good “If you are good at one thing, you can get good at anything—-it’s the #spirit “ - Koho Sensei #motivationalquotes #motivationmonday
    My true spirit #戰氣 My true spirit #戰氣
    One thing I will miss about the pandemic lifestyle One thing I will miss about the pandemic lifestyle is being able to wake up and work at this beautiful desk of mine. The south-facing window is so nice and having all my plants, pens, and #crystals is super nice. For those of you who don’t know, schoolteachers have been in person for a while. Basically, society wants their daycare 🙄 not an education under safe circumstances. But alas, I will still be able to have this over the weekend though! #pink #pinklifestyle
    Here it is, my attempt at #miyamotomusashi ‘s #s Here it is, my attempt at #miyamotomusashi ‘s #senki (#戰氣 ) except I didn’t do it with one stroke (yet). I didn’t use as bold or thick lines like he did, but now that I know how to move my hand, I think I can attempt it with a single stroke next time. This will be my first calligraphy “shiai” that I will participate in! I don’t expect anything out of it, but it definitely was cool to submit something for the first time. #宮本武蔵 #戦気 #書道 #行書 #calligraphy #japanesecalligraphy #shodo
    「柔弱勝剛強」= “Soft and weak wins again 「柔弱勝剛強」= “Soft and weak wins against the strong ones” Pretty true when it comes to naginata techniques—-especially the sophisticated ones. This was my first time attempting #sosho (cursive script) in #shodo —-I literally thought that I would be terrible at it, but there’s actually an odd amount of muscle memory that goes with it. You also really have to use the tip of the brush (like the kissaki of a naginata) and the concepts really do remind me of sword movements. I honestly thought that I would do super terribly, but I guess not. I guess sometimes you end up doing much better at something you least expected yourself to be good at.
    I’ve always been curious about #koreancalligraph I’ve always been curious about #koreancalligraphy a.k.a. #seoye because I’ve only really seen Japanese and Chinese calligraphy represented, but I was always curious about the round circular shapes that the Korean language had and just wondered how you would get that from a brush. It’s of course, super hard to find Korean calligraphy here in NYC, but luckily, I met someone who was able to live stream from Seoul directly. It’s been so interesting to work my finger muscles in different ways, as well as seeing more similarities with Chinese style calligraphy (which is actually what I originally studied anyway). This script style is apparently the first basic one you learn, and it’s unique to Hangul. My teacher taught me how to write “New York” and “America,” so he was clearly having fun …so I had to ask him to write the most important word for me: #kalbi 🍖🍗🐮🐄😋😋😋 The picture was a little add on later and I’m going to need to revisit this because apparently I drew #lakalbi instead of legit kalbi 😝🤣 #calligraphy #書道
    I tried an #abg makeup tutorial for fun because I I tried an #abg makeup tutorial for fun because I loved how my hair looked on Faceapp 🤣 since I didn’t have colored contacts, I could only hope that my ring light would help me get lighter eyes to give that look lol. It also feels so weird to have all this makeup on. Omg.
    Be “like a king” in effort and confidence in a Be “like a king” in effort and confidence in any path you choose in life. #confucius #calligraphy #japanesecalligraphy #shodo #孔子 #書道 #臨書 #王道
    Why I began to use #furoshiki for carrying my bogu Why I began to use #furoshiki for carrying my bogu: 1️⃣ Takes up less room in my suitcase when traveling & the club/dojo locker during storage. 2️⃣ Easier to have the #bogu aerate, resulting in quicker drying, therefore reducing the chances of mold growing on your equipment. 3️⃣ Easier to clean than a regular bogu bag. 4️⃣ Cheaper than the utility bogu bags. 5️⃣ Gorgeous designs! (Come on, who could resist the #pink ?!?! 😝) I never would’ve thought that I would “go backwards” in my #naginata equipment and get something less technologically advanced, but when I saw this sensei and another group’s students all use furoshiki, I got curious and decided to try it myself. I now understood why, even till this day, people still use furoshiki for storing bogu. I didn’t even think furoshiki would be available in THAT big a size, but alas, I found it and experimented with it. I love it and although I still would use my utility bogu bag at times because of the storage pockets, I think for local storage or car travel, I probably will still use a furoshiki. It’s also crazy to think that I’d ever see dust on my bogu bag due to the pandemic. I can’t wait to get back into full gear and have the dust come off completely!
    This little princess is definitely MINE. She had h This little princess is definitely MINE. She had her first Starbucks today and loved it! She also liked to be her naughty self and knock the cup over and spill everything on the table. Oops.
    To my alphabet friends, although late, happy pride To my alphabet friends, although late, happy pride month! 🌈 Although I have the most boring identity and orientation (Cishet), I still am happy that my LGBTQ+ friends are able to celebrate this month of having the freedom to express themselves. (P.S. If you cannot find the relevance of this post in the photo, look a little more carefully 🌈 😝)
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