29 February 2004: Previews of Coming Attractions

Okay, so I lied. I said that The Inanna Dialogue would be continued in this entry, and it isn't. When we left off last time, it was my turn to write something, and I've been so busy that I didn't get around to writing it until Friday afternoon. Lila responded with a quick note to the effect that she didn't know when she was going to get her part of the entry written, because she expected to be tied up at least through the weekend (and I suspect she might have meant that literally). Now that the weekend's over, we'll see when she gets it done... but even once I've recieved it, it might be another few days before I have time to format and post the thing. Because I'm very, very busy right now.

Which is why I'm writing this now, in the wee hours of Sunday morning. Because if I don't post a quick update now, then by the time I have another chance to do so, so much will have happened that getting it all down in writing will be too daunting a task, and I'll end up never writing about any of it.

This is a peculiar sort of update, because rather than an update on the noteworthy things I've done recently, it's an update on the noteworthy things I've been preparing for recently, which I'll now be doing very soon.

This Friday evening, March 5th, I'll be teaching a workshop called Intro to Aiki Dynamics, at the YMCA where I teach my aikido classes. This represents my first public attempt to market and teach the sort of class that someday, if all goes as planned, I might make a good portion of my living from.

Aiki Dynamics is my working title for my nonmartial synthesis-in-progress of aikido and a whole lot of the other, more esoteric stuff I've learned over the years. Here's how the flyer explains it:

Ai is a Japanese word that means harmony, unity, to harmonize, to reconcile, to bring together.

Ki (the same as the Chinese chi or qi) means the essential energy, nature, spirit, or potential of a person, thing, or situation.

Aiki is a mental and physical state of grace, power, calm, and flow that comes from acting in a way that is harmonious both with one's own spirit and with the nature of the situation at hand.

Aiki Dynamics is a unique mind/body class aimed at exploring and developing our capacity for Aiki.

Aiki Dynamics makes use of movement and meditation techniques drawn from aikido and other martial arts, and from zen, misogi (cleansing breath practice), Taoist yoga, physical theatre, and other disciplines both ancient and modern. Aiki Dynamics is highly recommended for anyone interested in adding new elements of depth and flow to their existing fitness practices, and for anyone interested in exploring spiritual principles through physical movement.

 

This is being marketed as a one-shot workshop, but it’s also a test balloon, a pilot episode. The Y, which has a big and very popular yoga program, wants more programs that will appeal to the yoga crowd. If this workshop can draw a crowd and generate an enthusiastic response, then there will be more Aiki Dynamics workshops in the future.

So that’s Friday. Then, on Sunday the 7th, one week from today, I administer Foxfire’s yudansha (black belt) test. I’m expecting a packed house for this one. This is a major event. I don’t give out yudansha rank lightly, or often.

Big party at Foxfire’s afterward.

By suspicious coincidence, both these events – the first Aiki Dynamics workshop and Foxfire’s test – happen within a week or so of the 22nd anniversary of my first aikido class (I don’t remember the exact date – just that it was sometime in early March).

The next weekend, March 13th and 14th, we perform Orphans of Delirium.

Here’s a shot of me from this past Tuesday’s distillation/development session:

Since it’s a head shot, you can’t tell that I’m wearing a backless red sequined dress. I also haven’t started rehearsing with the makeup on yet (black eyeliner and black lipstick is the plan). But there’ll be more pictures eventually.

No, no wig, no stuffed bra, no removal of my manly chest hair. I’m not trying to pass myself off as female here. This character is way beyond any human concept of gender.

Time to sleep now. More in March.