The Aesthetics of Subtraction
Some people say Japanese culture is about subtraction. This is sometimes referred to as "the aesthetics of subtraction", which describes an approach that lets beauty emerge by reducing elements rather than adding new ones.
This is observed especially in Zen influenced arts such as Japanese flower arrangement (Kado), tea ceremony (Sado), and traditional theatrical form (Noh).
This gained the popularity in the Samurai governmental period and gave tremendous influences to the Japanese martial arts as well.
The First Kendo (Japanese fencing) Tournament Experience in the Netherlands
I participated in a Kendo tournament last weekend for the first time in the Netherlands and experienced the complete defeat.
It is impossible to subtract if you do not have anything.
The first step of learning anything is to learn the basic. You build the stable foundation.
Then, you learn the applied techniques on top of the foundation.
As you gain more experiences, you start to subtract.
For these recent years, I am trying to get on to this phase. Going for simple strikes to the head. This was my intention. My opponent did that to me perfectly. No fancy techniques. That was the complete defeat.
Simple but Effective Acupuncture
There are many styles of acupuncture.
SEIDO acupuncture which I mainly practice now is derived from traditional Japanese martial arts.
It feels natural for me to get on to the subtraction phase when practicing acupuncture for a long time.
My intention is giving simple but effective acupuncture treatments to everyone.