Allright. I created this blog long ago, and just now I have the chance to actually write something in it. First thing first, my left big toe are sore. I think years of iron body conditioning has its drawbacks after all. Bummer. Our resident osteopath, Pak Cacang (who happened to be the current Guru Besar of Paseban Silat btw) has checked it several weeks ago, and he said something along the lines of "I can fix it, though it will take awhile until it will be back to its pre-injury condition". Good news right, at least it still fixable. Now if only I could find Pak Cacang again, I will be a happy camper.

Speaking of conditions, these days I enjoy doing Aiki Nage. Many people consider Aiki Nage as completely waste of time. And I think they got some point, cause Aiki Nage is not something you will use for self-defense. In fact, I think there are many many many more techniques which are more usable for self-defense than Aiki Nage.

However, Aiki Nage, to me, is a good method to develop sensitivity for balance and kuzushi (breaking balance). And, the older I get, the more I appreciate training methods which I abandoned years ago. Now I am ressurecting them. Too bad not all of my students enjoy those wonderful Aiki Nage. They want something more concrete, like "dodge here, strike there, grab your Uke and throw him right here" kind of stuff..

Which reminds me.. I just finished reading a wonderful book about Nahdlatul Ulama. (NU) Of all the Muslim organizations in Indonesia, this one is amongst my favorite. I hope the NU will continue to be the leading organization of moderate Muslims in Indonesia. Salud!