Going "Home" to Honbu

from the July, 2009 issue of Kiai!

By Jun Shihan Nancy Lanoue

It was 25 years ago when I told my teacher, Kaicho Tadashi Nakamura, that I was leaving New York to move to Chicago, with hopes of starting my own dojo. The opportunity to train under Kaicho on a daily basis was at the top of the list of things I sadly gave up in pursuit of my dream. Since then, I have traveled "home" to honbu at least twice a year to train with him, meet with colleagues who run their own schools and bring our black belt students for advanced testing. My most recent trip for the 2009 Black Belt Clinic and Testing in early June gave me a chance to reflect on, and appreciate, both how Seido has changed and remained the same over the years, as well as how my individual role within the organization has evolved.

Of course we have lost some key people and gained a whole new generation of leaders. Nidaime Akira Nakamura, the current Vice Chairman, was a young child when I trained at honbu. Now, as Kaicho's right-hand man, his vision and day to day leadership is helping to shape Seido's future. His way of communicating is different than Kaicho's, and for mono-lingual English speakers, easier to understand. But his warm and caring attitude, his humor and playfulness, his integrity and commitment to Seido's core values are the same as his father's.

Meditation class is still a sacred space for seekers to gather and probe the deeper purposes of their martial training through zazen just as it was for me as a confused young woman trying to find her way in life. Pushups on fingertips and backfists still provide an opportunity for new generations of students to study their reactions to pain and discomfort and to forge a spirit of stoic perseverance in the face of daunting challenges.

One highlight of the weekend for me was the taking of a new commemorative black belt photo. The previous photo, taken in 1984 in Battery Park, included 130 people, one of whom was me peering out from the far back rows of new shodans. It seems hard to believe, but in the years between when the first and second photos were taken, our Thousand Waves dojo alone has produced 121 black belts.

Traffic stopped and people gawked as several hundred people in crisp white uniforms gathered on the steps of the main post office on 8th Avenue and formed themselves into 20 long neat rows lined up by rank. I greeted several people who had not trained in 20 years or more, but came to reconnect with their Seido family on this special occasion. Of the 130 from the original photograph, 41 of us were there again in 2009, older and stiffer, but still dedicated to self-development through the "Sincere Way" after all these years.

The Chicago group this year included seven students presenting for nidan, one for sandan, five black belts who came for support, two sets of parents, two partners and Senpai Joy Williamson from Austin. (We consider her an honorary Chicagoan since she trains with us often, and her dojo is formally affiliated with ours.) Two times, our large group ventured out in search of somewhere to have dinner together, and we were able to be accommodated miraculously without a wait, cementing our warm feeling of group solidarity.

Tests at honbu are still challenging, even grueling at times. To persevere, students must dig deep into their physical and emotional reserves, enabling them to feel strong and proud when they make it to the end. But tests have also changed in some key ways that I appreciate. For example, Thousand Waves member Yesica Barrera was among those who I had invited to test for nidan. In training hard to prepare for her test, she injured her knee.

When Yesica realized that her mobility would be severely limited, she and I reluctantly made the decision to defer her test until the fall. But since she already had her ticket and wanted to be there to support her training partners, Yesica decided to attend the test as a spectator. Much to our surprise, when Kaicho and Nidaime learned that Yesica was there but just to observe, they strongly encouraged her to participate. They assured her that they would adapt the test to make it safe for her. And they graciously did just that, even though it made their planning of an already multi-level grading even more complex.

Another change I was really struck by is how many more resources current Thousand Waves students have to help them prepare for their tests at honbu than the pioneering early students ever had. So many others have gone before and graciously shared their tips on everything from the intricacies of honbu etiquette, to how to understand Kaicho, to what kind of snacks to stash in your training bag.

This current group took advantage of all that wisdom and did their homework, enabling them to give an exemplary performance and make me very proud. Congratulations and best wishes to our new sandans, Senpai Akinwande Oyebanjo, and our new nidans, Carmina Andreuzzi, Yesica Barrera, Jeff Edwards, Jordan Garcia, Joshua Keesecker, Carla Riggs, and Kathy Strandburg.

The day after I arrived, Kaicho arranged to take me and several other senior teachers up to Westchester County to see the new property that is soon to be transformed into Johshin Honzan. In their black belt clinic address, Kaicho and Nidaime explained: "Johshin is an act of cleansing the mind and spirit. This practice goes back to the days of the samurai when the warriors would visit a designated location to perform this act of purification prior to battle. Hon means "main." Zan means "summit." Together the two mean spiritual center."

The new space will not replace the honbu dojo in the City. Kaicho and Nidaime made it clear that they envision it more as a place for visiting branch chiefs to be able to train with them in a more intimate and personal setting. A lot needs to happen before the new space will be ready for anyone to train in it, but knowing Kaicho and his capacity for creative visualization combined with hard work and non-quitting spirit, I feel confident that I will train with my beloved teacher there one of these days soon.