The Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts was established in 1981 in the San Francisco Bay Area. It offers classes in traditional Japanese systems of yoga and meditation, healing arts, martial arts, and fine arts. Visit www.senninfoundation.com for more information.
The SenninFoundationCenter for Japanese Cultural Arts is a small traditional dojo and its walls are tastefully adorned with H. E. Davey Sensei's dynamic Japanese calligraphy. Located just across the bay from San Francisco, it is usually open throughout the week. It has been serving the communities of Albany, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Kensington, Oakland, Richmond, Martinez, San Pablo, Hercules, Pinole, El Sobrante, Emeryville, San Francisco, San Rafael, and Piedmont since 1981.
The SenninFoundationCenter's orientation is relatively noncommercial in approach, and group instruction is personalized, involving small numbers of serious students. Private lessons are also available, and all fees are reasonable, allowing individuals from a variety of income brackets the opportunity to practice. Davey Sensei and a staff of assistant instructors offer noncompetitive instruction in the traditional Japanese arts mentioned on this website. In their teaching of Japanese yoga & meditation, holistic healing arts, effective martial arts, and Asian fine arts, they carry on the authentic and time-honored traditions of Japan's past.
Visits are by appointment only. Please call, write, or send e-mail if you would like to drop by to pick up some free literature and/or talk to an instructor about our various programs. Everyone is welcome to visit.
The Sennin Foundation Center
for Japanese Cultural Arts
1053 San Pablo Ave.
Albany, CA 94706 USA
The Sennin Foundation Center has two new teachers of Japanese yoga: Wesley Keppel Henry Sensei and Troy Swenson Sensei. They both received Shihan–dai (“Associate Instructor”) certification, and they are now teaching Shin-shin-toitsu-do classes for children and adults at our dojo.
Swenson Sensei also recently received Menkyo Shodan in Saigo Ryu, which is the first classical teaching license in this form of martial arts. Keppel-Henry Sensei is working toward teaching certification in Saigo Ryu as well, and both instructors are studying Japanese healing arts at our dojo. Swenson Sensei is also practicing in our Integrated Shodo & Meditation program, where he is learning the ancient art of Japanese brush calligraphy.
Congratulations to Keppel-Henry Sensei and Swenson Sensei!
Perhaps the best documentary about the traditional Japanese martial arts yet, Budo: The Art of Killing is let down only by the unfortunate title. It was filmed quite a few years ago, and while it does lean toward the more sensational aspects of budo, and although it isn't always accurate, the film still holds up well today. Top Japanese experts were featured, and budo's connection to the mind, nature, and Japanese culture is well explored.
On June 26 and 27, the Shudokan Martial Arts Association will offer a special seminar in conjunction with the SenninFoundationCenter for Japanese Cultural Arts. The featured instructor will be H. E. Davey, SMAA Primary Director and SMAA Jujutsu Division Shihan/seventh dan. The theme of the weekend will be “Japanese Yoga & Hanbo-jutsu.” Instruction will be offered in Shin-shin-toitsu-do, a form of Japanese yoga and meditation, along with Saigo Ryu, a traditional martial art emphasizing jujutsu and several weapons, including the hanbo—a three-foot stick. The event will take place in quaint Albany, California, just across the bay from San Francisco. Instruction is open to anyone above the age of thirteen.
Through Japanese yoga, martial artists and average people alike can learn to manifest their full potential in a wide variety of situations. Instruction will emphasize how unique mind and body unification principles created by Nakamura Tempu Sensei in the 1920s lead to enhanced concentration, calmness, relaxation, and willpower in both life and budo. Since Mr. Davey will be showing how these principles relate to budo, attending the Japanese yoga and meditation training is required for this event.
Saigo Ryu training will focus on the wide variety of dynamic throws and distinctive immobilizations that can be performed with the hanbo. Think of it as “jujutsu with a stick.” Sign up soon to enjoy fun and vigorous training in a martial art that’s seldom taught in a seminar format. This is a rare opportunity to practice an authentic system of traditional hanbo-jutsu as it’s been taught in Japan.
But more than this, the SMAA California Seminar is your chance to learn how unification of mind and body principles can lead to greater power, balance, and grace in hanbo-jutsu and other martial arts as well. Discover how coordination of mind and body leads to effortless effectiveness in self-defense and daily life.
Classes will be offered in a time-honored Japanese atmosphere, and Mr. Davey’s classical dojo is traditional in appearance and intimate in size. Attending these classes as special guest teachers will be at least three SMAA Senior Advisors: Kevin Heard Sensei, Ann Kameoka Sensei, and Ohsaki Jun Sensei. Space is limited, and early registration is strongly suggested.
The San Francisco Bay Area is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Book your flight and make your hotel reservations early. Plenty of time has been built into the schedule to allow for sightseeing and fun.
Mr. Davey and the various attending instructors look forward to offering you a life-altering experience in June, an event that will present new ways of approaching budo and daily living. The various attending SMAA officials are hoping to make new friends and meet old training partners at the SMAA California Seminar.
When:
Saturday, June 26 and Sunday, June 27
Where:
The SenninFoundationCenter for Japanese Cultural Arts
Motels for almost every budget can be found by searching the Internet, so be sure to check around for the best possible deal.
Registration:
Space is extremely limited for all sessions. Contact Mr. Davey soon to reserve your place. The SMAA, the SenninFoundationCenter, and H. E. Davey reserve the right to close registration at any time, once all available spaces have been taken.
A registration form was e-mailed to all SMAA members. If you do not have Internet access, we can also mail you a form. All fees and a completed registration form must be received by the SenninFoundationCenter two weeks prior to the seminar. It will not be possible to register after this date. Checks or money orders should be made out to SenninFoundationCenter. It will not be possible to register in person at the first class.
The Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts has been offering instruction in traditional Japanese arts under experienced, certified teachers since 1981. Established in California by H. E. Davey Sensei, it presents separate training in Japanese systems of yoga, healing arts, martial arts, and fine arts. Ongoing classes are available to people of all ages and levels of health, including classes for children ages five and up.
Members of the Sennin Foundation Center have access to the rich traditions of Japan's cultural arts through practice in the group's classical dojo (literally, "training hall of the Way"). Much more than simply a school or studio, an authentic dojo is a gateway into the timeless realm of Asian art and personal development, allowing members of the Sennin Foundation Center to realize vibrant well-being and longevity. In fact, the word "Sennin" describes the ancient Japanese equivalent of a yogi. The Sennin were known for their high degree of enlightenment, splendid health, and according to some ancient myths, their ability to attain immortality. This same emphasis on spiritual realization and physical fitness is stressed by the Sennin Foundation, thus the use of the term Sennin.
H. E. Davey Sensei, and by extension the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts, is affiliated with a number of elite organizations, which serves to illustrate the group's close ties with Japan and the nature of the Sennin Foundation's programs. Some of these professional affiliations are as follows:
1. Zaidan Hojin Tempu-Kai (The Tempu Society)--A Tokyo-based organization founded by the late Nakamura Tempu Sensei. Dr. Nakamura was the originator of Shin-shin-toitsu-do, a distinctive form of Japanese yoga based on mind and body unification.
2. Ranseki Sho Juku (Ranseki Japanese Calligraphy Institute)--A private San Francisco Bay Area study group for shodo, or Japanese brush writing practiced as meditation and fine art, created by the late Kobara Ranseki Sensei, Headmaster of Ranseki Ryu shodo.
3. Kokusai Shodo Bunka Koryu Kyokai (International Japanese Calligraphy and Cultural Exchange Association)--Headquartered in Urayasu, Japan, this international organization is sponsored by Japan's Ministry of Education.
4. Kokusai Budoin (International Martial Arts Federation)--The Kokusai Budoin of Tokyo is sponsored by Japan's Imperial family and acts as a worldwide umbrella organization for most traditional Japanese martial arts and ways.
5. Shudokan Budo-Kai (Shudokan Martial Arts Association)--The SMAA is an international coalition of Japanese and Western martial arts teachers, featuring martial artists from a variety of different systems. With members in several nations, the group works toward the preservation and cultivation of classical Japanese martial arts and ways.
6. International Hoplology Society--A unique scholarly organization founded by the late Donn F. Draeger Sensei, regarded by some as the world's foremost Western Japanese martial arts authority, author, and historian. The IHS is based in the USA and dedicated to studying the effects of the martial arts and ways on civilizations throughout history.
7. The Sennin Foundation, Inc.--A federally tax-exempt, nonprofit corporation, which is headquartered in California, and which promotes the study of Japanese cultural arts for personal transformation. The Sennin Foundation, Inc. sponsors Michi Online: Journal of Japanese Cultural Arts (www.michionline.org), an electronic journal and online resource for the Japanese arts community.
On May 6, 2010 the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts in California will offer introductory classes in Japanese yoga and martial arts. The Japanese yoga class, which will start at 7 PM, will feature yoga and meditation principles. It will be an introduction to how these principles of mind and body unification can help us in Japanese yoga and daily life.
The class is free to both Sennin Foundation members and the public. The instructor will be Kevin Heard Sensei, who has been studying Japanese yoga, healing arts, and martial arts for over 25 years. He has a Shihan teaching license in Japanese yoga, a very advanced rank.
Following the Japanese yoga training, Heard Sensei will present an optional introduction to Saigo Ryu aiki-jujutsu, a traditional Japanese martial art. Since he will incorporate Japanese yoga principles of mind and body unification in the martial arts practice, participation in the preceding Japanese yoga instruction is required. Heard Sensei has an advanced teaching license in Saigo Ryu, and he has received a fifth-degree black belt from the Shudokan Martial Arts Association Jujutsu Division (www.smaa-hq.com).
If you and/or your friends would like to participate, please call 510-526-7518 (PM) to register. Then, drop by 1053 San Pablo Ave. in Albany, California at 6:45 PM. If you are not already a Sennin Foundation member, you will need to fill out a registration form and waiver. Wear loose clothing and bring a notebook.
After the class, you will have a chance to purchase related books and CD-ROMs, and you and/or your friends can also make arrangements to join the Sennin Foundation Center if you like. We hope you will make plans to attend this special event.
Christopher Earnshaw illuminates the techniques, history and philosophy of calligraphy with over 300 illustrations in Sho: Japanese Calligraphy. Calligraphy, along with poetry and painting, has been for centuries a discipline that all students of culture had to master. Brush writing reflected inner character, and many great masters of calligraphy were respected Zen priests, warriors and emperors. From practical lessons on brushwork to hints about exhibiting finished work, this beautiful volume is the fledgling calligrapher's best reference source. Its meditations on the philosophy of calligraphy will also offer new insights to students of Japanese culture and character.
About the Author
Born in Oxford, England in 1953, Christopher Earnshaw studied calligraphy and Japanese studies at Daito Bunka University in Tokyo and classical Japanese and Chinese through London University. He has held several exhibitions both privately and as the group Terakoya, in Japan and abroad. Receiving his master's license Shodo Kyojusha Shikaku Ninteisho in calligraphy in 1978, he exhibited several times in the Mainichi exhibition, the first time being in 1979 and received a gold prize in the twentieth All Japan Calligraphy exhibition. Presently he lives with his family near Kobe, Japan and works for a British pharmaceutical company.
This is the final book in the Martial Arts & Ways of Japan series written by the late Donn Draeger. It covers the modern martial arts that evolved from the earlier martial disciplines mentioned in Classical Bujutsu and Classical Budo. Covering arts like judo, karate-do, aikido, kendo, iaido, and others, Modern Bujutsu & Budo is important reading for anyone interested in tradtional Japanese martial arts.
This three volume series established Donn Draeger as perhaps the ultimate Western authority on the history and evolution of koryu bujutsu and modern budo.
Donn Draeger was one of the most famous and well-respected martial artists of the twentieth century, and he was a pioneer in bringing Asian martial arts study to the West. Here, he illuminates the compelling historical, political, and philosophical events that gave rise to the development of the budo arts. The classical budo, or "martial ways" are not combat systems like their forerunner, bujutsu, or "martial arts"; nor are they sports like modern judo, kendo, or karate. They are first and foremost spiritual disciplines, whose ultimate goal, achieved through the most rigorous mental and physical training, is self-realization in the tradition of Zen Buddhism. The author details the history, philosophy, and methods of a variety of these "martial ways," some using weapons and some weaponless, and reveals how they evolved from their combative roots. The book includes fascinating artwork from classical sources, and archival photographs of modern budo masters in action.
About the Author
Donn F. Draeger was a U.S. Marine Corps officer and a historian of martial arts disciplines, in which he held a variety of expert ranks and teaching licenses. He was technical director of the magazine Martial Arts International and author of many books on the fighting arts of Asia. He died in 1982.
Evolved amid the incessant warfare of medieval Japan, bujutsu, or "martial arts," provided the warrior with the technical and psychological training that prepared him to use his weapons in actual combat. Classical Bujutsu emphasizes the intensely practical nature of these martial arts. The author describes sixteen major forms of bujutsu, employing a variety of weapons and techniques.
About the Author
Donn F. Draeger was a U.S. Marine Corps officer and a historian of martial arts disciplines, in which he held a variety of expert ranks and teaching licenses. He was technical director of the magazine Martial Arts International and author of many books on the fighting arts of Asia. He died in 1982.
Wabi-sabi is the most conspicuous and characteristic feature of what we think of as traditional Japanese beauty. It occupies roughly the same position in the Japanese pantheon of aesthetic values as do the Greek ideals of beauty and perfection in the West. Wabi-sabi can in its fullest expression be a way of life. At the very least, it is a particular type of beauty. The closest English word to wabi-sabi is probably "rustic." Webster's defines "rustic" as "simple, artless, or unsophisticated . . . [with] surfaces rough or irregular." While "rustic" represents only a limited dimension of the wabi-sabi aesthetic, it is the initial impression many people have when they first see a wabi-sabi expression . . . Originally, the Japanese words "wabi" and "sabi" had quite different meanings. "Sabi" originally meant "chill," "lean," or "withered." "Wabi" originally meant the misery of living alone in nature, away from society, and suggested a discouraged, dispirited, cheerless emotional state. Around the 14th century, the meanings of both words began to evolve in the direction of more positive aesthetic values. The self-imposed isolation and voluntary poverty of the hermit and ascetic came to be considered opportunities for spiritual richness. For the poetically inclined, this kind of life fostered an appreciation of the minor details of everyday life and insights into the beauty of inconspicuous and overlooked aspects of nature. In turn, unprepossessing simplicity took on new meaning as the basis for a new, pure beauty.
Based on the eclectic Western-Eastern teachings of Nakamura Tempu Sensei, Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation is a step-by-step introduction to Japanese yoga (Shin-shin-toitsu-do). It presents stretching, healing, and meditation exercises designed for mind/body integration. It is the first book in English to detail the life and teachings of Nakamura Sensei. In Japanese yoga, which is based on mind and body unification principles, the ultimate goal is enhanced concentration, calmness, and willpower for a longer, healthier, and fuller life. H. E. Davey Sensei also shows how Japanese yoga relates to various classical Japanese arts as part of a tradition of spiritual practice with spiritual and aesthetic roots in India, Japan, and the West. Illustrated, with a glossary and reference section.
The Japanese Way of the Artist:Living the Japanese Arts & Ways, Brush Meditation, The Japanese Way of the Flower
By H. E. Davey
512 pp 6 x 7.75" Paperback 135 B&W illustrations and photographs ISBN 978-1-933330-07-5 $19.95
Now in a single volume, three essential works on Japanese aesthetics, spirituality, and meditation.
Living the Japanese Arts & Ways: 45 Paths to Meditation & Beauty
“Davey uses words with clarity and simplicity to describe the non-word realm of practicing these arts-calligraphy, martial arts, tea ceremony, painting-and the spiritual meaning of such practice. . . . A wonderful complement for practitioners of meditation, especially Zen.” Publishers Weekly
The Michi Mission: From chado—“the Way of tea”—to budo—“the martial Way”—Japan has succeeded in spiritualizing a number of classical arts. The names of these skills often end in Do, also pronounced Michi, meaning the “Way.” By studying a Way in detail, we discover vital principles that transcend the art and relate more broadly to the art of living itself. . . . Books in the Stone Bridge Press series Michi: Japanese Arts and Ways focus on these Do forms. They are about discipline and spirituality, about moving from the particular to the universal.
The three works anthologized here are essential to understanding the spiritual, meditative, and physical basis of all classical Japanese creative and martial arts. Living the Japanese Arts & Ways covers key concepts—like wabi and “stillness in motion”—while the other two books show the reader how to use brush calligraphy (shodo) and flower arranging (ikebana) to achieve mind-body unification.
In the Michi series, H. E. Davey explores the mind/body connection that lies at the heart of traditional Japanese arts and culture. Mr. Davey is Director of the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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For a limited time only, the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts is offering a free month of instruction for children age five and above. If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and you'd like to get more details about this offer, call 510-526-7518 (evenings). You can also drop by Martial Arts & Kids (http://martialartsandkids.blogspot.com/).
The Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts has a special program for children. Since 1981, we've specialized in teaching young people traditional Japanese yoga and martial arts via fun, carefully structured classes. These classes present effective methods of controlling an opponent without excessive violence, and our overall emphasis focuses on the realization of each child's full potential. We stress learning to unite the mind and body in daily activities through practicing Japanese yoga and martial arts (jujutsu), which can in turn result in the discovery of our greatest human power.
