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Aphorisms from the Mountains
The Doshu in Bosco Gurin (CH) August 2016

Bosco Gurin

Bosco Gurin is a Walser village in Ticino on the Swiss-Italian border. For many years now, I have been spending a week here, practicing with my fellow practitioners according to the teachings of Doshu Yoshigasaki.
Why spend a week a year in this remote mountain village?

This question has a different meaning for me than for others. If someone had asked me six years ago if I wanted to go to Bosco Gurin, I would have answered "no," as the season in this corner of Ticino is not friendly, autumn is just around the corner, and there are always some bad, cold, and rainy days. Besides, I only have two weeks of vacation this year, so I have to choose carefully what I do ...

Arrivals

I arrive on Saturday afternoon around 4 p.m., I am the first to arrive. I ignore the organizers, among whom I only mention Yvette (one day I'll write to you about our first whirlwind meeting). I go up to the dormitory and choose the last bed at the end, near the window. In front of me is a door to a small room where my teacher, Maurizio, sleeps. I've been taking the same spot here for a few years now; I'm a creature of habit.
One of the nicest things about the seminar in Bosco Gurin is that we all sleep and eat together in the "Centro Climatico", a beautiful building in the center of the village.
The hours pass, and all the participants arrive: this year we have a French trio: Paul, Gabi, and Fabian. The Finnish couple is back with their camper van and their dogs, while Geraldina, who has only recently started taking up aikido, is from the Ticino group. Then there are Michal from Prague and Donato from Turin, who were also in the Black Forest the week before for the Herzogenhorn seminar. From Turin come Paolo and Tina, too. Sven is missing this year, and that saddens me.

Sunday, First Day

Sunday is the day on which misogi is not practiced early in the morning, so we start at 8:30 a.m.
The day is beautiful and the weather will remain so all week. The baker from Bosco will tell me that it will be the most beautiful week of the summer, and indeed, it has been an unusually sunny week.
This year, the doshu decides to present a few aphorisms each day to stimulate reflection among the group of students. On the first day, it is:
What does it mean to be poor and not rich in Japan?
And to be poor and not rich in India?
And to be poor and not rich in Italy?
In daily training, the master also speaks about the topics that are dear to him. Often, the seminars are too short for what he has to say and teach. And if you don't follow him from beginning to end, there are always gaps and misunderstandings regarding what he says. This is also because each of us interprets everything in our own way and forms our own ideas about what we seem to have understood. Before forming an opinion about Yoshigasaki Sensei's statements, we must listen to him and try to understand him. Is it a difficult thing? Yes, it is. We're used to living comfortably, but this must also have some benefit in terms of our free time. That is, it must allow us to spend it meaningfully.
We generally try to avoid fatigue, and what does that lead to?
Practicing Aikido, like anything done with passion and dedication, is not an easy activity, but no one tells you that on the first day of practise.

Monday, Day Two

This morning I woke up at 5:45 a.m. Maurizio always tries to surprise me by thinking I'm asleep, but I'm already awake.

This year, there are only a few of us in the attic dormitory, and we can rest very well. There are no "professional snorers". Besides Maurizio and me, there are Manuel, an excellent pizza maker with great passion, as well as Liliana and Davide, who represents Tuscany.
We all miss Gigi, and I would also like to say that we hope to see him again as soon as possible.

Monday

The master focuses on the misogi technique, and this will continue throughout the week.
After the misogi, we have breakfast. The scenery, which can be seen from the tables by the window, is very beautiful. The amphitheater of the surrounding mountains is still impressive even after many years.

On this second day, the master asks:
But who practices Ki-Aikido?
The master has three answers:
Those who have begun practicing Ki-Aikido and continue to practice it.
Those who begin Aikido training but do not want to fight and therefore begin Ki-Aikido training.
Those who do not want to fight and aspire to something higher, perhaps to live.

After these answers, which I believe are not exhaustive and will change over time, I have one question that seems important to me: What should a Ki-Aikido practitioner do if they are forced to fight? This is fundamental to communicating what we do. Because that defines what Ki-Aikido is. It is a question that everyone who comes to our dojo asks us.

Tuesday, Third Day

We begin with an early morning deepening of the purification ritual.
Meanwhile, the newcomers to Bosco are beginning to understand that training at 1,500 m above sea level and getting up early in the morning brings with it a certain fatigue.
Be that as it may, the afternoon is free. For almost everyone. The undersigned, however, is still preparing for his exams.

And you think Paul (from Marseille) was forgotten? No, he's looking for me today, right at the start of class, and I'm practicing with him all morning.
Let me tell you what he's been doing during his months of retirement. You'll be amazed at what the man with the mustache manages to accomplish.
He also managed to convince Fabien and Gabi to come here this year.

Wednesday, Day Four

This is the day to rest. Half the week is over, and the excursion is due. I let Michele easily persuade me not to take the cable car for the ascent to Robiei at the foot of the Basodino Glacier, but to go on a proper hike (900 meters of elevation gain). Liliana also follows us, at least uphill, while wisely preferring to take the cable car downhill.

After a year of not going seriously into the mountains, the effort of the first ascent is unforgettable. But the descent is even more difficult.
Since I'm closer to fifty than Michele is to twenty (he's seventeen!), I'm aware that I'm getting older. Besides, the master always laughs and tells me in class that I'm old compared to Michele.

Tonight's dinner is prepared by the organizing group itself. This year we also have the help of Tina, who is also a very good cook, as we discovered on site.

Thursday, Fifth Day

I think one of the master's best aphorisms is:
How do you protect yourself from a wife who wants to kill you?

I also forgot to tell you that I train every afternoon to prepare for my exam, and not only that. In Aikido practice, the exam is, in my opinion, just a small step.
My goal is different, but I hope to achieve it by the age of fifty, which, as I said, is not far off now.

Friday, Day Six

Maurizio has to leave in the afternoon due to work commitments.

Today's quote is: How do you protect yourself from a martial arts expert?
You've probably heard the master ask this question many times, so I'm not writing down the answer because it's no fun. I can give you a hint: Only those who have practiced for at least ten years are allowed to ask questions.

Saturday, Last Day

We've reached the end, the farewell. The morning training revolves around the first kata of jo and bokken, while yesterday the doshu focused on the second kata of jo and bokken.
Is the saying of the day missing? Obviously not:
How can one protect oneself from the atomic bomb?
I consider it very important to reflect on the meaning of such a question, asked by a Japanese man over sixty, whose life was inevitably influenced by the events at the end of World War II that shaped an entire people.

After lunch on Saturday and the ritual farewell, I leave the hall, but I've forgotten some of my luggage and have to come back to get it. It was a strenuous week.
Why do I put myself through this?
My answer is that every year new people join the group, and it's the curiosity about who will be there and what will happen that keeps drawing me back to this remote Ticino village.
And what will I do next year? Come along and see what it's like!

Andrea Masseroni, October 20, 2016
First published on Ki no nagare
Newly illustrated and translated: BB

Group photo

 

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