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Aikido and the Family by Benjamin Pincus Sensei Chief Instructor, Aikido of Champlain Valley "Then she said, 'And you are doing what for an entire week?'" "Oh yeah? I didn't even bother to tell my wife." — Conversation overheard between two men at Aikido Summer Camp 2001 "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." — Leo Tolstoy Layman Pang was sitting in his grass-thatched hut. All of a sudden he said, "Difficult, difficult. It's like trying to cover a tree with ten cups of sesame oil." His wife heard him and said, "Easy, easy. It's like a hundred grass tips on top of the ancestor's mind." His daughter said, "Not difficult, not easy. It's like eating rice when hungry, sleeping when tired." — Translated from the Chinese by Kazuaki Tanahashi and Tensho David Schneider This issue of Shoshin is about aikido and the family. It is also a celebration of our beautiful new dojo. At first I thought it would be difficult to unite the two themes, but I realize that there is an integral connection between my students and their families who make it possible for us to have this place. So I would sincerely like to thank all of the volunteer workers who created this dojo. A handful of students did the majority of the finish work, spending long days and nights making an old warehouse into sacred space. These are the people who understand that the connection between service to the dojo and their own practice are inextricably linked. This is a traditional understanding of budo, and I am proud that we have come this far. And I also extend my gratitude to the families that generously allowed my students to train this way, returning home covered in drywall dust and paint. This must look strange to a number of spouses/significant others. I imagine bits and pieces of a homecoming conversation. "And you pay how much for the honor to install drywall?" It's all a matter of perspective; I suppose one person's do (literally, way or spiritual path) seems like an obscure cult to a frustrated partner. Over the years, a number of students have spoken privately