Aikido retreat
I've always thought it would be fun to do some sort of "retreat" for a weekend sometime. Just find some remote place in the woods, pretty scenery, sometime in the spring or fall when it's relatively cool outside. Do some budo outdoors (no ukemi, of course). Mostly aikido, maybe jyodo. Kind of like a clinic, kind of like a kangeiko (just not in the dead of winter).
Just a thought. Don't know if anyone is into that sort of thing...
Might be kinda cool. Any ideas where?
I always think of doing that at elk mountain in the witchta wildlife refuge --
Day trip? Overnight camping? Could be a lotta fun!
I'm not really familiar with what's available around Oklahoma in terms of "outdoors-y" activities (I've lived here most of my life, but I spent most of my childhood indoors drawing). I had thought that maybe folks could meet after work on a Friday, drive somewhere, camp, cook diner, sing around a campfire (take all the white belts out on "snipe hunts"), get drunk, pass out.
Then spend the day Saturday communing with nature and doing some budo (could be like clinic, could be like kangeiko with meditation and practicing in "noble silence"). Could just head home after that, unless folks would really like to camp another night.
Somewhere near water is always nice and tranquil...
I know some places around.
The Wichita Mountains are my old stomping grounds, and there's some great places in teh Arbuckle mountains.
For water, there's a few choices.
Thunderbird is very close, so if people wanted to camp they could. Close enough people could show up easily if they didn't want to camp.
Lake of the Arbuckles is nice. Lake Murray has underwent quite a few changes in recent years. Some of the scuba shops in the DFW area actually drive to Murray for their lake dive certifications. I find that really interesting, considering there are some choice spots a few hours closer.
Up north, Lake Keystone is really sweet. Close enough we might be able to lure some of the Arkansas, Tahlequah & Claremore folks.
I think it'd be great. I've missed out on camping this year, even out annual float of the Illinois river 😢
I've never actually heard of Lake Keystone, but I like the idea of having some other folks from other schools join in.
For those with more camping experience... What's a good time of year? Not too hot, not too cold, but not crowded with millions of tourists...?
After Labor Day, things tend to slow down. It cools off, and lake traffic drops off pretty quickly. October isn't bad, though you typically see precipitation in late October.
Lake Keystone is west of Tulsa/Sand Springs, north of Bristow. There are a few nice spots around the lake, especially on the north side of the lake (Walnut Creek State Park me thinks).
I will say Keystone in the past has been a very beautiful place to camp. Even from out of state I think this would be a cool idea. Would love to hand out with you guys out in the middle of Nature.
in the olden days the dojo folk would go down to blue river near tishamingo
Any ideas when you're thinking about doing this? Clinic is coming, so are you thinking before or after that?