Knitting for Friends - Hiro, the Seed Stitch Cowl and Mt. Fuji

Hi Everyone!

Back with the Knitting for Friends series. This time my knitting traveled all the way to Japan! A friend of mine was travelling to China and Japan and I asked her to pass on this little surprise to Hiro. In fact this friend of mine who was delivering the gift will also feature soon on my blog wearing another knit item that I made specially for her.

So here is Hiro, wearing the cowl I made. If you liked the cowl, you can find the free pattern here.

Hiroshi Imase ©

A few fun facts about Hiro and some of his pictures

He is a teacher and feelosopher. In case you wonder what the letter is, the way he likes to put it the following: making a difference in kids' life by awakening their excellence. He is also a great photographer, so I decided I would share a few of his other pictures with you!

Sit back and relax. The first one has become the wallpaper on my phone because I loved it so much, then I realized it also has a calming effect on me. The light play and the whole picture is gorgeous.

Hiroshi Imase ©

 This one is also really neat. Awesome winter feeling!

Hiroshi Imase ©

I think this is a great way to wrap up 2013. I want to wish a Merry Christmas  to everyone! And a Happy New Year! Will be writing some more next year and as usual I will have a giveaway in mid January for the blog birthday. Next year will be special because I want to offer some knit items to you guys who will be joining the giveaway. I will post some patterns and then I will start a voting so you guys can decide what would make the best gift for the giveaway. See you next year!!!

Presenting Aikido Dojos - Aikido Dillingen

Aikido Dillingen ©

-Guest Post by Marcus

The Aikido division of the Budo club Dillingen e.V. is practicing Aikido accordingly to the principles and techniques of Nishio Sensei. The training courses are led by Kazuo Sato (4. Dan Aikido and 3. Dan Toho). Kazuo Sato met Nishio Sensei already in 1993 and was supporting him as translator during one of his seminars in Saarbrücken. Since 1999 Shishiya Sensei is the official representative and follower of Nishio Sensei in Germany. Shishiya was already well established and popular as assistant of Nishio Sensei, today he is continuing whose work and ideas. For the further establishment of the evolved principles of Nishio Sensei in Germany, Kazuo Sato founded in 2001 on recommendation of Nishio Sensei his own federation: the “Deutsche Aikido Renmei e.V.”. Therefore, Aikido dojo Dillingen became headquarter of the federation. Since the death of Nishio Sensei in 2005, Shishiya Sensei is visiting Germany and our dojo frequently to perform Aikido seminars and to teach the style of Nishio Sensei.

Aikido Dillingen ©

Shishiya Sensei demonstrates in his seminars the close relationship between the sword- and stick-techniques and the “empty-handed” forms of Aikido. Furthermore he is teaching Toho, which is a special form of Iaido developed by Nishio Sensei. The movements in Aikido also pointed-out by practicing the ´ken non tebiki´ or ´jo no tebiki´ forms (“ken and jo guide the movement”). Shishiya Sensei is paying a special attention to the attitude of the mind of Tori and advices consistently that Aikido is a forgiving martial art (“Yurusu Budo”, after the book of Nishio Sensei and Shishiya Sensei). Shishiya Sensei is also doing the next consequent step and modifies some of the Aikido techniques, e.g. Nikyo, Sankyo or Shiho nage, that these are free of pain for Uke, but showing the same efficiency. Even some of the sword techniques had been developed further in a way, that Uke is spared during his attack and gets several chances to think over his acting and to give up before hurting him. The sword is used only to control the movements of an aggressor, but not to hurt or kill him.

Shishiya Sensei is consequently following and developing further the leading thought of Toho of the “Sword, which is not for killing but to save lives.”

For the previous episode of presenting Aikido Dojos please head to Aikido in Oberhausen and New Orleans.

If you want your dojo to feature on Beauty and Aikido please leave a comment or drop me an e-mail.

Knitting for Friends - The Headband and the Rose

Hi Everyone!

This winter I have been taking care of my skin in a professional way and went monthly to a cosmetician. Also I stopped buying and trying creams because I get some natural products from the cosmetician. Planning to write a longer post about those products and the treatment I am getting because it totally changed my skin for the better. 

So this winter will not be about product reviews but about knitting and other hand crafted goodies. I am also planning to create something handmade for the yearly BLOG BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY that will happen in January as usual, so stay tuned!!!

Now here is one of the creations I finished not long ago for a dear friend. She asked for the headband but told me she would love to have a knit rose also. Given the color of  the yarn, I was able to create a cute rose for her as a surprise. The creation will reach her today. Hope she will like it.

If you also liked it and would like to make a similar headband, you can find the pattern here.

Current knitting project: Infinity Scarf for a dear friend.

Future knitting projects: Gloves, something special for the giveaway, another scarf

I also made some glass jewelry the past weekend. I had loads of fun!Will post them only after Christmas because I intend to give some of the jewelry as Christmas presents to family and friends.

Happy knitting!

The Warrior's Path

I have been dreaming for a long time to get some theoretical knowledge of the history of martial arts. Half a year ago I found a whole study line and was seriously considering to apply for a 3 year BA program which was focusing on aikido and martial arts. But it has been discontinued. Then this opportunity came. I just saw a post that you can win a 2 month course about martial arts. All I had to do was answer to an easy question:

What is the literal meaning of Sensei?

Answer: "person born before another"

So I just hit the right answer submitted and a few days later, before going to bed, I was checking my e-mail with sleepy eyes. An e-mail came noticing me that I won one of the free admissions to the two month course. I was so happy, just jumping and singing!

So today I am soon heading to the third Seminar. So far we discussed a lot of the historical background and I am hoping we are soon getting to the martial arts part. The main teacher is Szabó Balázs whom I have presented to you in a previous post. I will be getting back with posts that sum up the contents of each course, so if you are interested please stay tuned!

Japanese Days and Manga Self

I know that everyone is supposed to be their own self, but there is this Japanese chick inside of me that sometimes wants to come to the surface and be cute. So the best place for that is a Japanese cultural event, right. I was invited in the last August weekend to such an event. I had a lot of fun and tried out everything. In the big conference room there were movies, martial arts presentations, dancing and singing.

This is the makeup I was wearing for the day. I was using just tinted moisturizer by L'Oreal, NYC eyelash curler and the Maybelline Rocket mascara that I totally love. On top of that some 100% pure organic blush that I love. And that was it. Oh, and I bought a set of cute bow hairpins. Two of them resemble my ombred hair I think (you can see those on the table)

I listened to presentations and I also played karuta and ate some sushi. The guy at the sushi counter asked me whether I have ever eaten any sushi...then he looked at my tee and he smiled. I said I did eat... I really became keen on karuta also, so I bought a pack of them and started learning the poems called Hyakunin Isshu. Not that I understand a lot of it, but I can read Hiragana, so that helps a lot! So beware, some posts might come about karuta! I also bought a tatami on which I will be able to play it. So excited!!!

I also danced on one of those dancing video games. Then I got my manga portrait taken. It was a lot of fun! Do you think it resembles me? The portrait was done by Lainess. You can check her DevianArt profile here. I think she is quite talented.

The History of Aikido: About Jujitsu and Aikido (Hungarian)

I have decided to post these two videos for my Hungarian speaking readers, because I know from the stats that there is many of you out there :D I also attended the first lecture, but I could not make it to the second. Great that they taped it and I was able to listen to it at home.

Balazs is a great and eloquent presenter who has a lot of knowledge about aikido. He also teaches aikido at the same dojo where I train but on different days and times.

A Dress for a Special Occasion: Wine Tasting

Every lady needs that special dresses for that special occasions. Your best friend gets married, there is a cocktail party to attend, the company organizes a Christmas Party and the list can go on and on. Once you get the invite, you usually realize you have nothing to wear. Even if you have something from last year it might not fit your present style, the trends, season or what not. So then you start running around to look for that special dress that fits you. I know, been there, done that. On the last week before the Christmas Party I usually start running like crazy for the perfect dress and shoes. And I get really exhausted and frustrated. So this year I decided to look around the internet and check what is available, long before it started. This time I am looking for a dress for a wine tasting and I found this website called Dress First. They have lots of dressed and accessories there and a very good filtering system on the left hand side. You can sort by categories and you can also narrow it down to color, price, season and what not. I knew for sure the color, but am not sure about the material and the cut, so I filtered for burgundy. These two dresses are the runners up for me: 

Source: Dress First

Source: Dress First

I chose this color because I think my skin has a warm undertone. I always get compliments if I wear colors like red or burgundy. I also think that burgundy is a really nice fall color that makes me think of wine tasting. I guess I would pick the second dress which is a less dressy one as the wine tasting will be more like an informal event where we will just taste some wines and chitchat with our colleagues. But on the website you can pick from a large range: from absolutely dressy wedding or ball garments and accessories, to simple clean cut cocktail dresses.  

From September on: 4th KYU!

Beauty and Aikido ©

Guess what! I finally took the chance and took the 4th kyu exam. It was not easy, but I felt like I did my best. Sensei's comment was that I did not do my best at all, that I did way better on trainings. Probably the anxiety in the exam situation brought this about. There were parts I liked, and parts I was struggling with, but in the end I made it. After the exam I felt a huge rush of endorphins through my whole body and a huge happiness that I had the guts to do it. I had to...two years passed by since my last exam. Sensei commented on that, too. He also said that I got the 4th kyu, with his indulgence, but he is giving it to me only from September on. Until then I have to correct the mistakes he pointed out and do better and better. He also said that I should be taking the exams more regularly. From now on, I have promised to myself to persevere and never abandon this path. 

Reina's Transformation

Beauty and Aikido ©

As you may already know, I was on a training camp for a whole week. Lots of training, kyu exam but also lots of fun with nice people, grilling, swimming in lake Balaton and last but not least, some styling. Our lovely Reina has been transformed from a cute little girl into an even cuter young lady. I think she really liked the end result. However she found that it took a bit too long and that she could not incorporate the whole makeup and hair session into her daily routine.

Special thanks to Mesu and Jazmin who have collaborated and actually taken the initiative of this quick transformation. 

Biomechanics and Aikido

Beauty and Aikido ©

Reader Advisory: Beware as I am getting really scientific in this post :) 

A PE teacher with physics background made a great experiment

He has proven through an experiment that students who understand the mechanics of Aikido perform a lot better the various techniques. Also using aikido in teaching mechanics appeared to be a much more effective approach then the conventional ones. I really believe that learning through experimenting is really important. The principles from physics were learned easier though experimenting with aikido, but also your aikido can get better if you understand its mechanics. However you can only get better if you keep on trying and experimenting. And this is a really interesting path you can try out by reading about it or talking to friends who have a background in physics. You also need to keep open and eager to learn more and more. So I am offering you a new opportunity to learn more about aikido. Here you can find the entire article about the research:

http://aikidoforbeginners.blogspot.com/2011/09/teaching-aikido-using-biomechanics.html

If you read it, let me know about your feed-backs. Would be really interested what you think! Were you convinced or do you think it is just another of those weird experiments from which one has no gains?

Planning to Teach Aikido?

It could be also an interesting article for those who at some point want to teach aikido. I am sure that one can not only perform but also explain a technique much better if he or she fully understands how the technique works.

Aikidoka Stylist Strikes Back!

1st kyu aikidoka

Remember when I posted about how I had the hair of some girls done while we were on training camp? If not head to this article. Now I got a request from one of the sweetest sempais to help her prepare for a family dinner. I was more then happy to do so. I did her nails, hair and makeup in turbo speed, but I think it turned out really good. The makeup is a really natural daytime look. As I had to come up with something for her really quick I just did a look that I do on myself really often. Light foundation from La Roche-Posay. Eyebrows defined by NYX eyebrow powder. Brown smudged eyeliner with some eye-shadow on it to soak up the oiliness of the eyeliner pencil and brightening up the inner corner by a peachy shimmery color from my Dior Palette. Some mascara, just a tiny bit of blush (I used the one presented in this post) and Catrice lip tint.

I painted the nails in two tones, a deep red and a golden one. I am getting better in doing accurate work and not fooling around and being sloppy on the edges. I think this combo looks really awesome on her nails. I feel like I need to open up a small beauty shop RIGHT NOW! I love doing this so much.

Presenting Aikido Dojos - Aikido in Oberhausen and New Orleans

Beauty and Aikido ©

Hi Everyone!

I made a call to all people out there who would like to share stories about their dojos and about where and with what people they train. I have received already mails from to different dojos.

The fist is in Germany and it is called Aikido in Oberhausen. You can visit their website and their Facebook page to find out more about them:

http://www.aikido-in-oberhausen.de/

https://www.facebook.com/AikidoOberhausen

Another dojo that contacted me is from the USA, more exactly New Orleans and they also have this amazing video about their dojo. I find it really inspiring for any aikido practitioner.

Aikido of New Orleans -The martial art of power and movement from Aikido of New Orleans on Vimeo.

My invitation still stays open. If you are an aikido practitioner, have a story to share or want to tell us about your dojo, feel free to contact me! Any material is very much welcome. Looking forward to getting to know you!

Charleston Naturally - Skincare Review

- Sponsored post

Beauty and Aikido ©

I got some products sent over by Charleston Naturally and I tried them out for some month, so I am ready now to give you a review about them. All the products came in this nice little linen pouch:

Inside there were a number of nice products for me to test, peek-a-booo!

First one I tried out was the coconut butter cinnamon lip balm, it is yummilicious. It contains a few basic natural ingredients coconut oil, cocoa butter, organic beeswax, organic cardamon and cinnamon oils. I applied it for the first time in the office where I got the package and it just lit up my day. Tastes really natural, a lot more natural then the Japanese chocolate lip balm I purchased earlier from sasa.com. You can check that article here.

The next thing I tried out was the hand cream. I fist used it for the hands only. It is not too oily, very good consistency and gets absorbed in the skin really quickly. Then I checked the ingredients and realized I could sometimes use this as a night cream, like when I am travelling. It contains two basic ingredients: 

• Tamanu: restorative, healing, moisturizing
• Red Clover: soothing, nutritive, purifying

Other organic ingredients are: aloe gel, rose hip seed oil, cocoa butter, vitamin C, grapefruit, lavender and soybean oils, just to mention a few. It is also a vegan and gluten free product.

I was in the meanwhile using this eye cream too. I find it really soothing. I mainly use it in the evening, but sometime I applied it in the morning too under makeup. It absorbs quickly has a nice consistency and a really natural smell. I cannot talk about any regenerating effects as I don't really have any problems in my eye area yet.

Then as a wrap up, I would like to write a bit about the only decorative skincare item that I have received in the package. I was totally amazed by the ingredients and by the fact that these ingredients can give such a nice color (see picture on top of the post): fruit pigments of organic: blackberry, pomegranate, cranberry, raspberry, strawberry, cherry, rosehip oil. Then loads of organic butters: avocado, cocoa, flax seed and also Vitamin C. All the pigments, butters and oils are certified by Oregon Tilth Certification Organic. Here are some pictures of the blush: 

For more organic skincare products, please visit Charleston Naturally.

Aikido Communication Tip

- Guest post by Greet De Baets

Aikido Communication Tip 1 - What do you need in a conflict?

Love. Show love for humanity, for our universe: you will find the power to deal with conflicts. This love gives you a broader view and, hence, energy and confidence.

Love is an important value, even in aikido (a Japanese martial art). Ueshiba Morihei, the grandmaster of aikido, called aikido the martial art of love and not the martial art of violence. Love is the basis for peace and harmony. Only when the aikidoka's attitude is peaceful and nonviolent, the aikidoka can conquer and bring harmony to the situation.

This aikido wisdom is universal. Feel free to implement it in any conflict at the office, on the floor, at home, ...

__________

Aikido Communication Tip 2 - Are you sometimes surprised about what is important in other cultures?

Are you surprised about what is important to the English, the Americans, the Dutch, the Germans, the French, ... Does it match with your ideas? Or not? 

Accept what is important to others. Show them that you take them seriously. And tell them respectfully that you see things differently. 

Consider: to accept ≠ to agree

Imagine the opposite: people from another culture take you seriously when something is obvious to you. They accept you, your ideas and your behaviour, even if they do not agree with you. A lovely perspective, isn't it?

The tatami link for the aikidoka: we take everything our uke does seriously. We accept every attack ≠ we do not agree with it.

If you liked these thoughts, please also visit Greet's website:  Greettraining

How to Get a Cute Hairdo - With Bangs

In this video, my friend Bella is doing my hair. The before and after are striking. It is damn hard to tame my wild hair. But she managed to do it. As we are good friends, I was at her place. We chatted a lot and we are planning to organize an all girls day, with many ladies. I could do nails, and maybe a bit of makeup she could do hairs. But we still need to find the people who would be interested in that and live in our area. So if you are and you leave in Budapest, please leave me a note!

She also has a blog:

http://www.itsbellatime.blogspot.com/

You can check there loads of transformations and before and after photos. It is amazing how different one can look with a good haircut and some decent makeup. She also does hair extensions and all the such. So if you live in Budapest and want to get your hair done by her, just leave us a comment here or on her blog.

Kuribayashi Shihan Aikido Seminar March 2013

This was the first time that I participated at a big seminar with so many aikidoka attending. I loved the silence of the mokuso and the swift sound of the hakamas as we were doing the stretching and preparing for the techniques. There was a variety of styles and approaches that I could see. I had to adapt to each new person, take the fall, execute the technique, take the fall again, switch, listen, concentrate, understand... or at least try to better understand. It energized me a lot. Gave me new perspectives and a lot of motivation, too. I do want to get better. When you train with people who have been doing it for 10 or 15 years, you feel small, but you also feel motivated because you see that people can hang on and follow this path. I find that great. I also had the opportunity to be thrown once by Kuribayashi Sensei. He was concentrating for a few seconds when I took hold of him, I think he even closed his eyes, and then I flew in the air. There were many associations present from whole Hungary and also from abroad. However, the associations in Hungary need to be more united and there is still a lot of work to be done. I am hoping for a brighter future!

Clothes Review - Coco Fashion

I was putting off this post because I wanted to give you guys fabulous picture quality on my renewed blog surface, and here it is. I went for a blog face lift and for a bright white background that will put more emphasis on the content of my blog. I hope you will love it too! 

Last year before Christmas I placed an order at Coco Fashion. I loved the styles I saw there because I am a big fan of Asian Fashion, so I went ahead and contacted them with the information that I am looking forward to write a post about them. They evaluated my blog really quickly and offered me a 30% discount on whatever I was about to purchase. So here is the list of the purchases I have made:

As you can see the prices are really good, and with the discount they got amazingly cheap. I was really happy with this, but in case you order from Coco Fashion you have to keep in mind that they do not ship for free. So there I was before placing my order, I saw the shipping fee...

I was like...ouch...Then I compared the to other online Asian fashion shops where shipping is free, and I ended up with the conclusion that their prices were higher and included probably the shipping costs. The prices of Coco Fashion seem lower, but do not include the shipping cost. In case you are as keep as researching and comparing as me, you may find it more convenient to order in the end from Coco Fashion, depending on how heavy your item is, because shipping is according to weight.

And now that we discussed the financial part, let me show you the actual items! :D

The Kuma sports suit that I love so much! It is the cutest thing ever and it suits me perfectly. It has also been featuring on my Giveaway because it is so cuuuutee!!!

Then comes my no. 2 fave, the furry hoodie! I got loads of compliments on them and I love it because it is warm and comfy! It is also one of the top selling items of Coco Fashion. I had a bit of a boboo with the inner zipper that got broken off the first day I was wearing it, but the outer one remained whole. I will have to get the inner zipper replaced, until then I used a paper clip to pimp my attire :P

Wohoo and now to the girly pink stuff!!!! Girly  puffy, fluffy, waaaaaaaaaaaa, I love it! And the lace detail is also beautiful, though on mine something went wrong. As you can see in the picture, one side is hanging and the other side is sewn up. But could be this is only the problem of this particular item. It dos not worry me too much, I am wearing it as it is.

I also ordered these pants for the cold days, because they are really thick and warm. However they are too short for me, so I will give them to my younger sister. The sewing here looks good in general, only one thread on the bottom was bothering me a bit, but it can be cut off.

And last but not least, a polka dot long blouse that I love. I wore it to a night out with some shiny leggings and everyone complimented me. They are unique and very feminine. Totally fulfilled my expectations. I added some close ups so you can see the extremely accurate work on it, the texture of the material and the good quality.

So in case you are interested to get some of these unique Asian Fashion items, head to Coco Fashion and pick your own style.