The walk down towards the Echo Temple was incredibly beautiful on this particular morning. Fresh snow had settled on the branches of the trees, and Hagaparken truly sparkled in the morning light.

It was nice that it was so on this specific day. For Hagaparken is a place that, for all of us within Yoshinken, is strongly associated with Sensei Marshall, the founder of Yoshinken, who had passed away just days before Shin-nen-keiko.

The morning began with individual training in stillness. Scattered throughout the Echo Temple, each person went through Ritsu Zen, Yuri, Hai, and Neri. Next, we practiced Neri within a space limited to four of the paving stones that make up the floor of the Echo Temple.

The wind was quite strong, so the floor was largely covered in snow, but we dug and kicked away the snow to create a space for each person. This exercise was then repeated, with the person moving within the space being challenged by a training partner who would attack.

Then, we practiced Tanshu first individually, then with weapons. Finally, each person also demonstrated their individual Tanshu for Sensei Åke and the others in the group.

After lunch in the copper tent, we went to the OKK dojo where we took a knowledge test put together by Sensei Monika. We also presented our respective contributions, consisting of a picture and a few carefully chosen words that personally summarized our training year.

Lastly, we watched films from Holland. It was partly with sadness and longing that we carried out the first Shin-nen-keiko without Sensei Marshall in our lives, but also with gratitude for having shared so many years with his knowledge, generosity, and warmth.

The inspiration and joy for life he gave us live on. Or as he sometimes expressed it: "May the search never end."

Andreas Braula
Mokuroku
Yoshinken