In May 2007, I began studying shakuhachi with Kaoru Kakizakai Sensei. The practice of blowing with all the holes closed is called Ro Buki. ‘Ro’ is the note being played. It is recommended that you begin each practice with ten minutes of Ro Buki. At our lessons, we begin with a briefer Ro Buki. In one of my last lessons during this last visit , Kaoru said that I had finally ‘gotten’ it. I was immensely pleased. I was back in Oz for one month before I arranged a skype lesson. It occurred on Monday this week. I had lost the form! I could not play ro correctly! We spent half an hour searching. In the end, I could just barely play it correctly. That I had become tense in the situation was a definite drawback. So, that evening and the next day, I searched and found it again. I felt that I had it correct but I wanted to be certain, so, I arranged for a lesson the next day.

I had been successful!!!! You may have heard me shout ‘Yes’ at the end of the lesson.

An interesting side-effect has been that I can now play stronger sounds, longer phrases and practice for longer periods. Big smile.

Just thought I’d let you know.