"Zen Sports" Posts on ValleyZen

Openness, freedom, no limits on space, no constraints on time, no timeclock. Foul lines shoot and dreams soar towards infinity. Not pinned indoors like basketball or hockey — but unfolding outdoors cradled by an open sky and merging with nature. A game of captivating simplicity —BUT one with nuances that take a lifetime to understand and master. A game where the now stretches out and snaps back – elastic. A game so statistics laden, that it is a paradise of numbers for software engineers. What could be more ValleyZen than this?

On Thursday we went to AT&T Park to watch the Giants edge out the Marlins. From a Fenwick & West Suite we had the relaxing chance to…

The old football saying goes “Offense wins games. Defense wins championships.” Great dynasties—like the Steelers, the 49ers and the Cowboys, won big games with outstanding defensive plays. I can’t wait to see what will happen today — the Patriots’ offense colliding with the Giants’ defense. Similarly, Aikido—arguably the most Zen among the martial arts, fights through defense, not offense. An interesting aspect of this Zen defense is that aikidokas, without losing their internal balance, redirect the energy of the attacking opponent to their advantage. In the words of Morihei Ueshiba, Founder of Aikido…