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BIB rookie member
Join Date: May-2004
Location: Bay Area, Ca
Country: US
Posts: 474
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Cast my ballot for the Demo
Chris,
I'm going to guess you haven't seen many demos. Just a guess, don't take offense. I've seen Kimura, Suzuki, Pall, and yes, even Boon do demos. Were they all the same? Nope. Some were workshops, and some were more assessment periods, and others were standard demos. I watched a demo at the Yamato show this weekend, and it was potted, and everything, all in one day. It's fall here, and it was done correctly. Johnny Uchida knows what he's doing. He had a tree he had started from seed, and it had been worked on somewhat through those 20 years, I'm sure. He explained to the crowd with the help of the two new senseis for the club, everything he was doing as he did it. He made sure and pointed things out for them to tell everyone. I would guess there were somewhere close to 80 people there, and there were some great questions flying. I believe that is where demos excel. They create interest, yes, and generate new members to clubs, but they also teach, and I have to say I have learned something at just about every one. I'm spoiled, I live in the Bay Area, and I know it. And guess what? I TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT!!!! Free lesson-SCORE!!!! I have seen and heard so many things you could only learn in an intensive, for example. Sure, it's not all day, it might be just one point that I take home, but I take it home. As for the chop and pot it up, I really haven't seen that done too much. One of the first demos I saw was a few years back at the EBBS show, in Oakland. It was a member workshop, and Boon was presiding. I watched him talk to a member about her tree, discuss with her what option she would have if left on present track, and have her decide that she wanted to head towards his proposed option. He asked her if she was ready, and when she nodded, he whacked three big branches off. Now, at the time, I understood what he was doing, as a silent observer, but what about a new person, interested in bonsai? If they hadn't heard him talking to her, and he wasn't really talking too loud, and then seen him take those cuts, leaving branches on the table, it would stun someone. Heck, it kinda stunnned the lady who's tree he did it to. She understood, though.
So, in closing, if a demo is done and done correctly, keep em. Great teaching tool, great membership rallier. I know, they don't do them in Japan, but they do them here. It's not conventional, but for me, they work.
Scott
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