Hi everyone!
During the last Karaoke Sensei Seminar, Kendo Ken doll and I sat in
my trailer together after the last class reminiscing about aikido and
our training experiences over the years. We laughed and at times we
cried, but it got me wondering about my own colorful life and how its
been a lot like my aikido training.

I am many things to many people over the years. During this time my
cabbage patch friends have come and gone, but I'm still here, its
only the outfits that change. For some I am simply a decorative
fashion accessory, for others something of an action toy. Most know
me as a smiling [plastic of course] representative of a major toy
company with little identity of my own.

At times I have belonged to a few different toy companies, each with
their own corporate cultures and identities but then I hit the big
time with Mattel. Its been real fun to belong to a major organization
like Mattel - they really took care of me right from the beginning
when I was just a small puddle of plastic waiting at the end of the
injection molder, with them I have always had the latest fashions to
wear and always appeared in the most politically correct family
orientated TV promotions.

But it seems at times Mattel has become more important than me, I
have almost lost my identity. The world knows me as Barbie and Ken,
glamour Barbie, Malibu Barbie but you know they never get to see me
as Punk Barbie or Save a Tree Barbie…sniff

Ken Suburi Sensei says this can be a lot like the world of aikido.

Do you think I more important than an organization or is it the other
way around?


Budo Babe Barbie


PS Although we often practice our own version of the oneness rhythm
exercises together, I think Ken still doesn't understand universal
mind as I always have to do the washing up LOL