I am looking to hold a meeting with any of this societies members that have their own ways of dealing with spirits. (Kon Thaak in particular - i am eager to hear what methods you use to call forth your ancestor spirits) As a shinto priest i also know of some ways to deal with beings not of the materiel realm.
if anyone is interested in a meeting leave a reply htat shows interest. if not perhaps we can share a few of our "trade secrets" although i am leary of making such knowledge available in a publicly accessable place.

Any new knowledge is good knowledge.

Old-fashionned druidry is actually quite similar to old-fashionned Shinto, in a lot of ways.

I would be honored to meet with you and discuss whatever you'd like to discuss.

my ability with "spells", i think is how you refer to our short rituals, are only related to attracting, pacifying, imprisoning, or driving away various spirits. i know from several people that i worked with in the past that these are just the icing on the cake. i look to trade my skill with spirits for something that allows me to aid my allies better.

Much of my abilities are in the same field... However, I do have some other abilities, and I would be interested in knowing how much our abilities towards spirits differ. I'll send you a PM.

Greetin's From Maine

I myself can't do much against spirits, ghosts, and entities,
my niece however can make the buggers soild as you or I when she is near them. Ive seen it with my own two eyes. How she does this is a mystery to me, but it helps to hit a solid target rathe than some etherial one. I don't know if others can do this, but I though it may have been worth mentionin'.

Well have a safe Solstice
& Happy Huntin'

Holister have you considered getting the girl some kind of combat training? If she can pull spirits from thier world to ours as she grows up she will need to know how to defend herself from (now physical) angry spirits

This is notably a specialty of mine, but I know a bit aside as well... More than enough to be of some use, if limited.

I have some knowledge on the subject would be willing to add my 2cents worth and to learn some more.

Uh, guys she's only 5 years old. I never though it odd that she could see and talk to ghosts, but this thing bout her bein' able to do what she does, yall think it might be bad. I don't want nothin' bad to happen to my Molly again, specially after that whole Unnamable thing.
Shes just a little kid for cryin out loud. Sides, Im here to protect her. Always have, always will.

that is very good holister. but can you in good concience spend 24 hours a day with her. with her being so young she should take to the lessons like a sponge. remember we will not always be here to protect her. (given what we do most of us will be lucky if we see her sweet 16th)

just because you prepare for the worst does not mean it will happen - just that you acknowledge that it might.

Holister the man makes a good point, it is never to soon to start learning useful skills.

Maybe yall got a point. Shang, if you think ya can help Molly out, I wouldn't mind having ya pay her a visit, after the holidays of course. I wouldn't mind gettin to meet ya mself, you seem to be a bit of a legend round here anyway.

I will tell ya though, bad things do not like her at all, while good thing are drawn to her like shit to a blanket. Go figure.

Even that stupid orb thing doesn't like her, could've sworn I heard the damn thing moan. Anyway, thanks for the advice and the offer still stands Shang, if yer interested.

you will have to set up the transportation (i dont drive anything more complicated than a bicycle) but i will help as much as i can. i was thinking a bit of defensive aikido to start. (it's great for developing chi and dicipline)

Aikido would possibly be good, though I'm not sure small children can apply it effectively, or grasp all of its deeper lessons and meanings. While, this isn't necissary to training, perhaps augmenting Aikido with something else would be good. Perhaps Ba Gua Zang, or -maybe- Karate. I suggest Ba Gua because it's circular principles are almost identical to Aikido, but the method of defense goes a different route. The two are intrinsically compatable. Hapkido might also be a valid suggestion.

Willie, any ides?

As for your post Shang Li, I'm interested in comparing notes, since I, relatively, speak the same language in terms of energy and application.

the secret to training young children is to initialy focus on mechanics. (children are remakable in their almost instinctive ability to learn and perform the mechanics long before they are able to understand the philosophy)
As for size or weight making a difference, since everything is based on leverage and momentum, as long as the mechanics are precise the size/weight difference doesnt matter. (after 2-3 years training most children can instinctivly assess center of gravity and angular momentum, and then chose the mechanic to apply for desired result)

Very true. I remember that from when I had taken Katsujin-ryu, but had forgotten it. We used Aikido for our joint manipulations, locks, throws, and take-downs. I was assistant instructor for that class and wound up teaching the younger ones as well as the older ones methods for making them work.

They soak up techniques like a sponge, especially when walked through properly, so after a while they get a feel for what's 'right' and what's 'wrong' when doing a technique.

If parents are going to get their kids involved in martial arts, they should make sure the instructors can handle them, and the short attention spans that kids can have. However, I -have- noticed that kids have a remarkable attention span when doing training. Often they take it more serious than their parents do at times. I seen kids want to attend classes long after their parents no longer have the means, or an instructor has moved away. Often they have asked me to teach, and I probably would, if it were not for job and time constraints.

Razor wrote:Willie, any ides?

Sure. Both the Chicago branch and our main temple in New York offers children's shaolin five days a week, if Hollister is able to make the drive.

If not, he could always hire a monk for private lessons, either for Molly alone or to conduct classes with his deputies, too.