Quote:
Originally Posted by dick benbow
in the last year or so I have really thrown myself into the world of bonsai.
There also, the emphasis is on biggerr and bigger specimens. It's a nusance to transport as it takes several to lift and carry.
I feel the same with koi. so much emphasis on big specimens. they are hard to
handle as well. females have reproductive problems including tumors and the
need to be spawned from time to time.
unlike dogs and a show standard, koi sexes are not equal and the female body is the standard so that males will not and do not ( with few exceptions) meet the
criteria.
to me keeping koi is like forming a circle. at the top and in the beginning, we all want to learn to keep them and just flat enjoy them! then as we progress along we want to have and be able to identify all the color varieties. then shows comes along and we want to be competitive. then as we get closer to the end of our career and have had enough of the cliques and politics of contests, we're back full circle
to where we began. learning how to keep and enjoy our friends.
i don't deny anyone the opportunity to linger at any of the stages. What i have learned in the full circle journey is to enjoy the hobby at my own level.
you don't have to have all jumbo females. they all don't have to be show types. they don't all have to be gosanke. Don't adapt someone else's standard. create your own. your standards and expectation will change.
so many times in my smaller classes i have students who want to learn the show standards which i am glad to teach. I insist however that they modify their decision on what they like ( or other family members ) as well. A pond of
show standards that on a few weekends graces the attention of others is a heavy price to pay for such a brief period. Enjoy koi everyday in your backyard. Don't just buy a three step perfect show pattern when you'd really
like the looks of the omoyo. I quess what I'm trying to say is buy koi that appeal to you not someone else or their concept of a good koi .
My ake mae kigoi and i go back over 23 years. She's family. I never did get to show her. I have never seen a better one anyone. Every time I'd stick her in a bag to take to the show she'd bleed so hard from her gills that after two attemps on different years I just let her be. She sure looks out of place ( lol!)
with my pond of Asagi's now. But she reminds me of the past, is now part of the present, and I hope I can keep her for many years in the future. Her name in japanese is the radiant glow of sunset. Probably should change it to grandmother. It's a joy to see her trying to compete for food with the younger ones!