Crossover advice from other hobbies

jeanluc83

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I have recently started a new hobby, Live Steam. Well, it is something I have always been interested in and dabbled in about twenty years ago but now I’m starting to get serious again.

For this conversation it is not all that important but for those interested, Live steam is the building and running of miniature steam locomotives. They are not toys but fully functional machines capable of pulling cars filled with people. Building engine is a large commitment in time and money. A modest engine will take around 5 years of steady work to build and cost $15-$20,000 in materials. It is not unheard of for large locomotives to cost upwards of 6 figures by the time they are complete with builds lasting well over a decade.

Anyway, back to my point. I have been gathering information on the subject for a while now. One thing that struck me is how much of the advice in many of the books can equally be applied to Bonsai. I recently picked up a copy of “So You Want to Build a Live Steam Locomotive” by Joseph F. Nelson. The introduction contains the following passage that is equally applicable to those just starting out in bonsai.

If a person is building something for the first time and will stick with one “Instructor”, he has a good chance of completing his project successfully. However, if he plays his “Instructor” against the field, he will have a lot of fun, but he will be so confused that he will never get his engine built. Besides, his “Instructor” will get fed up very soon and dump him in a hurry. What the novice locomotive builder thinks is a major disagreement between “Experts” is, in most cases, a matter of tolerance or semantics.

Here is another passage that I thought was interesting when considering the discussions about bonsai professionals.

This isn’t intended to be a text book, but is intended to be used as a guide. Many subjects covered herein will be open to controversy… It is then to be expected that certain statements will be open to question. It is a well known fact that the “Experts” do not always agree, in fact, some “Experts” are always looking for fly specks in other “Experts” black pepper.

I just found it interesting that two completely different hobbies could share such basic similarities.
 

Bonsai Nut

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I certainly hope you share some progress photos!!

It is always fascinating to see the amazing things a person can build with good instructions, patience, and a decent mentor.
 
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Ah, the experts. I think it's human nature to try to establish your expertise to others in the same hobby/job/field/etc. I saw it a lot back when I worked in the kayak industry. People would call to ask questions or advice on the best boat for their needs and then proceed to argue with me about my answers. Just the other day I was in the music shop looking for a new bass and another guy in the store picking around started giving me sage "advice" on what I needed to get, though he had no idea the features I was looking for.

I really like the passage in your book about finding one instructor and sticking with them through completion of your engine. I think that's great advice.
 

Cosmos

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I’ve dabbled in strength training for the last 5 years or so, with a modicum of success. Two lessons from this discipline that I think apply very well to bonsai:

1) A lot of the hard work needs to be done whether you feel like doing it or not. With strength training, it’s 3 times a week of hard work in the gym, or you get very little from it. It’s not about "feeling good" or "getting a pump" in the gym, or clearing your conscience by going from time to time after you’ve let yourself go. You need to be like a robot in a way, if a task needs to be done, you act as if you were programed to do it, no matter the externalities.

Another side of this is you need to make time to pursue the hobby, rather than just hope to get lucky and have free time in your schedule. Modern life is goddamn full of obligations and busy work, I think you need to structure your life in such a way that allows you to pursue the hobby with some level of dedication. I’m sure all the high-level practitionners in here have had to make significant sacrifices for bonsai.

2) You need to strike a balance between pushing too hard and being overly cautious with everything you do. With strength training, it’s very obvious what happens when you push yourself too hard: you get injured. At the opposite end, some people stop working in the gym as soon as they feel the slightest unsual pinch or minor pain; that’s not helpful, that delays progress a lot if you’re too afraid of injuries. With bonsai, I’d say from my first two years in the hobby, I’ve learned that obviously pushing a tree too hard and killing it is no good, but for the most people at the beginning, myself included, the tendency is to not push the trees hard enough (subject to the right timing/technique, of course), and the consequence is that most beginner projects go nowhere.

You need to kick yourself in the butt and do that delicate repot, these courageous big cuts, this long wiring job, etc. Don’t plant this tree in a goddamn swimming pool because you’re afraid of pruning roots, if you ever want it to put in a bonsai pot someday. Being pusillanimous (didn’t think you’d read this word today, isn’t?) also leads, I think, to a lack of motivation down the road because the things you’re doing are not sufficiently geared toward "end results". We need to make everything we do in bonsai count to get somewhere.

I think having support from bonsai friends or other hobbyists can help a great deal with no. 2 and make you feel more confident with what needs to be done, whereas no. 1 is purely up to the individual.
 

amatbrewer

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As someone who has had (and if you ask my wife still has) WAY too many hobbies and interests, if there is one thing I have learned it is that there are some things that are fundamental to learning almost any new skill or talent. The extent one applies them (or not) can greatly influence the progress and outcome.

BTW I am envious of your endeavor. Steam and its use is a fascinating topic! Our local county fair has a antique steam engine display (all fully operational and running) and I can't help but geek out over them every year.
 

jeanluc83

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A lot of the hard work needs to be done whether you feel like doing it or not.

Another side of this is you need to make time to pursue the hobby, rather than just hope to get lucky and have free time in your schedule.

Very well said.

There was an interesting Art of Manliness podcast a little over a week ago about this.

https://www.artofmanliness.com/arti...e-time-what-you-really-want-is-more-memories/
 
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