Hello it's Oskari "a great guy if brains, personality and looks don't count" Vihervaara. An 18 year old kid from Tampere, Finland, sharing some thoughts. I have been playing minigolf for the past 6 years now or something like that (a period of time anyway) and some of you might even know me. This morning I started writing some of my thoughts about minigolf. Since the blogposts are a bit too conservative to my liking, I thought I could post my writings since they are a bit different. But now that I have my own blog here I might as well blend in in the future and start writing some boring stuff about my warming socks or something... I will share some of my thoughts about minigolf and maybe even discuss about different kinds of minigolf philosophys if one has one and is willing to share that! Since I love this sport very much I wan't to go a little deeper. I'm not going to bore you with what kind of underwear am I wearing when playing or how I choose and what kind of balls do I prefer to play or something lame like that... I'll try to dig in on why it actually is so fascinating to me? Meaning of culture and religion on minigolf, why and how do I enjoy training, what have learned and realized to make me a better player and things like that! Generally stuff that definately don't have any value on a newssite but still play in a crucial role. It's only minigolf but then again... it's minigolf! Why should we see only a tiny bit of it's beauty when we can expand like the vast ocean! Is there any limits in its greatness? I think this is for the hardcore minigolfers who like to think outside the box so I predict very few if anyone will find this post interesting.

I have moved on to a much more spiritual style of playing the game and trying to build my concentration to perfection. Minigolf is a sport surely but to me it has a bigger meaning. It's like meditation, yoga or like a martial art in a nutshell! A chinese kung fu legend who's name I don't remember said that kung fu to him is not only about winning fights or breaking tiles as much as possible because that only tells about your good technique. Kung fu itself as a definition is something that needs hard work, time, devoting and right strategies. I can't think of any other sports where knowledge, concentration and nerve control are used in a greater individualistic way than in minigolf and I have enormous respect to the best of this sport because to me they are the Zen Masters of all Europe! :)

I remember reading that Tiger Woods' father was banging kettles and stuff when he was training to minimise the distraction around to build up his superb concentration. I have not done this but I have learned more and more to not pay attention to unessential things. In the past I have had thoughts like "those guys probably recognize me" and "do I look cool right now?" or something like that. It's bad and messes your concentration and there is only one cure to that and i'll say it in Laotse's wise words: "a great power is not a great power if it knowledges that it is a great power."

What I love in this sports is the fact that mostly it's free of responsibilitys. Setting too big goals is a perfect example of ruining things for me. When Forrest Gump is running across the country in the movie Forrest Gump he's not thinking that he's gonna run across the country. He just runs and that's the whole point and the reason why he's able to do that. If you set too high goals you can't concentrate fully on the doing itself. In minigolf I tend to think that everytime I practice it's special and unique. On every round, on every lane it's special and unique and not thinking the game or the round as a wholeness. This is a zen way of thinking, kind of a live in the moment type of thing. This type of thinking helps in many stuff overall in life not just in minigolf I think... Atleast it makes it more intresting I would say haha!

Now since I have thought minigolf in many ways I wan't to bring some cultural thinking too! In western countrys and in christianity we have build up our minds in certain way and that's one thing i'm trying to do different. For EXAMPLE christians believe and think that "god created" and we can rule the planet and nature etc. In the east it's a thing of everything being in balance. There the god has created in a way of "NOT CREATING". The hindu's believe that there is always an opposite power. There is no day without the night, there is no good without the evil and so on. Everything is how it is and it's no use to use your energy to figure out something that you will never understand anyway. Now we westerns have taught the market economy to the easterns and look what is happening. The apprentist is becoming the master! Anyway... I have adapted this eastern way of thinking quite well and it is working well in minigolf. There is a story of a myriapoda (the little maggots with huge amount of legs) that is running happily and meets a big mouthed frog who asks "how do you keep on count and rhythm of all your legs when your running?" and the myriapoda sat down to think and could never run again. Point is that it happens itself and there is no need to think it. This is what I'm trying to do in minigolf too. After all minigolf is very much a zen type of thing in all its simplicity. For example a zen craftman draws a better circle with his hand than with a compass. In minigolf it's just a matter of hitting the ball straight and hard after all. Kung Fu! If minigolf will become a big thing in Asia I am 100% sure that the Asians are gonna be better then the Europeans because of this and the way they see and think! It suits the sports better than our western thinking.

One more thing... There's the ones that copy and there's the ones that are creative. So I've tried to avoid being a copycat because when you copy you can only be as good as the one you copy. I'm not talking only about playing style or something. I'm talking about not doing things like everyone else if I don't feel like doing it that way for example, let's say playing with the same ball as everyone just because of the fact that everyone is playing with that same ball. Allthough I would not mind being on the same level as CJ-Ryner, A. Olsson or the Erlbruch brothers but still. They don't copy anyone because they are too good for that and it's the same other way around. Being yourself comes to you in minigolf too!!

Now you might wonder who am I to talk about my philosophys and thoughts and my answer to that is nobody. Although in the end I have very mild interests in what you think of my opinions or skills in any form or matter of subject. This morning I just felt like writing about my thoughts on to some beautiful music and sharing them with you! If I feel like doing something I will do it. If you don't like it you don't. If you laugh at it I'm glad to make you laugh. If you think I'm crazy well that's not news!! After all in Kurosawa's words: "in a mad world only the mad are sane." After all as an old zen phrase (Kōan) puts it: "An insane man floats like dry leaves in the wind. A wise man floats like dry leaves in the wind. What's the difference?". After all; what we sometimes forget... IT'S JUST MINIGOLF!!!

Then again can minigolf be just minigolf for us minigolfers? I will probably never be a zen master of Europe since minigolf is only a part of my life. Not my life.

Big love and cheers, maybe I will blog more stuff some day now that I'm allowed to do that haha! - Oskari