BTW, I showed your jo kata to my
teachers last night - they loved it straight away.
Friday night at Estes Park with Chuck, mle, and the unruly mob: that
was great fun. I was introduced to everyone outside by the fire, and
remember thinking: "I can't see anyone's faces properly. I hope they
all keep talking, otherwise I'll have to ask for introductions again
when I can see them!" I needn't have worried: we were quite voluble
enough, as the other guests found out. Thanks for inviting me, Chuck:
an excellent start to the weekend.
Ikeda Sensei: Wow.
<speechless>
This man is so graceful, so fluid, so beautiful when he moves; I
wouldn't know where to start describing it. And he is such a nice guy
as well. He was friendly, approachable, and I thought his attitude
was reflected in those of his regular students I had the pleasure of
working with. Aiki-see, aiki-do.
I thought his opening speech about pizza summarised neatly what
makes this list work, and, by extension, what made the seminar work.
You guys at Boulder Aikikai are very, very lucky indeed to have a
teacher of Ikeda Sensei's calibre. He goes right up my list of "most
impressive aikidoka I've ever seen."
The Yoshinkan class: this was a real eye-opener for me. Philip Akin
Sensei is a gifted showman. Excellent, accessible presentation,
charisma, humour, and he obviously knew his audience. What interested
me is that he managed to convince me that although his aikido is
completely different to mine, it's really exactly the same. I don't
do the 95 degrees stuff, nor do I worry if my back heel comes off the
mat. (That would completely destroy many of the techniques I do.) But
the idea of practicing the difficult stuff, so that other bits are
easy, and the idea of breaking things down to the basics, and then
building up, are the same. Different implementation, that's all.
Emily Dolan: I only got to work with Emily twice, which is a shame.
I remember on one of these she told me off (nicely) for not hitting
her in the head. I think this says something about her and about me!
:-)
(Perhaps I should make it clear that this is not a gender issue
for me. The only time I normally hit people in the head is when
they're wearing steel mesh fencing masks.)
I'd be interested to see a run-down on the massage routine you
taught us. I certainly felt better after it than I did before! It's
a subject I'm relatively new to, but would like to learn more about.
Scott Crawford: Chuck, may I borrow your turn of phrase? Scott. You.
Me. Whisky. Damn it, why do we live so far apart?!
Jodo: The jo is my favourite weapon. It was very interesting to see
and do this class. I don't think it's something I'm going to be able
to do on a regular basis, but I can see why some people find it
fascinating. Peter Boylan Sensei is definitely an excited puppy, and
an enthusiastic teacher.
Julian Frost (the Simian) Sensei: Strong, dynamic, impressive
aikido. Unfortunately, the altitude got to me part way through this
class, and I had to sit it out. Julian has the strangest accent I've
heard in many, many years. For those who don't know him, he's British
by birth, but has lived in California for 11 years (I think that's
what he said). His speech is both. Bizarre! He's fine company, as
well.
Chuck Gordon Sensei was kind enough to take a few minutes to throw
me around. This was one of the defining experiences of the weekend
for me, for several reasons.
1. I'm quite sure he was going easy on me, but still he presented me
with a simple choice (several times). Take ukemi, or take an
ambulance. As someone who found rolling immensely difficult as a
newbie, I was very pleased to find that my ukemi is up to the task of
getting me out of powerful, unfamiliar thows uninjured.
2. Several people, including Chuck, have posted on the fallacy of
using "hard" and "soft" as sweeping generalisations to describe
styles or whole arts. I've read these posts and agreed with them.
Chuck's kneeling nikkyo and his sankyo-and-then-one-finger-on-
the-elbow exercises have given me utterly convincing direct
experience of this, and also proof (as if it were needed) of the
effectiveness of soft technique. Very, very impressive. Thank you,
Chuck. <rei>
3. It's clear to me that Chuck's art is truly fine stuff. I'm very
pleased I got to glimpse it while I was in Boulder, and I'd like to
see some more when the opportunity arises. However, it's not the kind
of art I'd like to do on a day-to-day basis. This is not a criticism
- it simply reflects my personal preference in the broad world of
budo.
Saturday night, talking and practicing nikkyo with Philip "the
Bodhisattva" Akin, Craig Hocker, and others. At 2:30 in the morning.
(Ouch!) Unfortunately I was a bit drunk, so I don't remember all that
Philip said, but I know it impressed the hell out of me at the time.
Practicing nikkyo, trying to feel when the wrist, elbow, shoulder,
and centre are locked up, and trying not to tense up while doing
this. Very difficult. Sometimes I got it (with help), sometimes I
didn't. I got it enough to persuade me that, with time and practice,
I can learn to do it better.
I stayed up to the end (about 3 o'clock) because I had a sneaky
suspicion I was about to learn something about aikido. I'm not quite
sure what Philip taught me, but I think I did learn something - even
if it was only to carry on trying.
Alan Drysdale Sensei's class: I missed the first half of this
because I was packing and checking out of the hotel, and then didn't
fancy taking iriminages straight after eating. I think pavement pizza
is perhaps one kind that Ikeda Sensei wouldn't like in his dojo. :-)
I enjoyed what I did; I would have liked to do more.
The newaza class: Peter Boylan Sensei's sense of humour and
explanation added a new twist to how I think about throws and ukemi.
Doesn't mean I can do what he was teaching, though. It's amazing how
heavy Mike Hacker can make himself just by letting me go where I
want.
The Tai Gi class: I sat this out because I have knee trouble, but I
like doing tai gis and would have loved to join in. Ki Society people
happily taking breakfalls:- there goes another exploding
stereotype!
Doing the ASU 6-step jo kata with Jun, Paula, and Monica on Sunday
evening. I _love_ this kind of stuff! Those of you who thought I was
grinning at other times should have seen me then! When we got it
going in pairs, it reminded me of the harmony exercises that I'm
taught here. Hopefully at least some Ki Society folk will understand
that comment. Overall, I got the impression that Ikeda Sensei's
aikido is quite similar to that of my teachers. The details are
different, but the feeling is close.
However, I also do Ki tests and Ki exercises like the Ki Society.
And the emphasis on basics like the Yoshinkan. What I've been taught
is, basically, like all of them. It's all aikido.
Spending time with Monica and Paula (hi, Paula!) on Sunday and
Monday. They're both excellent company. I couldn't have asked for a
better way to finish my time in Boulder. Thank you, both of you.
So far I notice I've been talking about particular events, mostly.
What I haven't mentioned much was the atmosphere. I was never made
to feel anything less than very welcome, despite having never met
any of these people before in the flesh. Some have been kind enough
to say nice things about me on the list - thank you. Everyone was
warm, open, friendly, encouraging, tolerant, fun - all the good
things I have come to associate with aikido and aikidoka.
I find I've come away from the seminar with rather more than simple
memories of lots of fun and great people, and for me this is what
really lifts this trip into the "outstanding" bracket. It came at an
ideal time for me - a few weeks after passing my shodan test. I'm now
at a natural re-orientation point in my training, a time when I know
a lot of people have lost momentum and dropped out.
What the seminar has given me is a sense of context. How my aikido
is related to other peoples' aikido. What other aikidoka are like. I
think I've made some new friends. (You know who you are.)
It has given me a sense of perspective. Yes, I've done a shodan, and
for me, that's pretty big. But compare my current ability with that
of the teachers and other senior people at the seminar. I'm just a
beginner.
It has given me a sense of direction. What really impressed me the
most was the subtle stuff, the fine control stuff, the soft stuff.
That's what I want to learn. That's where I want to go now.
Fortunately, my teachers want to go there as well. So I've come away
with the confirmed impression that aikido is the right art for me.
The club I'm in is the right club for me, what I'm learning is the
real thing, it's worthwhile, and there are other people who think
like me. Was it worth 19 hours in planes? Hell, yes!
To everyone who made this such an inspiring trip:
THANK YOU
James.