Hassou Aikido has celebrated its 1st birthday. There have been a deluge of gradings, including a few new Shodans (congratulations everyone).  We have held the second South of the River Seminar. We have played host to some of the finest Aikidoka in the world today as guest instructors. And not least of all this, Christophe has returned to the mat after his injury. Well done mate!

Needless to say, we all have a bunch of new year resolutions, but chief amongst mine is to make a concerted effort to make sure there are regular posts here on this site, something I have been sadly remiss in over the last 12 months.

To get you started, Shaun has shared a link on Aikido Journal by Seiji Tanaka Sensei that is well worth a look.

Kenji Tomiki Sensei

The Dawn of Tomiki Aikido

First of all, I would like to explain how, where and why Tomiki Aikido started. It goes back to the month of April, 1958 when Waseda University approved our Aikido Club as an officially sanctioned sport club (called “Undo Bu” in Japanese), while no other universities recognized any Aikido clubs as such. Instead, all other Aikido clubs were called “Doko-Kai”, meaning a loosely organized club made up with people of the same interest. These unsanctioned sport clubs had neither the prestige nor the status of other sanctioned clubs such as Judo, Kendo, Karate, baseball, soccer, and other major sport clubs…

Here is to a fantastic new year. Happy Training!

Note: As often as not, the word “We” used in the above post refers to Gowa Ryu, Genryukan, Mushin No Shin and Hassou Aikido clubs.

The results are as follow:

Adults
1st Kyu: Emma Rutt
3rd kyu: Mike DeFroand, Lloyd Martin
8th kyu: Phil Ayton

Juniors
Blue belt+2 mons: Oscar Coleman and Craig Spooner
Green belt: Dan and Ben Binder
Yellow belt: Max Gardner, Jordan Later, Alex Boorman and Lauren Ayton

Well done everybody.

And now the feasting is done and the pressies have been put away, some of us find ourselves a more substantial hara starting 2011 than we had leaving 2010.

So I am sure you will be glad to hear that training will resume in Saltwood on Wednesday 5th January.

I look forward to seeing you.

• Aikimail December 2010 / December 2011

To this end, so, we have decided to close the Dojo for Yule a few weeks early and give these “interesting times” a chance to become less interesting.

Have a great holiday season, everyone. We will add our new year openeing times here in due course.

The amusing thing (sorry Chris), is that it wasn’t received doing his various budo activities of Aikido & Kung fu. No, he slipped over while walking his dog.

I just went to visit the old fella in William Harvey Hospital (Ward Kings C2).

He is bearing up well, waiting for the swelling in his leg to abate before they operate and pin his leg back together.   The Nurse tells me he hasn’t stopped eating!

We of course wish him our very best, and hope he doesn’t get too bored during his recovery.

Tandoku Undo; Unsoku & tegatana dosa

Randori no kata;
Shomen ate
Aigamae ate
Gyakugamae ate
Gedan ate

Also thanks go to David at the Castle Hotel, (the pub we go to after training), for kindly accommodating our requests to leave them flyers and posters.

A very useful useful reference material for any Tomiki Aikidoka. This book contains over 1100 photographs demonstrating the kata system (including all six Koryu-No-Kata) of Tomiki Aikido, as well as explaining etiquette, basic movements, and ukemi that are used in this system.

Tomiki Aikido: Randori & Koryu no Kata
by Dr Lee Ah Loi

An essential aid for anyone studying Tomiki Aikido from beginners to Dan grades. It covers every aspect from basic breakfalls through Randori no Kata and Shichihon (balance breaking)to Koryu no Kata.

Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere
By Adele Westbrook

Total Aikido: The Master Course
by Gozo Shioda

This book explains the fundamental principles in fine detail. It covers the basic postures and movements, placing special emphasis on perfecting the key techniques for achieving maximum effect with minimum effort. It is aimed at beginners and advanced students.

Angry White Pyjamas
by Robert Twigger

The story of an English poet who found himself training in Aikido with the Japanese Riot Police. Entertaining and interesting.

The Book of Five Rings
by Miyamoto Musashi

Written by the master swordsman and undefeated samurai Miyamoto Musashi in 1643, the Book of Five Rings has become a classic on strategy and confrontation. Written not only for martial artists but for leaders in all professions, the book analyses the process of struggle and mastery over conflict that underlies every level of human interaction.

Bushido: The Way of the Samurai
by Tsunetomo Yamamoto (Author),  Justin F. Stone (Editor),  Minoru Tanaka (Translator)

In the sixteenth-century Japan, Tsunetomo Yamamoto created the Hagakure which was secretly circulated among the “awakened” samurai-the samurai elite. In 1906, the book was first made available to the general Japanese public and, until 1945, its guiding principles greatly influenced the Japanese ruling class – particularly those individuals in military power. This book is the first English translation of the “Hagakure”

Recognizing fraud in the martial arts

People have suggested that I should write something about how to recognize and deal with martial arts frauds. Living in Japan I have a better understanding of its martial arts and history and in the past I have helped poke holes in the stories of many frauds.

Continue reading here

One of the most profound secrets of learning anything new is keeping what has been called a “Beginner’s Mind”.
What is Beginner’s Mind? Well part of it is described very well by the famous Zen story known as:

Empty Your Cup

A university professor went to visit a famous Zen master. While the master quietly served tea, the professor talked about Zen. The master poured the visitor’s cup to the brim, and then kept pouring. The professor watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself. “It’s overfull! No more will go in!” the professor blurted. “You are like this cup,” the master replied, “How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup.”

So to begin, we must all empty our cups of all the preconceived ideas, concepts, techniques and methods that prevent us from receiving the new. This seems like a simple thing to do, but can be quite difficult in practice. At first we think we are emptying our cups but as we drink from the new knowledge we detect residual tastes of the “old”. Sometimes this new mixture can be sweet, like adding honey to tea, but sometimes even a little residue can curdle the whole mix, like adding lemon juice to milk. We must not only empty our cups, but make sure we have a “clean receptacle” so we may taste the “true essence” of the new knowledge.

Read on