I just got back from a weekend seminar with Tres Hofmeister sensei (5th dan, Boulder Aikikai) at Aikido of Fremont, and I thought I'd share my experiences.

I had met Hofmeister sensei back in January at Aikido of Tamalpais's Winter Camp with Ikeda sensei and had a great time asking questions of him about weapons training after the classes. Hofmeister sensei is a long time student of Ikeda sensei and has been in all of the videos put out by Bu Jin Design. I was very happy to hear from Sunny Skys sensei of Aikido of Fremont that he was inviting Hofmeister sensei to his dojo at the end of May. Luckily for me, the seminar date got moved from the weekend of the Aikido-L Seminar to the following weekend, so I was able to attend Hofmeister sensei's seminar.

Although I have never been to Boulder Aikikai (Hiroshi Ikeda sensei, main instructor), I had heard that they train hard and vigorously, and I had expected that of Hofmeister sensei's classes. I was not let down at all. For example, Friday night was only a two hour class with one hour of taijutsu and one hour of kumitachi work, but it felt much, much longer than that. Although we only went through a handful of techniques (including ikkyo, tenchinage, and kokyunage), none of which required breakfalls, I was quite winded and exhausted by the time we got to working on kumitachi for the second half hour. Maybe this had to do with pairing up with Tim from Boulder (Hofmeister sensei brought over two people with him, Tim Aalberg and Ron Santichen) who tossed me around without breaking a sweat.

(In fact, I had to sit out the last thirty minutes of the Sunday session, as I felt kind of faint from lack of blood sugar; I stepped off the mat and got some juice and bread and felt much better soon thereafter.)

Wendy Palmer sensei describes Hofmeister sensei's aikido as "origami aikido" -- very precise and clean with clear lines -- and I have to very much agree. In both taijutsu and weapons work, Hofmeister sensei's lines were very clear and precise, all the while staying relaxed yet powerful. I really enjoyed seeing his movements in weapons work; even when he moved quickly, he moved with precision and clarity so that I was able to see how he moved rather than his moves being covered up with unnecessary movements.

I particularly liked that fact that Hofmeister sensei would move through the class and throw everyone at least four times during each technique. This not only provided each person with a chance to feel his techniques a few times for each throw, but also allowed others to see him throwing people in case they wanted to watch. Hofmeister sensei was also very open to questions and would gladly demonstrate and let you feel any of his empty-handed techniques or weapons work.

Throughout the seminar Hofmeister sensei emphasized the importance of the role of uke and that the principle of being a good uke transferred over to being a good nage as well. He pointed out the angle of attack for uke should be off the line of nage's power; in the same manner, nage should strive to position his relationship with uke so that nage arrives at the same position as if he were attacking as uke -- off the line, yet keeping uke in front of nage.

Hofmeister sensei's weapons work is a joy to watch and experience. He delivers truly powerful cuts while totally relaxed. I really enjoyed having my bokken nearly wrenched out of my hands, and having my jo bounce off the ground from his deflections. All of his movements were done to affect my center and center line while covering his own. He taught the first five kumitachi and the six kumijo within the ASU system through the weekend and provided for some pointers and clarification in many of the "sticky" points.

On Saturday night, we took Hofmeister sensei and Tim to the KFOG (radio station) fireworks display by the Bay Bridge. The expedition was led by Jim Alvarez sensei of Aikido of Livermore. I have to say that the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system really sucks, but we all had a great time anyway. We saw some great fireworks (some of which resembled actual smiley faces, and others which faintly resembled upside down chickens) and was able to sneak in through a back gate into a totally chic bar called "Elroy's" in the Embarcadero district. (We didn't know it was such a hip place until we left; there was a line of about thirty people waiting to get in, whereas we just walked in the back without knowing about it.)

Overall, I had a great time at Hofmeister sensei's seminar. The weapons alone portion was well worth it, and the taijutsu portions were valuable too. Hofmeister sensei is a precise, clear teacher as well as fun off the mat as well. Both Tim and Ron were great guys, and I enjoyed being tossed around by both of them. I'm looking forward to going up to Boulder this summer for the week-long ASU summer camp there.

Jun