Eighty-year-old makes 8th dan

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[AikiWeb System]

Posted 2011-03-02 13:57:55 by Jun Akiyama
News URL: http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/north-shore-times/4723013/Eighty-year-old-makes-8th-dan

Here is an article entitled "Eighty-year-old makes 8th dan" (http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/north-shore-times/4723013/Eighty-year-old-makes-8th-dan) which highlights John Waite of Auckland, New Zealand, who recently received his 8th dan in the Japan Aikido Association (Tomiki/Shodokan).

From the article: After years as 7th dan, Waite says he had been looking forward to getting to the next level but never thought it would happen. "They are loathe to promote non-Japanese – they keep it very in-house," the Englishman says. He is only "foreigner" to have been awarded the rank – the others are Japanese, two of which are the technical advisers to the Japanese Aikido Association – but he is pleased to have the honour. "I didn't want to be awarded it posthumously," he says.

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[aikishihan]

Congratulations to John Waite Shihan, for his dedication, perserverence and example of good Aikido for so long.

It is an honor well deserved, no doubt, and may be the sign of things to come for other non Japanese faithful of Aikido.

[ewolput]

It is an honor to receive a 8th dan as a non-japanese from a Japanese aikido group.
But the article is not entirely correct.
Dr Lee ah Loi, a long time dojo owner in London where she teached Tomiki Aikido and other martial arts also received a 8th dan from the Japan Aikido Association.
dr Lee ah Loi lives now in Australia and is the author of some books covering the randori no kata of Tomiki Aikido and Koryu no kata. She is very succesfull as a aikido teacher because she stimulated many non-japanese students to a higher level. Some of them reached 7th dan level within the Japan Aikido Association.

Eddy Wolput
www.shobukai.be

[Tony Wagstaffe]

It is an honor to receive a 8th dan as a non-japanese from a Japanese aikido group.
But the article is not entirely correct.
Dr Lee ah Loi, a long time dojo owner in London where she teached Tomiki Aikido and other martial arts also received a 8th dan from the Japan Aikido Association.
dr Lee ah Loi lives now in Australia and is the author of some books covering the randori no kata of Tomiki Aikido and Koryu no kata. She is very succesfull as a aikido teacher because she stimulated many non-japanese students to a higher level. Some of them reached 7th dan level within the Japan Aikido Association.

Eddy Wolput
www.shobukai.be

I found Loi a Lee a good all round technician and for her size which is tiny in comparison to most westerners. She was/is very effective in her koryu kata, straight forward and easy to understand. How she can remember all the waza and in order is nothing short of excellent...... 164 waza as I remember it.

[Pete Knox]

Wow. Achieving that rank is truly impressive. To me, however, still training at 80 is the most inspiring thing. I hope we all are able to do so.

[L. Camejo]

Well done.

This is no easy achievement.

This bodes well for the future of the TAIN. A very inspirational precedent has been achieved.

Congratulations to Waite Shihan.

Best
LC