View Single Post
Old 04-08-2006, 05:58 AM   #1
Peter Goldsbury
 
Peter Goldsbury's Avatar
Dojo: Hiroshima Kokusai Dojo
Location: Hiroshima, Japan
Join Date: Jul 2001
Posts: 2,308
Japan
Offline
Training Meeting in Himeji

It is always good to meet new people and be exposed to other ways of doing aikido techniques and such an opportunity presented itself earlier today in Himeji, at the Shodokan dojo run by Peter Rehse.

Michael Stuempel came down from his Yoshinkan dojo in Roppongi and the Aikikai was represented by Bryan Bateman, Kim (Ted?) Taylor and myself, while Nariyama Shihan kindly sent Mr Sakai and more junior colleagues from the Shodokan Hombu in Osaka, to support Peter and his own students. In the impressions that follow, I am not sure that I have everything in the right order (I am still somehat jet-lagged from returning on Thursday from a training seminar in Holland, but this is a new thread, so others will correct me if necessary).

We all assembled at 9 am and Peter started off the 3-hour practice by delivering some kyuu grade diplomas to his own students. To do this with visitors was a nice touch. He followed this with a warming up and stretching session, which he said was shortened and paired down to essentials. This was followed by some basic Shodokan sabaki and kata forms.

The first teaching slot was occupied by Mike Stuempel, who carefully led us through the Yoshinkan way of doing shihonage, in the omote and ura forms. He placed great emphasis on correct footwork, low posture, the proper transfer of body weight during the execution of the technique, and correct finish (so that uke cannot roll out of the technique). The ura form was interesting for me, for the way tori cut uke down diagonally over the leg.

After Mike, I showed some waza from a kata-dori shoulder grab. These were basically a very direct nikyou omote, followed by a direct ura form, and then a version of kaiten-nage from the same grip. I think some of the Shodokan Hombu visitors liked this waza. The final waza was a kata-dori with shoumen uchi, where tori blends with the attacking arm and continues with the movement, leading uke round and back, rather like shiho-nage (except that uke still has the original kata-dori grip). I do not know the name of this waza.

Mr Sakai rounded off the teaching part of the session with some dazzling developments of the sabaki and kata froms shown at the beginning of the training session. Sakai Sensei's movements were almost unbelievably sharp and precise and were very hard to imitate, especially for me who has grown up in the Aikikai system. The sabaki and kata were actually the nuts and bolts of randori, for which Shodokan is well known. This was also a very enlightening experience for me, coming from a tradition that eschews any form of competition. I have read some of Kenji Tomiki Sensei's writings, especially Budo-Ron (unfortunately not yet translated into English) and in Mr Sakai's demonstration of randori with his students, it was possible to see quite clearly how Shodokan randori is, and is not, competitive.

Today's practice was the last one for Josh, one of Peter's students. First, we all lined up to throw him and then he did a couple of randori sessions with the Shodokan Hombu visitors including Sakai Sensei.

We then retired to the 'tabe-houdai' restaurant at the sports centre and discussed the training and also such important issues as the state of aikido web forums, including Aikiweb. After lunch members went their various ways, but Peter took Mike and me to Himeji Castle for a brief moving/standing/wandering o-hanami, under the cherry blossoms.

This was my second visit to Himeji and so it was my second chance to practise with Peter Rehse (more, if we include the time he came to Hiroshima and the occasional techniques we practised in Miyajima on the way up Mt. Misen). I was especially pleased to meet Mike Stuempel and Kim Taylor (and connect faces with Internet names) and to practise with Bryan Bateman, whom I had met before at the annual All-Japan Demonstration (Aikikai) in May. I was very pleased to meet Mr Sakai and to practise under his patient direction.

There is already talk of another session, to get to grips more closely with the sabaki & kata.

And finally thanks to Peter R. and students, for making today's session possible.

PAG

P A Goldsbury
_______________________
Kokusai Dojo,
Hiroshima,
Japan
  Reply With Quote