Hi all,
After over a year of independent study by myself I've decided to share the development of a new style of Aikido which I'm calling Aikibodo. Although I discovered and created most of the forms I currently practice, I have had many great teachers in my short life that have influenced and enabled me to be in such a position.
I trained in Seido Juku Karate under Kaicho Tadashi Nakamura at honbu dojo in NYC for three years. His school has positively changed the lives of tens of thousands of people all over the world, and I'm quite fortunate my brother Tenchi persistently advised me to join for years until I actually got the guts to do it. I was able to train with some of the most compassionate and physically talented people I've ever met. The collective intensity of training was unbelievably phenomenal. Aikibodo could not exist without Seido and the strength of spirit it instills.
Afterwards I trained in Aikido for two and a half years at Tom Read Sensei's dojo in Arcata CA under a handful of dedicated, inspiring teachers. The giant Carl Tissol allowed me to attack and practice takemusu ukemi at a level rivaling my karate experience, a rare privilege. The grounded wisdom of Peggy Ilene created a peaceful yet powerful presence I admire. Read Sensei taught me the theoretical principles of Aiki and foundational forms of Aikibojitsu which in combination with the staffwork of Morihei Ueshiba ultimately guided the base forms of Aikibodo. Read Sensei recently published a technical book which I highly recommend for any serious Aikidoist. I made a few private interpersonal mistakes and a couple public ones here on Aikiweb which I take full responsibility for, but mixed with unrelated political issues of a board managed dojo and confluence of events, I had no choice but to become independent in order to continue and progress with my training. I wish the Northcoast Aikido Dojo continued success, as they help other students in learning Aikido and Aikibojitsu.
The other main influence has been my research, experience, and appreciation of traditional independent post-war gospel. I've created the largest digital archive of previously unknown and unrecognized quartets from the 60's through early 80's on the internet, all available for free:
http://www.hollygroverecords.com/index.php?act=gospel I've been deeply humbled by the buddha-like nature of these veteran ‘shihans of harmony' who, despite being ignored by academic institutions while untold number pass away each year, I consider national treasures.
For those concerned with rank, I'm officially a 4th kyu in Karate and Aikido. I just started my first weekly public Aikibodo class yesterday. Ideally I'd wait till I've developed a few students locally for a couple years before attempting to share elsewhere. But due to imminent consequences of global fossil fuel depletion, such luxury of time may not exist. For those unaware of our present predicament, a general overview is available here:
http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/ I've studied peak oil theory and history in depth for six years and have no desire to discuss in length on this matter here. Aikido is a study of how we use personal energy to interact with the universe, whereas Peak Oil is a study of society's insanely unsustainable and irreplaceable dependence on terminally declining cheap energy sources. I'm happy to provide more resources of information via forum or private message, please ask if interested.
Here is a link to video of the Umi Kata recorded last August:
http://www.youtube.com/user/WayOftheStaff (There is some external compensation for the deep sand and roaring ocean.) The kata contains more complex forms intended for the advanced practitioner but the most important basic forms are accessible to anybody regardless of physical ability or age. I'm now making myself available to share this beautiful practice with anyone dedicated and sincerely interested. Please refer and address me by my first name, no formal titles please!
respectfully,
Tenyu Hamaki