Quote:
Szczepzuk wrote:
However, I have impression that Endo sensei is not teaching. First he talks 15 minutes, then he takes a uke, and practice with him many combination of movements that has one or two principle in common (but a form of every movement is very different) for 5 minutes. When dojo can finally start to practice, he takes another uke and again execute other movements with him (not even techniques). Immediately, ppl sit down around him and start to admire how good he is (he was actually very surprised that in Montreal, folks tried actually to practice instead of admiring him LOL). Then he stops practice and start to talk again.
You call it well developed pedagogy? - I think we have very different definition of 'teaching'.  |
Actually your experience of Endo Sensei at the Montreal course is not consistent with mine elsewhere. I should say that I haven't seen him for five or six years now, so he may have changed his teaching style, but in my experience Endo Sensei's classes are very clearly taught and structured, and when I saw him at Hombu Dojo in 1993 he was certainly teaching "standard" aikido techniques. His first DVD (
Kihon no Kata) contains nothing but "normal" aikido techniques.
Quote:
Szczepzuk wrote:
It only confirms my point, that Endo sensei is not teaching aikido anymore, just as Kanetsuka sensei. At least Kanetsuka sensei honestly recognizes it.
I had a great pleasure to learn from Kanetsuka sensei during few years when he was still teaching aikido techniques beside some other interesting exercises. I think you need a good balance between them; otherwise it will denature the development of students. Those students, who never did any aikido techniques and practice only ‘essence' will not have a good understanding of aikido that O sensei created.
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I have to agree at least in part, as it happens. I have found for a quite a few years now that some students who only ever train in Kanetsuka Sensei's classes (though not all) have limited understanding of basic techniques, and this is evident in their gradings. Even twenty or twenty-five years ago, when he was regularly teaching technique, as well as a lot of sword practice, I noticed that many of his close students concentrated particularly on the "first contact" part of his teaching, but had no sense of flow or of relaxed breathing after that point.
Endo Sensei's teaching DVDs have been mentioned in this thread; Kanetsuka Sensei has made two teaching videos, which I believe will shortly be available in DVD format: these are prosaically entitled "6th Kyu to 5th Kyu" and "4th Kyu to 3rd Kyu", and as the names suggest are largely technical demonstrations. As I understand it, he teaches things in in his classes which he feels can only be transmitted in person, while he encourages us to study his videos to learn how to execute techniques. I would think that Endo Sensei has a similar intention when he conducts overseas seminrs.
Alex