barron

Before our Sensei ( Inaba Sensei 6th dan Calgary Aikikai) passed away it was considered an honour to fold his hakama. It was also the way we learned so when we finally earned ours we knew how he expected us all to fold. At the beginning as a 2nd kyu it took me 15 to 20 minutes to get it just right, although he never commented on a good or bad job. It was always a bit of a challenge especially to get the belts just right as they were "extra" long, but I finally got it right.

When I went to Japan two years ago as an uchi-deshi for one month at our Shihan's dojo, I swept the leaves up outside the dojo, I cleaned the dojo every morning before six am practice, folded or hung to air his hakama after each session and carried his bag if we visited another of his dojos.

I still owe my original sensei, Inaba Sensei, so much that I would have continued to show him my thanks and respect by folding to this day.

Since his passing ( 4 years ago) all our instructors, including myself, fold our own except on rare occasions when a 1st kyu wants to practice before they get theirs. Somedays I do a good job .... on others I try again the next practice.