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Old 03-25-2010, 03:18 AM   #74
edshockley
Dojo: Aiklikai of Philadelphia
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 92
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Re: Underqualified Sensei

I am lucky enough to train with a shihan and live in the eastern corridor where there are innumerable seminars and dojos led by gifted instructors. I also visit many dojo as I travel and have studied with instructors with less lineage and skill than Kongisbeg, Smith, Waite and Yamada Shihan. What I honestly have never encountered is a dojo where I didn't learn something. The gift of an uke willing to allow me to use their body to explore the concepts of aikido was always enough to make the experience worthwhile. The more gifted the sensei then the more useful his comments might be but the lesson is always contained in the martial movement. That is the beauty of Aikido.
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