Welcome to AikiWeb Aikido Information
AikiWeb: The Source for Aikido Information
AikiWeb's principal purpose is to serve the Internet community as a repository and dissemination point for aikido information.

Sections
home
aikido articles
columns

Discussions
forums
aikiblogs

Databases
dojo search
seminars
image gallery
supplies
links directory

Reviews
book reviews
video reviews
dvd reviews
equip. reviews

News
submit
archive

Miscellaneous
newsletter
rss feeds
polls
about

Follow us on



Home > AikiWeb Aikido Forums
Go Back   AikiWeb Aikido Forums > General

Hello and thank you for visiting AikiWeb, the world's most active online Aikido community! This site is home to over 22,000 aikido practitioners from around the world and covers a wide range of aikido topics including techniques, philosophy, history, humor, beginner issues, the marketplace, and more.

If you wish to join in the discussions or use the other advanced features available, you will need to register first. Registration is absolutely free and takes only a few minutes to complete so sign up today!

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 08-03-2007, 11:07 AM   #1
Roy Dean
 
Roy Dean's Avatar
Dojo: Roy Dean Academy
Location: Palm Desert, California
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 166
United_States
Offline
An Uchideshi Experience

Years ago, I put together a short book detailing my year as an uchideshi, or live in student, under the Jujutsu and Aikido master Julio Toribio. I felt it necessary to compress those experiences, lest I forget some of what happened in that magical year of dedication. After completing the manuscript in 1999, I sent it to Dr. Glenn Morris and asked him to write a forward, as his book "Path Notes of an American Ninja Master" was a tremendous influence on me (his next two books, Shadow Strategies and Martial Madness were even better). Dr. Morris was kind enough to write a concise forward, and I then shipped it to several publishing houses for review. Tuttle Publishing wanted to see more, but after further examination, decided to pass. So, with UCSD as my main priority, I put the manuscript away and focused on my martial and academic education.

I feel it's time to let it out. I will be unveiling the entire book, one chapter at a time, in the Articles section of my website. You may find it of interest!

http://www.roydeanacademy.com/articl...e_introduction

Sincerely,

Roy Dean

Discover Who You Are

www.roydean.tv
  Reply With Quote
Old 08-03-2007, 12:04 PM   #2
Keith Larman
Dojo: AIA, Los Angeles, CA
Location: California
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,604
United_States
Offline
Re: An Uchideshi Experience

FWIW might I suggest you look into http://lulu.com ? They allow you to "publish" your own book. And do a really nice job of it if you put it together well yourself.

  Reply With Quote
Old 08-04-2007, 10:35 AM   #3
Roy Dean
 
Roy Dean's Avatar
Dojo: Roy Dean Academy
Location: Palm Desert, California
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 166
United_States
Offline
Re: An Uchideshi Experience

Thank you for the tip, Keith! I will explore that...

Chapter one is now posted. Here's a small excerpt;

"Despite the reduction in my standard of living, sometimes living in the dojo was magic. After the last people had left and lights flipped off, only I was there to break the silence with soft steps on the mat. The movements and exertions of the day were long past, but something else still dusted the air. It wasn’t like entering a barren warehouse or abandoned building, where the sense of vacant space can overwhelm you. Even without anybody in it, the dojo was never empty; it was simply still, like some kind of martial cathedral. I’d put Jewel in the stereo, sit back, and listen as her voice reverberated off the cavernous angles. Or, if there were other uchideshi there, I’d put in U2 and we’d do midnight training in the dark. Or maybe we’d dance. It didn’t matter; the playground was ours to do what we wished."

http://www.roydeanacademy.com/articl...ce_chapter_one

Discover Who You Are

www.roydean.tv
  Reply With Quote
Old 08-08-2007, 10:02 AM   #4
Roy Dean
 
Roy Dean's Avatar
Dojo: Roy Dean Academy
Location: Palm Desert, California
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 166
United_States
Offline
Re: An Uchideshi Experience

Chapters 1-5 have been uploaded.

Chapter 5 may be of particular interest. It discusses how I got involved with Aikido, disillusionment, and eventual acceptance of the art for what it is. This chapter had also been featured as a blog on Aikido Journal.

http://www.roydeanacademy.com/articl...e_chapter_five

Discover Who You Are

www.roydean.tv
  Reply With Quote
Old 08-11-2007, 01:20 PM   #5
satriani
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 6
Philippines
Offline
Re: An Uchideshi Experience

great articles! such true and honest experience and opinion thanks
  Reply With Quote
Old 08-12-2007, 03:21 AM   #6
Jeff Sodeman
Dojo: San Diego Jiai Aikido
Location: San Diego
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 76
Offline
Re: An Uchideshi Experience

Hi Roy. I hope the new dojo is going well and thanks for sharing the chapters of the book. I only read 5 so far since it was the most recent post.

Did I ever talk about the fights I'd been in? I can't recall and the story made me think of that. There's always lots of talk about aikido and does it work, and having used it in the real world I have my own opinions on it. Maybe over a beer if we're in the same town again at some point.

In reading through chapter 5 it sounds like your disappointment with aikido isn't as much a complaint with the techniques of aikido as it's a problem with the educational structure and the way it's taught in some schools. Your last post mentions "acceptance of the art for what it is" and so I'm wondering if you mean "acceptance of the art as it's taught"?

If I didn't get that wrong, what changes to the typical aikido teaching method / strcuture would you make based on what you've found in your other MA experience?
  Reply With Quote
Old 08-12-2007, 04:09 AM   #7
darin
Join Date: Dec 2000
Posts: 375
Offline
Re: An Uchideshi Experience

Very nice website Roy. I enjoyed your shodan grading video.
  Reply With Quote
Old 08-14-2007, 04:35 PM   #8
Roy Dean
 
Roy Dean's Avatar
Dojo: Roy Dean Academy
Location: Palm Desert, California
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 166
United_States
Offline
Re: An Uchideshi Experience

The entire book is posted and can be found here:

www.roydeanacademy.com/articles

Originally written in 1999, here's a brief overview for those interested:

Part One: Daily Life

Chapter One: Luggage to Loft

The life of an uchideshi

Chapter Two: Mailboxes, Et Al

Characters from my day job

Chapter Three: Christmas Kamikazes

Vacations and distractions

Part Two: Classical

Chapter Four: On Seibukan Jujutsu

Japanese Jujutsu for the modern warrior

Chapter Five: Leaving this Box

Aikido and unrealistic expectations

Chapter Six: Iaido

The quiet discipline of drawing the sword

Part Three: New School

Chapter Seven: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Losing Toward Humility

My first experiences with this gendai budo

Chapter Eight: Sports and the Religious Experience of the UFC

Watching the birth of a new sport and martial revolution

Chapter Nine: The Uninvited

On challenge matches

Part Four: Secrets and Lies

Chapter Ten: Martial Artists, Bare Bones, and the Big Lie

Misconceptions regarding strength and skill

Chapter Eleven: Martial Arts, Wholesale Frauds, and Occasional Shams

Cons, big and small

Chapter Twelve: The English Patient

Portrait of a grifter


Part Five: Transpersonal

Chapter Thirteen: Ki, Chris, and Kundalini

Energetic experiences

Chapter Fourteen: Instructors, Brothers, and Blackbelts

Another reason for training

Chapter Fifteen: Someone Watching Over

How does this all work out?

Discover Who You Are

www.roydean.tv
  Reply With Quote
Old 08-14-2007, 05:04 PM   #9
Roy Dean
 
Roy Dean's Avatar
Dojo: Roy Dean Academy
Location: Palm Desert, California
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 166
United_States
Offline
Re: An Uchideshi Experience

In reading through chapter 5 it sounds like your disappointment with aikido isn't as much a complaint with the techniques of aikido as it's a problem with the educational structure and the way it's taught in some schools. Your last post mentions "acceptance of the art for what it is" and so I'm wondering if you mean "acceptance of the art as it's taught"?

If I didn't get that wrong, what changes to the typical aikido teaching method / strcuture would you make based on what you've found in your other MA experience?


Hey Jeff!

You may have mentioned your fight experience in the past, but never got into detail. I would definitely love to hear your experiences over a beer next time I'm in San Diego.

In regards to acceptance of Aikido as it is vs. as it's taught, I think it's a little of both. The techniques of Aikido are good. They are as good as any other techniques in other systems. The technical syllabus is not what I take issue with. It's the training methods.

I don't think you can completely separate the technical aspects of an art from what it is. Many arts have the same techniques as Aikido. The technical content, plus the training methods, plus the philosophy, and the culture of acceptance towards new information and adaptation are also powerful factors in shaping what an art is. I think I've accepted Aikido for what it is, but I've definitely let go of what I would like it to be.

The way it is taught appeals to many, but I think the ranking structure in the organization I was in creates some very interesting attitudes. At least there is structure. I have also seen some unstructured gradings and they definitely made me re-evaluate the merits of more technical freedom and floating standards.

I think healthy additional training methods would be regular randori at 50% resistance, more drills, and more acceptance of failure with honest but ugly techniques. A skilled BJJ player may attack 10 times and fail before securing the submission. It should be OK to totally screw up an honest and alive attack more often than not. Better attacks would also be helpful. I think that's the essential jump start people need to reinvigorate training.

Discover Who You Are

www.roydean.tv
  Reply With Quote
Old 08-15-2007, 05:35 AM   #10
DonMagee
Location: Indiana
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 1,311
United_States
Offline
Re: An Uchideshi Experience

It was a great read, thank you for posting that.

- Don
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough" - Albert Einstein
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-08-2011, 08:44 PM   #11
VLeigh
Dojo: Capital District Aikikai
Location: Rotterdam, NY
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 1
United_States
Offline
Re: An Uchideshi Experience

I'm really resurrecting this thread, huh?

Just taking a shot in the dark that anyone out there has a saved copy of "An Uchideshi Experience."

I read it years back, it really meant a lot to me and touched me personally. It got me off a bad road and back into the martial arts.

In coming across a few life challenges recently I wanted to "go back to the well" where I had once gotten so much inspiration and genuineness ....only to find that that particular well has been moved/removed. (It is no longer on Dean-sensei's site and is no longer carried by Amazon.)

I am wondering if some kind soul out there may have a pdf or some saved copy.

If so, I would love to hear from you.

arigato,

~~rei~~
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-08-2011, 10:41 PM   #12
ninjaqutie
 
ninjaqutie's Avatar
Dojo: Searching for a new home
Location: Delaware (<3 still in Oregon!)
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 1,004
United_States
Offline
Re: An Uchideshi Experience

I would love to read this as well!!!!

~Look into the eyes of your opponent & steal his spirit.
~To be a good martial artist is to be good thief; if you want my knowledge, you must take it from me.
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-09-2011, 10:04 AM   #13
Richard Stevens
Location: Indianapolis
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 165
United_States
Offline
Re: An Uchideshi Experience

He must have taken it off of his website in the past year or so. I remember reading it last year during breaks at work.
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-09-2011, 10:51 AM   #14
Janet Rosen
 
Janet Rosen's Avatar
Location: Left Coast
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 4,339
Offline
Re: An Uchideshi Experience

Is there not a contact link on his website to ask him directly?

Janet Rosen
http://www.zanshinart.com
"peace will enter when hate is gone"--percy mayfield
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-09-2011, 12:30 PM   #15
Michael Hackett
Dojo: Kenshinkan Dojo (Aikido of North County) Vista, CA
Location: Oceanside, California
Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,253
Offline
Re: An Uchideshi Experience

Yes, there is and I just did so. I'll let you know what I hear.

Michael
"Leave the gun. Bring the cannoli."
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-09-2011, 12:48 PM   #16
andi
Dojo: Aikido of Mountain View
Location: San Jose, CA
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 1
United_States
Offline
Re: An Uchideshi Experience

I found the content at the wayback machine:

http://web.archive.org/web/200904211...y.com/articles

-- andreas
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-10-2011, 04:54 PM   #17
ninjaqutie
 
ninjaqutie's Avatar
Dojo: Searching for a new home
Location: Delaware (<3 still in Oregon!)
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 1,004
United_States
Offline
Re: An Uchideshi Experience

Thanks!

~Look into the eyes of your opponent & steal his spirit.
~To be a good martial artist is to be good thief; if you want my knowledge, you must take it from me.
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-10-2011, 11:09 PM   #18
Michael Hackett
Dojo: Kenshinkan Dojo (Aikido of North County) Vista, CA
Location: Oceanside, California
Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,253
Offline
Re: An Uchideshi Experience

I did receive a reply from Dean Sensei. He took down the book and has no intention of putting it back up again. He said he's working on another project which covers some of the same time frame and discusses the journey to BB in BJJ. It will be worth waiting for.

Many thanks to Andi for finding a way of retrieving the book! I've read a couple of chapters and think it is well worth reading. Again, thanks, Andi.

Michael
"Leave the gun. Bring the cannoli."
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-12-2011, 07:10 PM   #19
Michael Hackett
Dojo: Kenshinkan Dojo (Aikido of North County) Vista, CA
Location: Oceanside, California
Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,253
Offline
Re: An Uchideshi Experience

OK, I've now read the entire book and it is quite different than I expected. I fully expected something more along the lines of "Angry White Pajamas", a loose journal of the uchideshi experience. Instead Dean Sensei writes of his views of the martial arts in general and actually very little is devoted directly to the uchideshi experience. On one hand that was a disappointment to me. On the other, his thoughts and musings are well-written and well-considered. I think it is a very worthwhile read and I recommend it.

Michael
"Leave the gun. Bring the cannoli."
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-12-2011, 10:32 PM   #20
crbateman
 
crbateman's Avatar
Location: Orlando, FL
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,502
Offline
Re: An Uchideshi Experience

Quote:
Michael Hackett wrote: View Post
OK, I've now read the entire book and it is quite different than I expected. I fully expected something more along the lines of "Angry White Pajamas", a loose journal of the uchideshi experience. Instead Dean Sensei writes of his views of the martial arts in general and actually very little is devoted directly to the uchideshi experience. On one hand that was a disappointment to me. On the other, his thoughts and musings are well-written and well-considered. I think it is a very worthwhile read and I recommend it.
I too enjoyed the book, but felt the title was a bit misleading. A thought-provoking read, nonetheless.
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-13-2011, 06:26 AM   #21
lbb
Location: Massachusetts
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 3,202
United_States
Offline
Re: An Uchideshi Experience

Maybe it would be better titled, "The experiences (some) and ruminations (rather more) of someone who was once an uchideshi". But, that's a bit cumbersome.
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-13-2011, 04:25 PM   #22
kurtfinlayson
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 4
Offline
Re: An Uchideshi Experience

I was not able to get the wayback to work. Can anyone post it here?
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-13-2011, 04:58 PM   #23
crbateman
 
crbateman's Avatar
Location: Orlando, FL
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,502
Offline
Re: An Uchideshi Experience

Quote:
Kurt Finlayson wrote: View Post
I was not able to get the wayback to work. Can anyone post it here?
The above wayback link still works fine for me... There's a lot of material (15 chapters plus an intro). It takes a few seconds once you get to wayback for the material to appear.
  Reply With Quote

Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Omoto-kyo Theology senshincenter Spiritual 80 06-10-2022 08:32 AM
Industrial Society Destroys Mind and Env sushil_yadav Open Discussions 4 09-06-2005 03:23 PM
How can I be an uchideshi in Japan? Ki No Nagare General 1 04-18-2005 12:51 AM
my experience pupeno Introductions 4 01-02-2003 11:30 AM
Voice of Experience? Bruce Baker General 31 08-16-2002 02:52 PM


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:03 AM.



vBulletin Copyright © 2000-2024 Jelsoft Enterprises Limited
----------
Copyright 1997-2024 AikiWeb and its Authors, All Rights Reserved.
----------
For questions and comments about this website:
Send E-mail
plainlaid-picaresque outchasing-protistan explicantia-altarage seaford-stellionate