Aikido World Allianceweb.aikidoworldalliance.com/.../2017/01/AWA-Newsletter-Spring-2015.pdfoneself in a way that inspires mastery.’ While the meaning of the kanji used in ‘shu’

Aik ido Wor ld A l l iance

Sp r ing 2015 News le t te r

Letter from the EditorJohn Hannon, SandanPetaluma, CA

Happy Anniversary AWA! Here we are together at the first rung of our training.

Aikdio is not a short-term pastime…it is not something that many people just dabble in. Certainly people come and go. Aikido touches their life when it is needed, and it provides for them as much as it can, but for the most part the practice of aikido is a long-term endeavor. Ten years is only the beginning of our individual practice. But, aikido is not entirely an individual practice, is it? There is the aspect of shugyo, of course, that dedicated practice of self-development, but aikido, is fundamentally a social activity. It is a practice that teaches us how to relate to each other in the most challenging of circumstances. We rarely find ourselves in such extreme circumstances…but we still have to spend time with each other on and off the mat. We are all involved in this practice. We are all at different levels of training. How is our collective aikido?

The AWA is ten years old, and in those ten years it has quadrupled in dojo membership. That is no small feat. It reflects the strength of our collective character and the relative health of our community. AWA has also achieved direct affiliation with Hombu Dojo…also no small feat. This affiliation is the most valid endorsement of our skills as aikidoka, and it is proof that the teaching methodology, training habits, and business practices of the AWA are fundamentally solid. Perhaps a fitting analogy to this endorsement is having earned our shodan. We have shown our dedication and the potential of our aptitude. We have faced some challenges, certain growing pains, disagreements, and the like. But we have weathered them and learned. Most importantly, we have grown more healthy despite them. There is a collective harmony that we maintain using the principles of aiki as our compass. It is time to begin our practice in earnest.

This collective effort would not be what it is without the vision, sacrifice, and motivational spirit of our leadership. The award of Shihan is the highest instructor endorsement in the aikido world and one more landmark event that we need to reflect upon on this anniversary is Sato Sensei’s promotion. He is, indeed, a teacher of teachers and leader of exceptional skill. It is primarily due to his efforts and the assemblage of his teaching, testing, and advisory committees that hold this organization together and continue to develop it for the future.

This anniversary is, indeed, an opportunity to reflect…and in cases such as these, to celebrate our growth, to show gratitude for each other and for the gift of aikido in our lives. Equally important at this time is to challenge ourselves to continue to grow in skill and knowledge and wisdom and to do all we can grow closer and stronger as a community. It is this collective shugyo and the spirit of aiki that will carry us through the coming decades.

If your opponent strikes with fire, counter with water,

becoming completely fluid and free-flowing. Water, by its nature, never collides with or

breaks against anything. On the contrary, it swallows up any attack harmlessly.

-O’Sensei

TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S :TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S :

A Letter from Sensei by Sato Sensei......................................3

Shodan Essay—What Is Shugyo? by Dung “Zung” Nguyen......................................................4

Knit, Purl, Throw, Fall by Kris Sumner.......................................................................5

On the Road by Laura DeGraff Sensei..................................6

Rock Climbing and Aikido by Jeremy M.L. Hix......................7

Shodan Essay—What Is Aikido? by Rick Hudson...................8

With Gratitude......................................................................8

Photo Pages.........................................................................9

Ai-Ki-D’oh! Comic Strip by Jonathan Knipping Sensei............10

Seminar Calendar.............................................................11

N E W S L E T T E R P R O D U C T I O N S TA F F :N E W S L E T T E R P R O D U C T I O N S TA F F :

John Hannon, Editor, Petaluma, CAKris Sumner, Editor, Kiku Matsu Dojo, Chicago, ILFred Mautz, AWA Photographer, Lakewood, CO

To make newsletter suggestions and submissions for consideration: [email protected] or [email protected].

A N N O U N C E M E N T S :A N N O U N C E M E N T S :

Congratulations to the Newlyweds!Panos and Katerina Agrios tied the knot in February 2015!

Best wishes to the happy couple!

Congratulations to the New Parents!

Welcome to the AWA family:

Anton & Matvei Poulson, born to proud parents Matt and AnyaPoulson of Wadokan Dojo!

Nicola Ruocco, born to proud parents Sebastian and YohannaRuocco of Wadokan Dojo!

River Gibson, born to proud parents Issac and GenevieveGibson of Aikido of Morgantown!

D A N P R O M O T I O N S :D A N P R O M O T I O N S :

Shodan

Roel Alviar, Musashi Dojo, Qatar

Caroline Bandigan, Aikido of South Brooklyn, NY

Charles Constantino, Aikido of South Brooklyn, NY

Courtney Heizenrader, Aikido of South Brooklyn, NY

Jeremy Hix, Aikido of Central New Mexico, NM

George Minasov, Kiku Matsu Dojo, IL

Rob Linxweiler, Kiku Matsu Dojo, IL

Josh Smith, Roshinkan Dojo, WA

Gyorgy Varszegi, Musashi Dojo, Qatar

Nidan

Mary Tracey, Roshinkan Dojo, WA

Sandan

Anna Barrios, Kiku Matsu Dojo, IL

Dale Eisenberg, Laguna Hills Aikikai, CA

William Sumner, Kiku Matsu Dojo, IL

Yondan

Myriam Cedres, Eishinkan Dojo, DE

Godan

Joel Augustin, Kiku Matsu Dojo, IL

Laura DeGraff, Kiku Matsu Dojo, IL

Toshko Getov, Shiseikan Dojo, Bulgaria

Julio Monell, New York Aikido Alliance, NY

The Universal Ki says RECYCLE All contents within: © 2015 Aikido World Alliance

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NEWSLETTER Spring 2015

picture treatments:0.25pt black stroke,

50% drop shadow from upper right.

A Letter from SenseiAndrew Sato Shihan, RokudanAWA Chief InstructorKiku Matsu Dojo, Chicago, IL

Hello all,

Usually, I am not one to celebrate every anniversary, but many times lately I have been reminded that this year is the ten-year anniversary for the Aikido World Alliance. While ten years is not an anniversary marking a very long period of time in aikido training, we as members and fans of aikido should be proud of this mark of passage on our journey.

For me, this anniversary reminds me that I am growing old while some of you are growing up . The years flow by, but there are moments every day that remind me of how we have all banded together to stay the course and move forward. We have had many ups and downs and much has passed under the bridge as time relentlessly moves us forward. The constant has been our drive to continue to improve our lives through our aikido practice.

Since our beginning ten years ago, we have lost some friends and dojo while gaining new friends and dojo. It is the natural ebb and flow. Our lives keep adjusting to the universe and the many challenges it throws at us. The AWA began as twelve dojo, and ten short years later we are now fifty plus dojo members worldwide. The AWA gained full recognition under the Aikikai

umbrella in this time. We also became the first domestic aikido organization to do so in over a decade of aikido activity in the USA.

Growth and recognition aside, what the AWA has become in these ten years is a community of members who support each other, share good and sad times together. We are a community that has kept a steady course of direction through friendship and aikido as our guiding focus.

I personally thank all of you and your families for keeping the AWA light bright with optimism, friendship, and support. These are the things that have allowed us to flourish during these last ten years. Think how wonderful everything will be for us in the next upcoming decade!!

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Shugyo is a Zen concept that does not simplyapply to martial arts but refers to the intensityand the internal motivation in the training of any activity. One must go through intense training and push oneself to the limit in order to discover one’s limitations before moving on to a higher plane of understanding and master the art.

Practice

Shugyo should be a life-long practice for a sincere practitioner of any art in general. For a martial artist, one extreme practice is to serve as an uchideshi to his/her master as exemplified by many of the direct students of Morihei Ueshiba, founder of Aikido. Gozo Shioda (1915–1994), one such uchideshi, wrote in his Aikido Shugyo book, “…all shugyo is like this, no matter what kind it is…. To achieve this mastery of a martial art, nothing is better than solid shugyo in which you share your daily life with your teacher in absolute obedience.”³ Shioda went on to assert that in servinghis teacher on a daily basis, he learned to sense his teacher’s intentions before they were made known to him. As a result, he developed an intuition to his opponents’ intents and was able to execute aikido techniques freely and naturally.

Nowadays, current ways of life, in particular in the West, make it very difficult to practice Shugyo in its traditional form. One then settles for short term intensive training sessions that serve as (continued)

3 Aikido Shugyo Harmony in Confrontation, by Gozo Shioda, p. 150.

Shodan Essay: What Is Shugyo?Dung “Zung” Nguyen, NidanWadokan Dojo, Tomball, Texas

Due to deep cultural differences between East and West, there are volumes of words that cannot be readily translated from one culture to the other. Shugyo is one of those Japanese words that has no equivalent counterpart in English. Fumio Toyoda Sensei in a lecture to his uchideshi and kenshusei in March 2001 explained the following:

“…The word ‘Shugyo’ is made up of ‘Shu,’ which means ‘mastering’ and ‘Gyo,’ which means ‘doing.’ Therefore it is training for the purpose of mastering the art. It is often translated as ‘austere training.’ While this is correct, there is more to Shugyo than just severe training. It is the training that reflects the strong commitment of the student. The student is self-driven, pushing hard with an internal conviction.Severe training without this personal conviction would not be Shugyo.”¹

As I am asked to describe what Shugyo is, I find myself facing the impossible task of not repeating and paraphrasing what the aikido and zen master has already stated. After much researching on the subject, I can only offer here my findings as elaborations on the points already made by Toyoda Sensei.

Etymology

The following is an excerpt from “Shugyo Renshu,” an essay on Shugyo by Nathan Scott:²

“Shugyo ( ) may be defined literally as ‘conducting oneself in a way that inspires mastery.’ While the meaning of the kanji used in ‘shu’ was originally translated as ‘using a brush to strike away the dust that obscures the viewing of a person’s original elegance,’ the combined kanji of ‘shu’ and ‘gyo’ (carrying out, walking along) is now generally translated as simply ‘severe or austere training.’ The kanji rendered for this version of ‘shugyo’ is most commonly associated with Buddhist asceticism, and most notably, the ‘shugenja’ ( , ascetic mountain-dwelling monks).”

With such powerful underlying meaning, one can now see why it is impossible to translate shugyo into one simple English expression.

¹ Shihan’s Voice… Elements of Aikido Training, Kaze, QuarterlyNewsletter of the Eastern and Southern States of the Aikido Association of America, Spring 2001.² http://www.tsuki-kage.com/shugyo.html.

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Knit, Purl, Throw, FallKris Sumner, ShodanKiku Matsu Dojo, Chicago, IL

I have lots of things that I love to do. Some of my fellow aikidoka already know that I’m what some might call…overcommitted. I don’t like being idle. I’m not content to be just one thing or another, or to even focus on just two hobbies, if you will. Nope, I gotta do it all! I gotta be me, and being me means that I’m a compilation of a whole list of things: a wife, mother, daughter, friend, aikidoka, grad student, full-time employee, singer, band leader, guitarist, knitter, cross stitcher, and now a storyteller. You might think I’m crazy for trying to do all of this (and I wouldn’t really disagree with you), but each part of my life gives me joy, challenges me, and makes me a better person. Some are more rewarding than others, and some cause me more frustration than I think they’re worth. Are you listening full-time job? But, I wouldn’t be who I am without everything that I do.

For me, aikido doesn’t just fit into a neat pigeonhole that I only pull out once or twice a week at class. Aikido is in everythingI do. From landing breakfall on the floor of a grocery store afterbeing schooled by my two-year-old to my daily randori throughrush hour foot traffic on my way to and from the train, aikido is there. It’s even in the crafts that I do. There is a lot of similarity between aikido and knitting, for instance, believe it or not.

Aikido has a set of rules or pattern, directions for how to do technique and how to react when a technique is done to you. They are sometimes fluid and changeable, but pretty (continued)

(continuation) purification and strengthening of the body, the mind and the spirit. Most current martial art schools offerShugyo this way in the form of training camps. The composition of the training varies from one school to another.Besides intense daily physical training, the Shugyo practicemay include some elements of fasting and meditation.

Kufu

As pointed out by Toyoda Sensei (see footnote 1), the practice of Shugyo only exists in the context of other training elements: Renshu (“repeated practice”), Kunren (“direct instructional train-ing”), Tanren (“forging the spirit”), and Kufu, “the culminationof training where the practitioner exhibits the highest state of mind [where] you are able to apply your art naturally.”Kufu is again one of those Japanese words that cannot be translated to English directly. It is described in Zen literature as “the technique beyond technique” or “the one technique which still remains when all techniques are learnt.”4

A martial artist thus strives to achieve Kufu via the practice of Shugyo. Nathan Scott further states in his essay (see footnote 2), “one of the main overall results of shugyo-geiko is the developmentof ‘seishin tanren’ ( , forging the spirit) and ‘seishin-ryoku’ ( , moral/spiritual strength). These qualities are very difficultto develop outside of self-induced ‘shugyo,’ and provide the proponent with very valuable life skills, in addition to effective technique (for those that might have need for them).”

Yes, most importantly, Shugyo is all about heart, moraland spiritual strength. Shioda puts it eloquently in the conclusion of his Aikido Shugyo book (see footnote 3):

…The concept of Aikido as a martial art skill has ended with me. Instead, by training in the incredible techniques of Aikido everyday, I now completely embrace its funda-mental principle of profound harmony into practice myself. …Through the process of training in Aikido, the harmony that is in each of our hearts is spread from one person to another.

Shioda as well as many other great martial artists have com-mitted themselves to a life-long Shugyo to master their art, to acquire that one ‘technique beyond technique’. At the end of the day, enlightened, they learn what they already have been taught all along: that the true meaning of martial art is com-passion, peace and harmony. What Shugyo has done is to make them truly feel it in their heart and carry it out in their ac-tions in a manner that is as natural and effortless as breathing.

4 An Introduction to Zen Taoism and Its Precepts, by Stan Rosenthal, http://departments.colgate.edu/greatreligions/pages/buddhanet/zen325/zentao/ESSPR4-4.TXT.

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Compassion comes in many forms, a good solid iriminage can do as much for someone as a warm embrace.

We just finished Kangeiko at Kiku Matsu. It was a weekend full of laughter and joy and, of course, terrific training. This Kangeiko marked the ten-year anniversary of the AWA. It’s hard to believe the time that has passed; people who have come and gone; new friendships and relationships that we hope will last a lifetime. At the Saturday night dinner, I was moved by the emotional outpouring shared by new dan ranks and dojo cho as they spoke so passionately about their commitments to the art, the organization and Sato Sensei. It’s truly remarkable. As I sit back and listen to their words I think to myself “how lucky we all are to have found each other.” How lucky I am to have found aikido.

As the AWA continues to grow and thrive I think back to those first few weeks as we looked for a permanent home. None of us had any idea that this is where the road would lead—we simply wanted to train. It’s amazing what can happen when people work together with a shared passion.

This year we will all face our own unique challenges—it is the nature of being alive. I hope that each and every one of you finds strength through your aikido family.

Hope to see you all on the road!

(continuation) standard across most techniques. If you follow the directions—step here, move your hand to this position, change feet, switch hands, tenkan, and throw (or some combination of those)—the technique works and your uke will go down. If you don’t follow the directions, your uke may not go down or you may get hurt or things could just get messy. The same is true with knitting. You have a pattern to follow, directions that tell you how many knits and purls you need to make and in what order to cre-ate your design. Whether it’s a hat or mittens, a scarf or sweater, if you follow the pattern, you get a lovely item to wear or give. If you don’t, you have a big, old mess.

On the RoadLaura DeGraff Sensei, GodanAWA Technical and Teaching Committee MemberKiku Matsu Dojo, Chicago, IL

Happy New Year! I hope all of you are enjoying a happy new beginning to your year. I have been a bit limited in my travel due to my work situation. It has been a long journey. But I am ever hopeful that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Over the year, I have discovered the true meaning of aikido and what the connections that we make with each other are really about. The AWA family has been a true source of support and has shown me that the compassion that we so often talk about is more than just talk.

I would like to personally thank the dojos in the organization who have funded my travel to their events. I will forever appreciate your generosity. Getting out and seeing my “family” provides me with the mental and emotional sustenance that makes every day manageable. Realizing that people care about you can be a truly remarkable discovery. Taking care of each other is the essence of aikido, and it takes many shapes—whether it is a plane ticket, a meal, or simply a pat on the shoulder and a smile—it is no dif-ferent than what we practice on the mat day in and day out.

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Rock Climbing and AikidoJeremy M.L. Hix, ShodanAikido of Central New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM

Rock climbing scares me to death, but I’ve been climbing for thirteen years now. There must be something that brings me back to climbing, why I’ve persisted and dedicated myself to the sport for so many years. No matter how many injuries, sketchy situations, or near misses, it seems to always be worth it.

Climbing is an adrenaline rush. Increased heart rate, muscle fatigue, the fear of falling and having gravity take over, pulling you down towards the ground, all of which put you into a different mental state. It’s fight or flight…literally. Keeping your cool and achieving a Zen state of mind is the only way you can persevere and succeed in the vertical world. Breathing patterns are key, an intense state of focus, to blur out the surrounding world and hone in on making the next move, keeping balance on the small foot chip you have, all because you have to make it to the next anchor point, or else, it’s time to fly.

This is scary. It’s stressful, but…it’s all a mind game. You have to mentally train yourself to cope with the fear of falling, with the fear of injury, and the fear of death. Even more important beyond the physical ramifications, you have to mentally support yourself from the fear of failure. That’s usually not something that comes naturally to people. It certainly does not for me.

Aikido presents many of the same mental blocks to overcome. You have to battle the mental fear of injury on the mat, and of course, battle the fear of failure, especially during demonstration, whether for the general public or during testing.

It’s not unlike giving a public speech or presentation, and for many of us, we may find ourselves entering into the fight or flight state when put into a stressful situation. How we overcome that feeling of anxiety is part of our Aiki training, right?

I employ similar tactics that I’ve used in the vertical world of rock climbing. I focus on my breath, or Kokyu; I try and blur out the surrounding world, the audience; I focus on the one thing in front of me, the next technique, and I attempt to keep in the back of my mind a series of techniques, like planning ahead subsequent moves in a game of chess. Lastly, I try to diminish as much as possible the fear of failure. This allows me to push myself past my own limits, to persevere, even when things don’t go according to plan.

Sometimes, the three-move checkmate just doesn’t work out.

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Blending involves noticing the direction of one’s opponent’s energy and then diverting its path whileavoiding its force. In the process of diverting the path, we get out of its way without losing contact with the attacker.

Aikido requires a mindful way of being that is useful both on the mat and off it. On the mat, it is important to apply the principal of relaxation with concentration. The exercise of the unbendable arm shows that both of these elements are required—one without the other is ineffective. Off the mat, being mindful while conducting one’s life is an excellent and useful goal for both improving one’s performance and happiness. When I am clearing my mind and focusing on the moment, I am applying aikido to my life.

Finally, aikido is a community of people with good hearts who I value—the people I know and care about in Chicago, and also those who practice this wonderful art worldwide.

W I T H G R AT I T U D E . . .W I T H G R AT I T U D E . . .

“Be ever grateful for the gifts received from the universe, your family, Mother nature, and your fellow human beings.”

—Morihei Ueshiba

Eishinkan Aikido Delaware extends our heartfelt gratitude to William Henderson Sensei and students at Shoseikan Dojo in Frederick, Maryland, for welcoming us to practice with them. We are forever grateful.”

Shodan Essay: What Is Aikido?Rick Hudson, ShodanKiku Matsu Dojo, Chicago, IL

Aikido for me is an art with many levels.

At its most basic, it is a collection of related self-defense techniques that can be used by most anyone because they rely more on coordinated movement rather than strength. Being a skinny middle-aged guy, I appreciate defensive techniques that I can use even when threatened by a stronger attacker.

Aikido is a compassionate approach to self-defense. Aikido techniques are effective even though they do not rely on harming or injuring the attacker, but instead work by redirecting the attacker’s energy—by blending with his energy. This is not to say that these techniques cannot cause injury or harm, but rather that they do not have to cause these things to work. This represents a compassionate approach because more violent ways of defending oneself are available: punch-ing, breaking bones, etc. To me, this reflects an ideal: while defending ourselves, we should minimize the damage we do to our attackers, because as misguided as they are, they are humans deserving some compassion. However, this doesn’t mean that I need to put myself in danger for the sake of my attacker.

The best approach in a dangerous situation—the aikido mindset, in my view—is to try to defuse it without resorting to an aikido technique. If someone threatens to punch me, my first goal would be to persuade that person not to. Ideally, I would ask him why he was angry, and perhaps help him calm down. These are ideals—I am mostly con-cerned with not getting hurt myself—but I think they represent the spirit of aikido.

Aikido techniques are nonconfrontational—they work by blending with an opponent’s energy and redirecting it rather than by fighting force with force.

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swhilee path

Off the mat, being mindful while conducting one’s life is an excellent and useful goal for both improving one’s performance and happiness.

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“Opponents confront us continually, but actually there is no opponent there. Enter deeply into an at-tack and neutralize it as you draw that misdirected

force into your own sphere.”

- Morihei Ueshiba SenseiFounder of Aikido

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Documents

Aikido World Allianceweb.aikidoworldalliance.com/.../2017/01/AWA-Newsletter-Spring-2015.pdfoneself in a way that inspires mastery.’ While the meaning of the kanji used in ‘shu’