VKS TRAINING NOTES AUG 98

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this document is to provide a dialog between students
and the instructional faculty on training issues and answer questions
regarding technique or training practices or procedures.  It is NOT a
forum for dealing with philosophy, except as it applies to training,
nor business issues associated with the VKS.

NOTICES:

AUG INSTRUCTOR'S CLASS

The August class will be held on Saturday, the 29th at 1:30.  I will
be discussing the results of the 1998 Instructor's Conference and
Workshop.

24TH ANNIVERSARY

The 24th Anniversary of the VKS will be held at the Merrifield Dojo on
12 and 13 September.  Sensei Terry Pierce, New Jersey Ki Society will
be the guest instructor.

The schedule of classes is Saturday 9:30-12 and 2-4:30 and Sunday,
9:30-12.  There will be a no-host dinner Saturday evening at 6 p.m..
Sunday afternoon there will be an open house with demonstrations and
discussion between 2 and 4 p.m..  Potluck snacks will be served
following the demonstrations.

Fee for the seminar is $25.00 for both days and $15.00 for one day.
Sign up on the bulletin board at the Dojo or call in your reservations
to (703)573-8843 or send them to me via e-mail at kimas@erols.com.

GUEST AUTHOR

A MOSAIC CALLED AIKIDO

DENNIS HOOKER, GODAN SHINDAI AIKIKAI (Back again with another thought
provoking article)

	Whether or not I know the complete history of O-Sensei's
training is not important to me.  I am concerned with the final
outcome of his life's work, and how that outcome can make my life and
the lives of those around me better.  Another popular Aikido
publication has, for some time now, been concerned with the roots of
Aikido.  They look to this art, or that art, as the foundation of
Aikido.  Understanding some of the principles that were used in the
development of Aikido may be a good thing.  It is not a good thing if
in doing so they are redefining Aikido in the terms of the arts they
are examining.

	Morihei Ueshiba was a master craftsmen who blended a mosaic of
martial art and philosophical doctrine into a intricate and beautiful
painting.  The master himself, as well as his emissaries offered this
work to western culture, and it was graciously accepted.  Many of the
elements that made up this masterpiece had been available to western
culture prior to the arrival of Aikido from Japan, but none had gained
a substantial foothold in the west.

	At a time when western (particularly American) culture was not
looking to Japan for anything other than transistor radios and
trinkets a movement was about to be born.  Exceptional men armed with
O-Sensei's art, and their own incredible ability, ventured into what
could be perceived as hostile territory.  Nowadays, it is easy to
forget what the attitude was like toward the Japanese people in those
early years after the war.


	However, the art and philosophy of the founder and his
students would transcend cultural boundaries.  If what we read about
these early emissaries is true, not only would they match their skills
against masterful martial artists and prevail, but would win their
hearts and loyalty in the process.

	As a people we found in this mosaic called Aikido something
that was captivating to us.  I think, in part, we recognized in this
art of Aikido the American pioneer spirit.  The art was a blend of all
that was available to the founder at the time.  When he added to this
his compassion for humanity and all surrounding it, we can, in
retrospect, see that the whole of Aikido is much grater that it's
parts.  We must preserve the whole of Aikido for ourselves and future
generations.  At a time when the fabric of western morality is being
ripped to shreds Aikido is a bastion of hope for our future.  Aikido
alone cannot restore the social and moral values of the nation but it
can be a corner stone in rebuilding it.  We must not let the small
minds of greedy people rip the fabric of Aikido apart.

	As children, my generation, and generations before us were
taught moral and social values and the rewards of discipline at home,
at school and in the church.  This is no longer available to many of
our young people.  Many of the institutions that help form us are
still around, but many young people have little interest in them.
Many of them view morality as weakness and discipline as something to
be avoided.  The church is no longer as strong in the community as it
once was, and even if they had the capability public schools are
prevented from teaching morality.  Social values are an issue that
neither schools or many churches want to touch.  Many young people
today are growing up without a sense of moral or social values.  In
Florida we see it every day. Children who kill, rape and steal and
show no remorse beyond than of being caught.  In the past we could
write these off to the occasional sociopath.  Now it is becoming the
norm rather than the exception.


	In talking to many Aikido teachers, I find a growing desire
for children's classes.  At first, this desire comes more from the
parents than the children.  They find the traditional dojo is a place
where their children can learn life skills that go beyond physical
self defense.  The children find that correct discipline can be a good
thing, and many hunger for it.  The Aikido dojo is, to a certain
degree, replacing more conventional forums for teaching correct social
principles.

	We must not forget that O-Sensei's desire was for Aikido to
bring about peace through love.  When I hear Doshu speak of praying
for world peace I believe him, when I hear Saotome Sensei speak of
peace through strength I believe him.  It seems that this is a part of
the mosaic some people are beginning to forget.  Others are attempting
to cover it over with efforts to redefine Aikido as just another
martial art.  It is this principle of peace, not war, that endeared
Aikido to our society in the first place.  We must not forget that the
AiKi of Aikido has a different meaning than the AiKi of Aikijujitsu.
Let us not lose that distinction.  If we chose to accept the meaning
of Aikido as defined by Morihei Ueshiba, and expressed by his many
exemplary students, then we should not feel a need to justify our art
by looking to the past for it's meaning.

	Aikido is quickly approaching the main stream of our society.
I believe it is because of O-Sensei's total art.  Not just a piece
pigeonholed as martial, philosophical or spiritual.  Some of us may be
better at expressing ourselves at one part of this discipline than
another.  However, together we make up the mosaic of Aikido.  We need
not and should not be replicas of one another.  Let others spend their
time looking to the past to find meaning for what they do in the
present.  As for me I follow O-Sensei's dream as expressed by my
teacher and rationalized by myself and look to the future.


	There are those that say O-Sensei's teachings were beyond
understanding.  That he spoke in terms they could not comprehend.
They believed his teachings to be a jumble of diagrams and concepts
bearing little relationship to the physical art of Aikido, and they
could not grasp the significance of it in their learning process.  The
diagrams he drew and the concepts he talked about are ancient
universal symbols and theories expressed within his framework of
understanding.  I am a Master Mason, and many of the principles I
learned on my journey to becoming a Freemason closely parallel the
teaching of O-Sensei.  I find no contradiction between the two.  In
fact I find that one set of principles support the other in my
learning process.

	There is an old saying, "you can't see the forest for the
trees".  This is beginning to happen to the mosaic of Aikido.  Some
people are so concerned with the individual parts of the art they can
no longer see the beauty of the whole.

	One person will say look at that brush stroke, that is a
stroke from our school. There are more of these strokes than others,
so this art work is a watered down version of our school.  Others say
no, look at this brush stroke.  It is from our school.  There are not
as many of these strokes, but it makes the painting complete,
therefore this art work is of our school.  Yet others say no look at
the paint, this is what makes the art work complete.  Without the
paint there would be no art work.  Others would say that it is the
pigment that gives the paint it's color that really matters.  Others
say no, look at the canvas that supports the art work. Without it, the
brush and paint would not matter.  So it is the canvas that makes the
art work complete.  This is commensurate with the makers of the brush,
the paint, and the plaster taking the credit for painting the ceiling
of the Sistine Chapel.


	There are people that say if you really want to know what
Aikido is all about come study with the martial arts that were it's
source.  Although very viable arts in their own right, they contribute
but a portion of their color and texture to the mosaic of Aikido.  The
art of Aikido is greater than it's parts!  The source and root of
Aikido springs

CHIEF INSTRUCTOR'S CORNER

OPEN PRACTICE

Over the years we have experimented with special classes for Open
Practice" When folks are focused on testing "open practice" classes
are well attended but the rest of the time, very few people make use
of the time.  I think this is because they do not have a good concept
of what "Open Practice" is or they lack focus on their own continued
development.

"Open Practice" time is for you to use for personal growth.  Most of
our classes are teaching events - the instructor determines what is to
be taught for the class and the students practice what is taught.
There is little time to explore the technique at speed and under
varying conditions.  As a result we have a number of techniques which
are taught, practiced but never really made a part of the student's
personal skills kit.  In order to refine what has been taught in
teaching classes, "Open Class" time is provided.


In September I am planning to change the Saturday adult program from
teaching classes to "Open Practice" except for those times when we
have a seminar, celebration or the monthly Instructors' Class.  This
change is being made so that you can have time for practice on the mat
with techniques you want to improve or develop further.  A senior
instructor will be in charge of each class period in order to assure
safe practice and to answer questions about specific techniques.  The
classes will be from 10-12 a.m. and 1:30-3:30 p.m. each Saturday
starting September 19th.

If you have any questions please contact me and I will discuss it with
you.  Advanced training classes will continue to be held at 1 p.m. on
Sunday and 9 p.m. on Friday.

FROM THE INTERNET

This reminds me of the biggest lesson I learned during the Aikido-L
seminar, which is, that in all the ryus I saw (and, I'll bet, in all
the ryus I didn't see), we are doing aikido. Our aikido is beautiful,
whether we study it under George Simcox (Ki society), Dennis Hooker
(Saotome style), Chuck Clark (Jiyushinkai), Aikikai, Tomiki,
Yoshinkan, Yoseikan, you name it. At the higher levels of practice
(I'm talking about the 30 year men) we are all effective, all
beautiful, and all doing the same thing. Remember Jim's joke that if
they were teaching at the same time, at some point they would all back
up into each other yelling at all the students, "Control the center!
Control the center! Control the center!" (or, to put it Tomiki style
from the above quotes, "assault uke's balance")
 

 In fact it seemed to me the reason we had different ryus was not each
ryu founder's understanding of aikido, but each ryu founder's approach
to teaching aikido. As if "how can we best convey this to someone new"
was the principal difference. Which made me feel that The Right (TM)
Aikido was whichever one that you can learn the best from. Personal
example, I loved what Chuck Clark's people demo'd, but due to certain
cranky, difficult character points of my own, I'd have a hard time
biting down on my orneriness long enough to learn the Jiyushinkai
way. No problem, there's a school for me out there that fits my
temperament. I hope to end up in the same place of skill and
relaxation that the Jiyushinkai people achieve. And the wonderful Ki
Society people, even though I'm an unbeliever.
 
 		Wendy, Aikido of Memphis

(Interesting Information from Ikeda Sensei Provided by Jun Akiyama and
used by permission)

I got to talk to Hiroshi Ikeda Sensei for a while (all in Japanese)
during the Washington DC Summer Camp, right after Tim Gion asked him
about the reason why the Bujin Design hakama had the pleats on in a
"mirror image" fashion.  This is basically what he told me.

The reason why Bujin Design hakama have the pleats in a "mirror image"
fashion is because it is our design.  That is all.  It's just the way
that we designed the hakama to be a Bujin Design "original" hakama.

I've heard there are some people out there who say that if the pleats
are reversed in this way, it's something out of tradition and you
shouldn't wear it.  I don't believe in that.  I do not think that the
hakama you wear influences your aikido or budo in any manner.


These days, if you were invited to the White House to meet the
President of the United States, you could conceivably go there in
jeans, T-shirt, and sandals.  Most likely, you wouldn't do that, but
you could.  Back in feudal times in Japan, if you were called up by a
daimyo or even the shogun and you showed up in "casual" clothing, your
head would most likely get chopped off due to disrespect.  Perhaps, if
you wore a hakama in which your pleats were reversed, you could lose
your head.  This kind of tradition extended into aikido as well, as
the roots of budo and, hence, aikido reach down into these traditions
developed in feudal Japan.

However, luckily for us, we're not living in feudal Japan any more.

There have been "advancements" in what we use to practice aikido.
There are now many aikidoka who wear Bujin Design's hakama with the
"Aiki Style" koshiita.  Back in feudal times in Japan, people didn't
mind wearing the stiff, rigid koshiita, because the people who wore
them back then were not going to be doing rolls or anything of that
sort.  When people started practicing jiujutsu, some people actually
injured their lower back due to the koshiita breaking.  This is one
reason why I made the "Aiki Style" koshiita.  I think that advancement
has been accepted by the aikido community very well.

Back when people started practicing aikido, everyone who wore a dogi
wore a judo gi top.  This wasn't due to the fact that there was some
rule or regulation that forced people to wear a judo gi top -- it was
just that there was no other dogi top to wear!

These days, you can see people wearing canvas based dogi tops (like
the one Bujin Design sells), karate dogi tops, and even some people
who wear the V-necked taekwondo gi tops.  Sometimes, beginners even
just wear a T-shirt and sweatpants during the beginning of their
training, as they have not yet purchased dogi.  This is all accepted.
It's not like if you wear a non-traditional hakama, your aikido
suffers.


In the same way, can we not take a look at the "lineage" of aikido?
If we were to say that we must be "traditional," should we not all be
training under Japanese shihan?  Can we not extend such "tradition" to
say that we can not learn "true" aikido through people who were not
with O-sensei?  Can we not say that unless you actually trained with
O-sensei himself, we are not learning "true" aikido?  I don't think
so.

How about the place that we call a "dojo"?  There are many dojo in
America which are situated in converted warehouses, in malls, and
other such places.  Even this week, we can call the DuFour Athletic
Center here at Catholic University with the mats that we borrowed from
people a "dojo."  If we wanted to be strictly traditional, these
places can not be a dojo.

Can we say that such places that were not built from the foundation on
up with the intent of that space being a place to practice "the way"
couldn't be called a "dojo"?  How many dojo in the United States were
built this way?  How many dojo have been formally blessed by Shinto
priests?  If such things were not done, couldn't you say that these
places are not, in fact, "dojo" any more?  I don't think so.

Take a look at churches.  These places of worship were not created by
God.  No, God did not create these churches; -people - did.  Churches
are spiritual because the - people - in these churches make it
spiritual; it is not spiritual just because it is a church.  It is the
same way with a dojo.  It does not matter where the dojo is.  As long
as the people practicing within that dojo have the spiritual mindset,
that place becomes spiritual.


Whether we practice in a warehouse, a garage, a park, or a gymnasium,
what - we - bring to the space makes it into a dojo.  What we bring
makes things spiritual.

"Katachi dewa naku, kimochi."  Not the shape, but the feeling behind
it.  If we were to just be wrapped up in merely the shape of things,
we would not be able to get to the feelings within.
 
TRAVELS

I went to the Maryland Summer Camp in Frostburg to study with Sensei
Eto.  Several of our members attended as well. Some from Merrifield,
Charlottesville, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.  I know they all left,
enriched by that they were taught and Sensei Eto's infectious good
humor and personality.

The visit to Peninsula went very well with two promotions to 4th Kyu.
They are moving from their location on Highway 17 in Grafton because
of the high rent.  They are continuing practice in Gloster County at
the residence of Steve Zimmerman and have pans to move the Dojo over
near Langley in September if all goes well.

At Richmond I was blessed with being able to instruct at the Aikido
Schools of Ueshiba facility on Main Street.  Our Club in Richmond is
practicing there during the summer while the school where they usually
practice is closed.  There were several Richmond Ki Club members there
as well as a goodly number from the host Dojo and their Sensei.  Also
in attendance was the Sensei from the Iwama Club in Richmond.  I had a
ball working with folks from so many different persuasions.  I think
we all left feeling enriched by the experience.

I dropped in at the Blue Ridge Ki Club satellite Dojo in Elkton which
is headed-up by Sensei Brian Kelley.  I was a bit late arriving but
ran over time so all went well.  They are a new group but very
enthusiastic and quick to learn.


I am off to Hawaii in Mid September for the seminar being conducted by
Master Tohei and his son.  I will report on it when I return.  Sensei
Jon Doner from Blue Ridge and Sensei Hal Abramson and his lovely wife,
Kelly, from Philadelphia will accompany me.  I should return with
information about the nest "World Taigi Competition" which has just
been changed from 1999 to 2000.  This announcement leaves open the
1999 plan for the USA Chief Instructor's meeting.  Let's all hope it
will be in Maryland!!!

George Simcox