VKS KI TRAINING NOTES AUG 99 NOTICES: AUGUST INSTRUCTOR'S CLASS The June class will be held on Saturday, the 21st at 1:30. I want to discuss my philosophy of instruction, organization of instruction at Merrifield and hold a discussion of the recent National Instructor's Conference in Maryland. We will also discuss plans for our 25th Anniversary Celebration in September. Please try to make this class - it is important. SUMMER CAMPS Summer is over - this feature will return next year. CHIEF INSTRUCTOR'S CORNER One of our favorite teachers at the Dojo, Gregory Ford-Kohne, has announced his retirement from teaching. Gregory has been with the club since its early days at Specs Gymnastics, helped mightily with the painting of our first Dojo in Tyco Park. Later he assumed responsibility as an assistant instructor and later still as an instructor. Gregory's background in Yoga brought a dimension to his teaching that will bring a void to our training package and the alternatives it provides to the students. All of us will miss his contributions to the program but he felt it was time to move on with his life. John Oldenberg will be taking on Gregory's classes. He brings a solid background in Ki Aikido fundamentals to our program on Monday evening. The 1999 National Instructor's Conference was held lsast week in Maryland. First I would like to compliment Sensei Dan Frank and his students for a well run conference. They over came little problems - like no water fountain - smoothly and transparently to those who attended. Those of you who did not attend missed an awesome opportunity to train with one of the premier instructors from Ki Society Headquarters. Kataoka Sensei was in good form as he lead us through the principles of Ki Development and Ki Aikido, focusing on basics but always adding a little twist that made it all seem new again. For me personally I was able to see many old friends - always a highlight of my Aikido year. For others I am sure they made acquaintances which they will look forward to meting again at future conferences. Kataoka Sensei made several references to World Camps in Japan, with a special emphasis on next year when there will be both the World Camp and the 2nd International Taigi Competition. The events will be held in August with the Competition being held on the 5th and 6th and the World Camp between the 7th and 10th. I have preliminary information which I will provide to each Senior Instructor in the Virginia Ki Society attending the Instructor Class this month on the 21st. FROM THE INTERNET SEMINAR ATTENDANCE I went to my first aikido seminar about three or four weeks into my aikido training. Since then, I've attended on average at least one seminar a month. Over the years, in attending seminars ranging from those held at my home dojo to week-long summer camps across the country where I knew absolutely nobody, I've picked up a few tips that have made my attending these seminars more enjoyable. I thought I'd share some of them here with everyone. * If you're hesitant to attend a seminar because you feel too inexperienced, go to one any way. No matter your rank or experience, you will undoubtedly learn. If you still feel unsure, go to a seminar and just watch! Although there's no substitute for actually participating, watching seminars and classes is another form of training (mitori geiko). * Before attending the seminar, make sure you label your equipment - your dogi, bokken, jo, hakama, and anything else that may get shuffled in the crowd. I can't count how many seminars I've attended during which people have had to search for their unlabeled possessions. * Bring a couple of sets of dogi to the seminar. If there are multiple sessions in one day, you'll be much more comfortable in later sessions if you have a fresh, dry set of dogi to wear. Your training partners may, perhaps, even appreciate it, too... * If you will be traveling by airplane and will be taking your weapons (bokken, jo, shinai, shoto, tanto) with you, avoid using the term "weapons" when you check in your bag; airport security has been known to detain people who have used that term. I usually call them "stick for martial arts." One of my former teachers refers to her weapons as "dancing sticks." * Even before you step on the mat, make sure you hydrate yourself and have something in your stomach. By the time you're thirsty, it's already too late to be getting a drink of water; drink plenty of liquids at least an hour before each session. Avoid eating "heavy" foods and stick to easily digestible entrees. * During a seminar, I have found it easy to revert back to my "usual" patterns of doing techniques, moving, and thinking on the mat rather than attempting what is being shown. When this happens, I make an effort to watch what the instructor is doing and try what they are demonstrating. The differences in approach are oftentimes more important than their similarities. * Seminars are often crowded - sometimes far more crowded than regular classes. Look around you as you train and practice safely. A "cardinal" rule in aikido practice is to "throw to the outside" (i.e. towards the edge of the mat) rather than into the middle of the mat. If there are too many people, you may wish to just move your partner to the point of breaking balance. * Although it is tempting to work with folks with whom you are acquainted, training with new people whom you've never met is an important part of attending seminars. Feel their approach of interpreting what the teacher is demonstrating. Once again, you can learn from the differences. * Don't worry about absorbing everything. Picking up just one or two concepts from a seminar is often more enriching than trying to cram every single technique and nuance into your head. * If we are fortunate enough to be hosting a seminar at our dojo, please offer housing for people who will be attending. Having been one of those folks who has traveled to a totally "foreign" dojo, I will say that receiving a gift of being hosted by a local student or teacher is very precious. Perhaps, someday, you too will be in the situation of looking for a place to stay at a seminar... * Part of the fun of attending seminars is, indeed, what happens off the mat. Be friendly to those from out of town. Ask them about their home dojo. Invite them out to lunch. If you're the visiting guest, don't just hang out in the corner - get to know people. Sometimes, all it takes is saying, "Hi! What's your name?" * Perhaps, most importantly - have fun! Seminars can be seen as a celebration of a group of individuals all getting together for the purpose of learning aikido. Everyone at the seminar is there to learn aikido! If that's not a reason to celebrate, I don't know what is... Jun TRADITION The Japanese love the concept of tradition. It provides safe borders and justifications for many actions. Some are good, some are bad. I prefer a considered life to one governed by tradition. So too, I think, did the geniuses who founded the many arts which have survived for centuries. Tradition for it's own sake just isn't very healthy. It's what you do when you are too much of a coward to think for yourself. Having said that, I have a great deal of respect and love for the traditions of the arts I practice. I love and respect them because I have taken the time to examine them for myself. Classical Japanese budo masters are not remembered for their great teaching skills. They would demonstrate techniques, but most often they would not show you *how* they were doing it. Students were expected to steal the technique from the teacher themselves. There really was no instruction, silent or otherwise, in classical jujutsu dojos. Kano Jigoro Shihan was the first person to actually teach techniques, which is part of the reason Judo spread throughout Japan so quickly. Students could quickly learn the techniques. Kano mixed western learning theory into the budo pot, and to a large extent, most budo instructors in Japan now teach to a greater or lesser degree (Ueshiba M. Sensei was very traditional in his approach. No teaching. Show, and do. In koryu dojos today, I find the teaching atmosphere better than in most gendai dojos I have been in. There is much more camaraderie, and everyone is more relaxed. The teachers are generally excited to have any students (Kiyama Sensei was so disappointed to be losing a student when I left that he actually said something about it. This is almost unheard of in Japanese males of his generation!). My teachers talk, but not much. The emphasis is on learning to see what you are being shown. Matsuda Sensei always looks disappointed when he shows something several times and the student (me) still has no idea what he was looking for. Then he will say a few words to help me figure out what to look at, and show me again. Koryu budo, just like everything else in the world, changes over time. A koryu budo teacher who tried to teach in the old style would have no students. What I find amusing is how many of the gendai budo insist on trying prove they are traditional by using the brutal old methods. Ueshiba S. created his own traditions, as his teacher, Deguchi Onisaburo did. Omoto-kyo's kotodama theory seems to have been created almost entirely by Deguchi from what I have found. Of course, it is worth remembering that was, besides a builder of a religion and an adventurer on a fools quest in Manchuria, he was also a fantastic poet, painter, and potter. His tea bowls are some of the finest of this century (at least according to people who know about them. I'm just an ignorant slug.). I love tradition. It gives you a sense and knowledge of where you come from, and helps you determine where you are going. Just don't take traditions for granted. Look at them carefully. There are surprises, good and bad, hidden under tradition. Peter "the Budo Bum" Boylan TRAVELS August 13 - 15 Peter Bussell Sensei Summer Camp, Ottawa, Canada Sept 24 - 26 St. Louis Ki Society 20th Anniversary. October 6 - 7 Pittsburgh Seminar October 18 - 25 World Camp November 13 - Hampton Region Seminar