O'Sensei Morihei Ueshiba - Tenshinkai Aikido Federation

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The 24th commernorationi n Memory of
O'SenseMi orihei Ueshiba
(1983 r L969)
1993I nternatlonaMl artiaAl rts Festival
EDITOR'S NOTE:
Thet estivawl ill be held on the 21s t and 22nd of May, 19 93a t the Shera-
Ailcido Insights welcome its readers.
ton UniversalH otel,i n UniversaCl ity.
In this issuey ou will read about the
PhongS ensa i and Tenshin kaiN kido Federationh ave theh onor to par-
Co mmemorationo f O'S e n se ip as s i ng ticipatei n thisg rande vent.P hongs enseiw ill give a demonstrationw ith a group
the SilverA nniversaryo f Tenshinkai of studentso n thee veningo f the 21 st. on saturdayt he2 2nd,p hong senseiw ill
Ailcido Federationa nd Ailcido train- givea two-hours eminar.
ing. Othern otedr nasfersi nclude WallyJ ay, toth Dan, SmaltC ircte Jujitsu;
KarlM an,9th Dan,K eichu-RyKu arateJ; ohn Williamsq, th Dan,S hinto-R yuN ki
Dang ThongP hongS enseoi penst his Juiitsu;W aiM ing Chau,l nheritora nd Prof.; PegW Chau, Situ,W uM ui KungF u
issue by sharing his reflection of and many othersw ill participate.
O'Senseiduringhistr ip to theH ombu Therei s a specialr atef or Tenshinkami embersI.f you are interested,
Dojo in lapan in 1967. pleasec ontacPt hongs enseit or advancer egistrationb eforeM ay 10th.,1993.
N. Ho follows Sensei'sa rticle with his My SecondF amily
reporto f the SilverA nniversaryC ele-
bration of TenshinkaL By Mai Chi Hong, 8yrs.o ld
Twoy earsa go I wentt o seem y cousins Insteado f practicintge chniquews itht he
Hoa Na,veruD, anelTantorl BethH all, practicAe ikidol.t lookedfu n.I wenth ome adults,m y brotherh, is frienda nd I prac-
BruceM acLeod Alqander MacLeo{ andt houghat boutit .T henI a skedm ym om ticedw itht he"sticks"I. wast he onlyg irl
Genevieve MacLeod share their permissiotno joint heB udoC enter. thereI. feltv erys pecialMl yS enseiis very
memories and impressions of the nicea nds mail.H et eachesre allyw ellt oo.
Ont hef irstd ayI wass careda ndl onelyI. Sometimeh e playsw ithu s. My Sensei's
anniversarye vent.
didn'tk nowa nybodyT. herew erel ots of nameis DangT hongP hong.
people,b othA mericana nd Vietnamese.
Finally, Mai Chi Hong Robin Sarac, Twow eekl aterI metL ynnS. hei s nicea nd A boyi n myc lass,n ameD avidw, how ears
Gary Welboma nd QuangH ai Nguyen helpedm eg etu sedt o beingw ithp eopleI glassest,o ld met hath e livesi n Anaheim
have written about: Foundation of didn'tk nowI. havefo urn ewfriendtsh ata re butl thoughht es aid" BannahimH.e"l ivesin
Technt4u€, and the Budo Centera s nicet oo. OrangeC ounty.
My SecondF amily.
Thee xercisies f unb uts ometimedsi fficult. Onem ontha fterI startedin A ikidom, yd ad
Afterth ew arm-upe xercisetsh er ollinga nd joinedi n.H ep racticews ithm yb rothear nd
Ailcido Instghts staff warmly thanl<s breakfalblse ginl.f y ouc an'tr ollo r breakfall mea t home.N ow,a ftert woy earsw itht he
everyonew hoh avew rittena rticles,a s yous eatd owno n thes ide. BudoC enterI, havem anym oref riends,
wella st hen umerousin divi^dualws ho manym orei nstructorasn d I spendm any
I wasi nt hreefe stivalsI h. adt o praticeh ard hoursa t the centerT. heya rel ikem y sec-
have attendedt he Anniversarya nd
to be in the festivalO. n FridayF, ebruary ondf amily.
Seminar. 19th,1 993I, tookp arto f the adultc lass, tr
Lastly, our heartfelt thanl<st o fac-
queline Haycox, Regina Uliana,
Howard Anderson, Duong Dinh,
Richard Smith and many othersf or
theirtimea nd efforti n completingthis
issue.
As you continuet o learn and growi n
Aikido, we would appreciateh earing
from your experiencesY. our articles
cAnb e sentt o Aikido Insights.
It'ss pringt ime again!A ikido Insights
wishesy ou the besto f the season.
Jim Wenrick
AFew Dayswith
O'SENSEIM ORIHEI UESHIBA
By SenseDi ang ThongP hong
On thisverydayt wenty-fouryearsa goi n on the mat,s eeingt he diligencea nd as-
1969O, 'SenseMi orihei Ueshiba,f ounder siduity of Doshu KisshomaruI wase n-
of Aikido left his disciplesf or eternity. couragedto train veryh ard.A lso, I made
Until now and forever,O 'sensewi ill live everyeffortt o go to the dojo nvicea day.
gloriouslyi n our hearts,a nd in my heart
as a bright exampleo f learning.H e ex- The secondd ay as we were doing exer-
celledi n the art ofself-defensea, swella s cisesm, yblackb elt companions uddenly
beinga proponento f a martial art phi- madea bow. Under the dojo custom,i t
losophys ervingp eace,p rivate and pub- meantt hat hew ase ither too tired or for
lic welfare. some other reasonc ould not go on. I
looked around and saw that everyone
I arrived at Hombu Dojo on November wass itting down.A nd to my great sur-
L7th, 1967a t 4:00 pm. Becauseo f the prise, I saw O'SenceiM orihei Ueshiba Flowever, I could comprehend him
geographicl atitude, Tokyo was almost comingi nto the dojo. through his demonstration of throun,
nvilight at 4:00p m. Lightsw ereo n in the and I wasa ble to deducet he theories.
streets,b right white here, red there. It Hewaso vere ightyyearso ld.A t that a5e,
was colder in Japan than in Vietnam, O'Sensehi ad the appearanceo f all aged All the techniquest aught by O'Sensei
making me ill at easeo f an isolatedf or- men, with wrinkles and hollow cheeks. required "Ki". To combine theory and
eignv isitor on the streetsa t dusk. But therew asa profoundd ifferenceb e- technigue,t he black belt made a step
tweenh im ando ther teachersI hadm et. fonrard to grasp O'Sensei.I n the nn'in-
However, I felt a gteat warmth when I The differencec onsistedo f O'Senseei x- kling of an €I€, the blackbelt studentf ell
enteredt he Aikido Headquartersb uild- traordinaryp oiler andf [email protected] t is a strength on his back.T ime after time, he roseu p
ing. I was received by a woman from I could not believee xistedi f I had not and attackedO 'Sensei.E ach time the
California,t o whom I introducedm yself seenw ith my own eyes. attackw asn eutralized.
anda fter somec onversationl,e arnedt hat
shew ast he editor of their qrumerlyn eun- O'Sensewi avedh is arm to the right, and EventhoughI alreadyk new that O'Sensei
paper" Aikido'. Shewasu ndergoingtr ain- a black belt studenti mmediatelys tood was an expert at defending himself.
ing everyd ay and held a secondd egree up andm adeabowH. ebeganh isl ecture Neverthelesst,o watch a strong young
blackb elt. in JapaneseI. understoodn othing. man attackinga very old man madem e
feelu neasyT. o myam azementO, 'sensei
Half an hour later, I wasr eceivedb y Mr.
KisshomaruU eshiba,s on of O'Sensei
Morihei Ueshiba.W hen hewasi nformed
of my desire to see the dojo, he was
greatlyp leased.I took that occasiont o
askp ermissiont o train at the dojo.
The next d.y, I arrived at the dojo at F
(o
6:00ama nd spent half an hour doing o)
F
calesthenticst o warm up my muscles.
o
Aftenvards, a senior member came to c\t.,
greetm e and the trainingb eganA. s I sit cFon
writing, I cans till seec learlyt he "shiho- o,
c
nage"m ovementsT. hewrist of my part- o
c
ner wass o thick that I could only lvrap a-
B^
my fingersh alf way around it.
c
o
\
The morningp racticesla stedt wo hours, o
and I had alreadyb eenw eakenedb y two lhoa
weekss tayi n Korea,b ecauseo f the unfa- qrhof
a-
miliar climate,d rink andf ood. But back
mades omet hroun which madet he opponentf all without touching I arrived at the Aikido World Headquartersf irst as an
him. No one would suspectt hat his inner force was so strong.I individual havingt he honor of returning to the mother
thought that his body must conform to the lawso f nature. schoolt o be traineda nd apply for the third degreeb lack
belt examination.S econda s a representativeo f Aikido
Vietnail, I presenteda photo of all thememberso f the
Aikido dojosi n Vietnam. He looke,da t it and raisedi t
over his headf or everyonet o see. Then O'Sensesi poke
with his eyesh alf closed. It seemedt hat he wasp raylng
for the peaceo f Vietnam and the world.
Time elapsedq uickly. It waso n my fourteenthd aya nd I
was allowed to take the examinationf or third dan by
KisshomaraU eshiba.
Fifteenm inutesh adp assedI.w as on the edgeo f exhaus-
tion--toot ired by havingt o matchp artnerss everatli mes
strongera nd taller than myself.
Aftenpards,I wasi nvited to havel unch with the staff of
the Aikido newspaper.I n a cordial atmospheret hey
DoshuK isshom aru lJeshibad emonstration
askedm ea boutt he expansiono f Aikido in Vietnama nd
Photo takenb Y Phong Sens ei (1967)
aboutm y personali mpressiono f Japan.
Beforel eavingJ apan,I attendeda n Aikido exhibitionb y
O'SenseMi orihei Ueshiba,K isshomaruU eshiba,S enseis
of the Hombu Dojo, In attendantw eres everahl undred
balck belt studentsf rom various universitiesi n Japan.
O'Senseip erformedd uring this exhibition,u singo nly a
fan to fight againsdt aggersa nds wordso f his opponents.
At the endo f the demonstrationI, bid farewellt o O'Sensei,
the Fathero f Aikido. He warmly advisedm e and other
Aikido disciplesto wholeh eartedlyd evelopo urselvesin
one spirit of mutual assistancaen d peace.
I rememberO 'Sensei,h is goldenw ords,a nd the taskI
havet aken upon myselft o dedicatem y life to Aikido.
On this duy,w ith a heartfelt remembranceo f O'Sensei
PhongS enseai t HombuD ojo (Nov.1 991)
passingI, wishe achs tudentt o practicew ith diligencein
order learna nd grow in Aikido.
I
ru
ryp
?
*
Tenshink ai Aikido Federation
Celebrateslt s 25th Birthday
By N.Ho
an organizationt o be called the "TEN- berta,C anada.I n addition, many black
On the 1.6tha nd lTth of Janu- SHINKAI AIKIDO FEDERATION.'' belt grade former students of Tensh-
zty, L993,a t the FederationH eadquar- The nameT enshinkai,m eaning" God's inkai Aikido Federationc amef tom geat
ters Dojo in Westminster,C alifornia, Hean Associatiorqw" ilsg ven by O'sensei distanest o asist at the @remonyA. mong
the Tenshinkai Aikido Federation cele- Morihei Ueshibaa nd DoshuK ishomaru them were Mrs. Cathie I-e Minh Anh,
*AO
brated the twenty fifth anniversaryo f its Ueshiba to the Vietnam Aikido affili- Vietnamese DAI" designerin Paris,
foundation. ation in the 60's. They also entnrsted France;M r. Vo TruongTho ftomMchi-
SenseiP hong\ Mitht he duty of organiz- gan;M r. Truong Dai Hyfrom Texasa nd
It is known that in L967 Sensei Dang ing andp ropagatingth e Aikido art in the Mr. Tran van Quangf rom Oklahoma.
Thong Phong,a fter havings tudiedA ikido spirit of "Love" and "Peace."
with Grand Master Mutsuro Nakazono At 10 a.m. sharp the celebration was
and Nobuyoshi Tamura from 1960 to More than two hundred Aikido mem- inauguratedb ya majors peechft om Sensei
1963 in Vietnam, went to the Aikikai bersw erep resenta t the inaugurationo f Dang Thong Phong, prosident and
Hombu Dojo in Tokyo,J apan,t o attend the celebration. There was participa- founder of Tenshinkai Aikido Federa-
Aikido classesu nder the instruction of tion by manyA ikido groupss ucha st hose tion. He beganh is speechb y greeting
O'SenseiM orihei Ueshiba and Doshu of the followingc hiefi nstructors:S ensei the guests,t he friendly Aikido teams,
Kishomanr Ueshiba It wasa t the Hombu Frank McGouirlq 5th dan, of the Aikido- and the Federation membersw ho had
Dojo that he gainedh is 3rd degreeb lack AiDojo in Whittier;S enseKi imPeuser, come ftom great distan@s. Then he
belt after an examinationty Aikido Dmhu 5th dan, and SenseiH oa Newens,5 th summarizedt he formation of the Fed-
KisshomaruU eshiba. dan, both of the Aikido Institute in eration and its trrenty five yearso f con-
Oakland;S enseNi akayamaJ amesM ori- tinuous history including its five year
After returning to his native Vietnam, taka, 4th dan, of ChushinkanD ojo in presencein the United States. He did
SenseiD ang Thong Phong compiled a Anaheim and SenseVi an Duong of the not forget to praiset he Aikido philoso-
text of regulationsa nds tatutest o found Fort SaskatchewaAn ikido Club in Al- phy and the Aikido practitioners'c on-
-5-
ception of life, which is to know how to She brought it from Paris as an offering This could be seenb y their mirthfully
live in harmony with others. It goes to the Federation from a student to the passionatec ountenance.A fact deserv-
without sayingt hat Aikido is a martial Mother Dojo. All members who had ing everybody'sn otice was that NO
art, but the aim of this martial art is not contrlbuted their labor and their merit SHOUT, NO ROAR was heard in the
to seekv ictories through comPetitions to the Federation since its foundation dojo that day as is often heard in some
as most other martial arts do. Aikido were issued certificates of appreciation. otherl \dartialA rts schools.A ll the'TE s,'
teachesu s how to win over our bad na-
turesa ndu ndesirableb ehaviots.I t stresses We thenw itnessedo ut-
thedevelopmenot f our abilityto mingle standingA ikido exhibi-
with society and to live harmoniously tions by the Aikido dele-
with others in everydaYli fe. gations. To begin,
SenseisKimP euserand
In a tenses ociety,a societyo f stress,a Hoa Newens of the
societyi n which violence is seen as a Aikido Institute in
legitimatem eanso f makingw ealth,a nd Oakland performed
a societyi n which honor is won by domi- incrediblyw ith their stu- I
natinga nds ubduingi ngenuousp eople's dents. Then Sensei
wishes,A ikido is a perfect meditation. JamesN akayamaMori-
Aikido is "TAO," it is "ZEN" and it is taka and his students
the wayt o serenitya nd relamtion. Aikido from Chushinkan in
is not merelya martiala rt asm ostp eople Anaheim presenteda n
think. Aikido is seena s a Martial Art amazinge nhibition.T his
becausei t is a perfect self defense. wasf ollowed by Sensei
However,l ooking into the matter thor- TruongV an Duonga nd
oughly,w € must concludet hat Aikido is his studentsf rom the
NOT a Martial Art. Sayrng" Martial Fort Saskatchewan
Arts" is suggestingth at force is used. In Aikido Clubo f Alberta,
Aikido we never use force, especially Canada Finally,t he host
force of the muscles. We only use the Aikido teamf rom Sensei
powero f our mind. We concentrateo ur Dang Thong Phong's
mind in "K['s WAY," in the Power Tenshinkai Aikido
emanatedfr om our spirit, in the motion FederationH eadquar-
of our body in circlesa round the central tersi n Westminsterfa s-
point of our being which is our brain cinatedt hes pectatorswithit s admirable the "WAA's" and the "LJKEMI's" were
from where all orders are given to our extribition.T he ceremonye ndeda t 1'1,:30performed through soft and gentle
limbs which act in conformancee xactly a.m. movementsi n a peacefula tmosphere.
with thoseo rders. The spectatorsh ad the feelingo f being
In the afternoona n Aikido seminarf or in a danceh all, not a Martial artss tudio,
Following his speerh,S enseDi ang Thong adults was held. About 70 Aikido althought he glitter of daggersw erev ery
Phong respectfullyh andede ach of the membersf rom variousd ojos enrolled, often seen.
aforementioned Aikido delegationsa andt he Senseitso ok turnst eachingA ikido
bouqueta nd a picture to keepa ss ouve- techniquest o the participants. Each On the next dty, at 2:00 p.m. sharP,a
nirs marking the maturity of the federa- Sensedi emonstratedh is or her special black belt awardingc eremonyw ash eld
tion. After that, Mr. JamesW enrick, method,s howingh is or her own way of at TenshinkaAi ikido FederationH ead-
Editor-in-Chief of Aikido Insights,t he realizingt he Aikido art. Aikido mem- quartersD ojo. Most of the guestsw ere
official 'toice" of the TenshinkaiA ikido bers of eachd ojo realizedi mmediately parentsa nd relativeso f Dojo members.
Federation, presenteda silver cup to that the proverb "MIGHT IS RIGHT" SenseDi ang Thong Phonge mphasized
SensePi hong. This presentwasg ivent o is wrong. Smallp eople,u suallys eena s in hiss peechth e importantd ailyd utyo f
symbohzpth e unceasingn renty-fivey ear weak, could see their inferiority com- the black belt holderst o exchangete ch-
activity of Master Photrg,a period filled plexesv anishi mmediately.F urthennore, niquesw ith classmateso r partners in
with pain and difficulties. Many other they felt themselvesf lytng in the air. order to develop and grow. Attaining
presentsw ere offered to SenseiP hong They had the feeling that their limbs the degreeo f blackb elt is only the first
by the Aikido Delegationst o welcome suddenlyb ecameli ght andn imble. They stepo n the stairsl eadingt o the thresh-
the elebration In partiarlar, Mrs. Cathie wanted to participate in the "Aikido old of the door to the Aikido commu-
I-e Minh Anh offered a very beautiful dance,"t hed anceo f craneso, f peacocks, nity. Blackb elt bearersm usts ensea nd
portrait of O'sensei Morihei Ueshiba of Phoenixs preadingt heir wings lei- understandt heir duty toward the Dojo
which she had painted in color on silk. surelya bovea ll the brutal attackso f life. and toward the community. They must
-6-
cooperatew ith the Boardo f Instructors
to teacha nd help news tudentsi n order
to propagatea s soon as possiblet his
noblea rt to all classeso f the society.
SenseiD ang Thong Phong read the
nominativeli st of practitionersw ho had
just passedth e lst andZ ndd egreeb lack
belt examination. First degreeb lack
beltsa ndh akamasw ereo fficial$ awarded
to Mr. Au DuongD i, Mr. ChanS amW ay
and Mr. Ngo Chien by SenseiD ang
Thong Phong, os Presidento f Aikido
Federation.S econdd egreeb lackb elts
werea wardedt o Mr. NguyenM inh Hai
and Mr. CaoX uan Chieu. This wast he
first time in the United Statest hat the
TenshinkaiA ikido Federationh ad is-
sueds econdd egreeb lackb elts. A ses-
siono f Aikido exhibitiont ook placea fter
theb lackb elt ceremonyT. hise xhibition
wasp erformede xclusivelby y the Tensh-
inkai Aikido FederationH eadquarters
Dojo members.T he exhibitionw ent on
in an enthusiastica tmosphere.
A gitt of Osensefp ortraitb y Mrs.L e MinhA nh, ParisF, rance.
(Above)
After two dayso f celebration,t he 25th
A demonstratiobny JamesF ish er andJ im Ogborn.
anniversaryo f the foundation of the
(Below)
TenshinkaAi ikido Fbderatione ndedw ith Shodana dvancemenMt, r.A u DuongD i
a toast of cocktailso fferedb y the Fed- (Below- Left)
erationt o all assistingm embena ndg uests
in a friendty,m errya tmosphereI.t marked
the affirmationt hat the TenshfurkaAi ikido
Federationh as attained a stable posi-
tion in the internationalc ommunityo f
Aikido andh ass howni tselft o beworthy
of admirationa nd respect.
fty w*fc*ffitffis
fitr}dr n*rfimf'$,**.
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!:illi'
-7 -
Ai kido-Ai, Whittier, Cali fornia
by Frank McGouirk Sensei.
(Above-Left)
Aikido lnstitute, Oakland, California
by Km Peuser Sensei and Hoa NewensS ensei.
(Above-Right)
Fort Saskatchewan Aikido Club, Alberta,C anada
by Van Duong Sensei. (Above)
Chushinkan Dojo, Anaheim, California
by James Nakayama Sensei. (Right)
A demonstrationb y members of the Aikido lnstitute
and Km Peuser Sensei. (Below-Left)
NidanA dvancement,
Mr. Cao Xuan Chieu and Mr. NguyenM inh Hai.
(Below-Right)
-8-
Seminarb y FrankM cGouirkS ensei.
(Above-.Left)
Demonstratiobny JamesN akayamSa ensei
(Above-Right)
Seminabr y Dang ThongP hong Sensef
(Above)
Demonstratiobny memberso f TenshinkaDi ojo
(Right)
Demonstratiobny VanD uongS ensei
(Below-Left)
ShodanA dvancemenMt, r. NgoC hien
(Below-Right)
-9-
Memoryo f the periencea rthitic pains or other ailments. TO BEA STUDENT...
Longerw arm up exercisesm ay be needed By Robin Sarac
SilverA nniversary in extremelyc old weather.A nother impor- Fort SaskatchewaAn ilcido Club.
tanti temi st het raininga rea,s pecificallyth e
Edmonton,A lb erta , CANADA
Celebration mats.J udo matsm ay be too hard and less
shock absorbing as compared to other
trainingm ats designedt o soften the fall To be a student of Aikido requirest hat
By Darrel E. Tanton from varioust hrcwingt echniques.W e must onep ossescse rtaina ttributes,in cluding
Fort Saskafc hewan Aikido Club bear in mind that the hardert he landing patience,d edication, humility' and a
sufface,t he lessert he amounto f repetitive willingnesst o helPo thers.
Recentlyf ellow student returnedf rom a re- fallstheh umanb odyc anwithstandF. inally,
wardings eminari n L.A.w ith SenseiD ang we musth avea good,s ensiblea ttitudea nd In my case,p atiencew as the first trait
Thong Phong. Some students were im- be enthusiastic. that wasp ut to the testd uringt he initial
presseda tthe skilll evelo f the L.A.A ikidoist stageso f my Aikido training. Having
who endure regular,r igorous training,a s We area lls tudentso f Aikido;w e must help takenK arate,I wasu sedt o seeinga ni m-
well as enhancedt echniqued eliverys peed. eacho ther ! Therem ust be continualc on- mediatep racticale ndt o everytechnique
cernf or our uke'sw ell-b eing.W e should
I wass hawn.W hile manyA ikido tech-
Tlehvies lio sff isnkeil,l i af an sdt cuodnednitth ioansi onbget anianbeldina g hh igimh tahlwe auykser e. Tsphounsd l,er esasectna inndgt h haer mchoannizceew fiothr niquesc an be very practical,t hesea re
or her to respond and react to this type of injuries! usuallyt aughtl ater in the trainingp roc-
training.T his skill leveli s not attainedo ver- ess.T he Aikido studentm ustb e willing
nightl For instance,b efore attemptingt o Rememberw, e train for fun, fitness,a s a to practicbasicte chniqueso verando ver
delivera techniquef ast you must develop hobby, a vocationa nd then self-defense. again until they fell natural and fluid'
timing, coordinating,c ontrol and concen- We aren ot in competitionw, e do not spar! This takes me to the next imPortant
trdion. without these skillss peed only leads The definitiono f Aikido is the way to har- quality,d edication.
to an iniury.O nce a studentd evelopst im- monyw ith Kl. Kl is the lifef orce,t he univer-
ing, coordination,c ontrol and concentra- sal power,t he powerw hich lies dormanti n Any student,n ewcomero r veteran'w ill
tion, he then has achieveds peed,o r shallI most humans and waits to be awaken. required edicationD. edicationt o put in
say controlleds Peeds! Therforet,h erei s no competitionin Aikido' the many hours of training requiredt o
onlyh armony!lf onew ishest o be competi-
Our goal as students must be to acquirea tive,h e or she should be practicinga n art perfectt he foundamentalso f Aikido that
high levelo f skill to implementt echniques that encouragesc ompetitiont,o urnaments, makei t look so veryg raceful,a ndm ake
swiftly, correctly and with total considera- and sparrings uch as Karateo r Tae Kwon it sucha potent form of self defense.
tionf orthe uke,w ho must responda ccord- Do! In addition,a studentsw ill needt o grown
ingly.T herea re manyv ariablest o consider in humility to accept instruction and
when discussingt he path to hard training Hopefullyin t imew e willa chieveh ighs kills criticismf rom fellow studentsa sw ell as
and controlleds Peed ! in Aikidow hich will encompassa pplying your sensei--regardlesosf their rank'
techniquesa nd respondingto techniques Humility to realizet hat we are all stu-
lwillstateS omefactorsI believewem ustb e properly.A good uke must react and flow dentsw e mustw ork togethert o achieve
awareo f whent rainingi n Aikido.F irsto f all, witht he techniquea ppropriatelyT.h is could the harmonyt hat is the hearta nds oulo f
monthso ryearso f trainingd oes not consti- be int hef orm of breakfallb, ackrollf,r ontroll Aikido. This bringsm e to the final qual-
tute a high skill level.K nowledgea nd skill etc.. .M osti mportantlyt,h et echniquesm ust
attaineda nd retained are most impoilant. be applied correctlyw ith concern to the ity I will disscust:h e willingnesst o help
This requiresc ontinual, repetitivep ractice skillsl evelo f theu ke.T hisi s criticailn order others.
both physicallya nd mentallyW. e musttake to preventi niuriesP. leaseu nderstandin iu-
note of the various physical capabilities riest aket imet o healr esultingin setbacks Aikido is not aboutc ompetitioni,t cen-
and inabilitieso f others.S ome may not be or permanendt isabilitiesI.n iuriesa lso could ters around harmony.T o achievet his
in good health, may not be as flexible or preventa personf rom working,r esultingin harmony, studentso f Aikido should
may be sufferingo r healingf rom previous financialc atastrophiesT. herefore,p lease possesas willingnesst o help othen. They
injuriesS. izei s anotheri nterestingfa ctor,a try to developt he basict echniques,s kills musts trivet o help other studentsp rog-
smalls tatureo r lightf ramem ay enableo ne anda warenessE. verythinge lsew illfalli nto ress and gain a solid knowledgea nd
to achieveg reaters peed,a gilitya ndf lexibil- place! understandingo f the philosophyb ehind
ity. This may also be an advantagew hen Aikido. Aikido is not just a seto f move-
completingv arious breakf alls.A ge brings I concludeb y stating," Do unto othersa s
othera reaso f concerns uch as lessf lexibil' you would have do unto you!" Try to re- mentsd esignedto neutralizeo r project
ity, lesse ndurance,b rittleb ones,o r possi- spectA ikido,y our senseia nd fellows tu- an attacker,i t is a PhilosoPhYA: WAY
bly reduced speed. Another variable to dents. Be concernedf or their healtha nd OFLIFE.
consideri s priors killsa nd training.P eople well being.W ith hope, luck and persever-
who have backgroundsi n otherm artiala rts ence,w e can be togetherf or many years Thesea reb y no meanst he only qualities
or sports may adapt quickert han others. enjoyingA ikidoa sw ella s sharingt he arto f requiredt o be successfuinl your Aikido
We could also consider the weather,- 30 TenshinkaAi ikidow ithf utureg enerations! training,b ut theya re someo f the most
degreeC elciusc ould cause peoplet o ex- n obviousi n life. I
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