by Robert Wolfe
Quite a lot happened during the month of July, and August will be busy as well. There are a number of news items and announcements to report. Let’s start with the news.
Aikido
seminar with John Stevens
As
part of his 2004 east coast tour, Stevens Sensei visited our dojo on Saturday,
July 10th. The classical aikido espoused by John Stevens seems an
exceptionally challenging and complete system, and the introduction we received
was thoroughly enjoyable in all respects. Please click
here for a complete report on this excellent seminar.
Shinto
Muso-ryu Jo kihon seminar with Diane Skoss
To
facilitate integration of new members to our jodokai, Diane has hit on the
notion of conducting quarterly seminars devoted to kihon (fundamentals).
Ideally, candidates for training in SMR Jo will accomplish the required class
visits here and interview at Shutokukan Dojo in New Jersey and be “batched”
to start actual training together at a quarterly seminar. The first of these
weekend sessions was held on July 23rd – 25th, and
although no new candidates had completed the admissions process in time to
participate this time around, the concept was proven.
A Friday evening practice was set aside for those training in the Chudan set, and focused on kihon from the perspective of students with a number of years of study already accomplished. Practices Saturday and Sunday were open to all members of the jodokai, and provided the opportunity for intense examinations of more elementary details in the fundamental exercises, as well as several periods of free training. Although the group was relatively small, it was geographically diverse, with representatives from five states: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Connecticut, and Colorado.
The westerners included Mike Fontenot and Chris Sibona from the Foothills Budokai in Lakewood, Colorado. Mike has been a good friend for more than ten years, and recently joined the Relnick line of SMR Jo. It’s great to be in the same organization again, and having him visit for this seminar — along with meeting Chris for the first time — was a real treat.
Overall, the seminar was a major success. The most junior members of the group received the most attention and in all cases more than doubled the material they have to work on. Of course, simply adding techniques to the repertoire without corresponding understanding is of limited value, but that wasn’t the case here. The degree of individual attention afforded by the format of training insured that the juniors came away with clear notions of not only what and how, but why.
Accepting SMR Jo candidates again
Due to recent attrition, there are now a few openings in our jodokai. Interested persons are cautioned to bear in mind that undertaking training in a koryu under the best of circumstances (i.e., with a local instructor) is a far more demanding endeavor than most people recognize; it’s even worse for those having (as we do) to drive more than two hours each way to get to our instructors.
Without having done so for an extended period of time, few people realize the impact of committing to making just one trip to New Jersey each month (the minimum expected for those admitted to study of koryu with Meik and Diane). Here’s a good way to look at it: we leave for New Jersey at 6:15 a.m. on the Sundays we make the trip east, which means we have to be up that morning no later than 5:00 a.m. To have sufficient sleep to make the drive safely, Saturday evening is pretty much written-off, and since we don’t get home any earlier than 4:00 p.m. on Sunday (assuming no problems whatsoever on the interstate), it’s the same as devoting an entire waking day to the trip. Twelve trips and you’ve already invested the better part of two weeks that year, toward the absolute minimal level of interaction required by our instructors. And this is exclusive of multi-day seminar participation, days of travel to and from distant seminars, and routine, day-to-day training.
If you think you’re up to it, by all means have a go, but if you’re anything less than utterly determined to train in Shinto Muso-ryu Jo it would be better for all concerned for you to look for something else to do.
Always welcoming new aikido students
“Something else” could well be aikido. Gendai (modern) budo tends to be much more inclusive and flexible than koryu budo, while offering many of the same benefits of training. For most people, arts like karate, judo, kendo, iaido, or aikido are the way to go.
Our aikido class provides a challenging technical study and a demanding physical workout, in an art with an intriguing philosophical perspective. Persons interested in training with us are invited to schedule an appointment to watch a class — we can readily integrate new members to the group at any time.
Aikido seminar with Ellis Amdur
Our instructor, Ellis Amdur, will be with us again the weekend of August 21st and 22nd for a seminar focusing on the ikkyu test-set requirements. This training will be open only to members of Itten Dojo and invited guests.