A slideshow with a couple-hundred of the photos I took this weekend during the seminar with Robert Nadeau Shihan, at Aikido of San Diego. (Better yet, watch it full-screen on Flickr.)
A great time, lots of fun people to train with, beautiful weather, and of course fantastic teaching. Many thanks to everyone who made it possible.
I am participating in a seminar this weekend with Robert Nadeau Shihan, at Aikido of San Diego. Friday evening was a question and answer session. Very interesting stuff. I feel very fortunate to have him here, and grateful for his time in sharing his realizations and experiences with us.
My teacher’s teacher is coming to our dojo in April. My teacher, Dave Goldberg Sensei, is a student of Robert Nadeau Shihan. Nadeau Shihan will be leading a seminar at Aikido of San Diego, April 9-11, 2010.
Nadeau Shihan, 7th Dan, trained in Japan with O Sensei in the 1960s. He has been teaching Aikido since 1965. He runs two dojo: Aikido of Mountain View, and City Aikido in San Francisco. His students have included several of my favorite Aikido authors: George Leonard, Wendy Palmer, and Richard Strozzi-Heckler Sensei. He is a founder and division head (Division 3) of the California Aikido Association. It is an honor to have him come to work with us.
I had the privilege of training with Nadeau Shihan last year, before I’d even tested for 6th kyu, and very much enjoy and “get” his approach to teaching. I’m really looking forward to training with him again, now that I have a tiny bit more experience and perspective.
This year, Friday evening will be a question and answer session. We’ve been invited to submit questions. I thought it might be interesting to share my questions here. If you want the answers, come to the seminar. Not that all, or any, of these will be asked, of course. Lots of people will be asking questions. This is just my unfiltered list - the things I wonder about.*
Your Experience of Aikido
Q: What brought you to Aikido?
Q: Is there something in your background that made you particularly receptive to, or inquisitive about, what has been available for you in Aikido?
Q: Did you find support and validation in Aikido for who you were already, or did Aikido change you?
Q: Is there something you wish you’d discovered or realized earlier in your Aikido training that would’ve helped you grow or learn? Or something you actually did discover or realize, that fundamentally changed your approach or understanding?
Or perhaps is there something you hope your students can grasp (or let go of), that would help them? Is there something you see your students struggling with, that you wish they could just *get* more easily?
Q: Are there activities you find to be complementary to your Aikido practice? (Meditation, gardening, …) Would you recommend them to others, or does everyone have to find their own way?
Q: In your experience of the larger “I” knowing who you are (such as why you love “junk,” or love movement), were those sudden realizations, that you immediately saw (“Aha!) to be true? Or did you go through a lot of seeking and questioning before you discovered what was so for you?
Q: Do you continue to make discoveries about yourself through your practice of Aikido? How has that changed over time?
Aiki
Q: What kind of change of consciousness, or development of consciousness, is possible through Aikido? What might that look like, in people’s lives? In a community? In the world?
Q: How does Aikido work? How much is mechanics, psychology, emotion, spiritual, energetic? Or do those characterizations even make sense in the context of Aikido?
The Art of Aikido
Q: If Aikido is a way of helping to bring peace and happiness to the world, what is the process by which you see that happening?
Q: How has Aikido changed since you first came to it? Has it expanded and strengthened? Or lost focus, gone off the tracks, or become diluted?
Q: What are your hopes for the future of Aikido, and how might that future come about?
Teaching, Sensei, and Students
Q: Do you see a correlation between the reasons people come to Aikido, and their likelihood to stay with the practice? Or maybe, does it matter why people walk through the door of the dojo, or just that they do?
Q: What do you see as the best way to teach Aikido? Does the teacher convey knowledge directly, simply demonstrate, or support the student somehow in making discoveries on their own?
Q: What do you see as a Sensei’s place in a student’s life? Instructor of practical skills? Role model? Spiritual guide? Counselor? Parental figure? Friend?
Q: What do you hope your students (or students of Aikido in general) will get from practicing Aikido?
Q: What do you hope your students (or students of Aikido in general) might contribute to Aikido?
Your Experience of O Sensei
Q: How would you characterize your relationship with O Sensei?
Q: Did O Sensei make requests of you (and of others, if you know), like “Go back to the U.S. and teach this”? Was he teaching his students to teach, necessarily?
Q: You have said that O Sensei had a process by which he could quickly jump into a bigger / higher level of himself. Could you tell us about the nature of that process? (Was it a physical practice? Meditation or prayer?)
Q: Do you think that Aikido today is (or is becoming) what O Sensei envisioned for it? Is it growing and spreading as he’d hoped? Affecting humanity as he’d intended? Better / worse / different?
Q: If you could spend an evening talking with O Sensei now, what would ask him? Or tell him?
In thinking about these questions, it struck me that the world might be a much different place for many, many people, had a certain young Robert Nadeau not somehow connected with Aikido. Just another example of how one pebble can make waves affecting an entire ocean.
*It occurred to me the day after posting these questions (and sending them off to Sensei) that I’d be interested in hearing others’ answers to them as well. If you teach Aikido, or have just practiced for a long time (however you define that), please feel free to copy some or all of my questions, and answer them on your own blog or Web site. I’d appreciate a mention, and please let me know where I can go to read your answers. Thanks!
Long time, no blog post! After the recent seminar, circumstances promptly dumped me back into my normal life. Work was busy. The weather was insane, with the most dramatic storms we’ve seen in years. The power was unreliable for days. Rainy the horse, and the donkeys, have needed extra tending with all the rain and muck. And after one 6-hour power failure our refrigerator broke for good, which meant an evening throwing out everything, and filling an ice chest with enough to get by on. It’s been like camping in our own house. On top of that, I’ve been training all I can, because my 5th kyu test is coming up a week from Saturday.
Now work is settled back into a good steady pace. The rain is coming down more gently. The new fridge arrives tomorrow, and we’re making a restocking run in the evening. Training for my test is proceeding apace. Almost back to a normal routine.
For the past week I’ve been wanting to post something to sum up my experience of the Aikido Bridge Friendship Seminar. It was such a long, intense, diverse, and new experience it’s hard to know where to begin, so I’ll start at the end.
I’ve lived in San Diego County all my life. It’s a lovely place. People from all over come here for vacations. Whenever I’ve flown back into San Diego on a commercial flight there have been people visibly and vocally excited about coming here, many for the first time. “Yay! We’re in San Diego!!!” It doesn’t matter where I’ve been, what I’ve seen, what I’ve been doing, when I come back here I have that same feeling. It’s not only that it’s familiar and comfortable, it’s really a beautiful, rich, amazing part of the world. I’m very lucky to live here, and happy to be home.
Coming back to my own dojo after the seminar, which actually was my vacation, was a similar experience. I feel so fortunate to have a great “home” to return to. Tonight’s classes just reinforced that feeling once again. I’m very lucky to live here, and happy to be home.
The seminar was the first Aikido training I’d done outside of events with my own dojo. The facility was lovely, and the event (in its 4th year, I believe?) was well-run. Thank you again, to Jeff Sodeman Sensei and everyone at Jiai Aikido who made the seminar possible. Everyone I met was friendly, helpful, and serious about training.
The teachers were amazing, of course, kind, often funny, and very generous about connecting with students at all levels. I had the privilege of working with each of them several times, and tried my best to stay present and really get what I was feeling. Ikeda Sensei was like grabbing a cloud - just nothing to hold onto. It seems that the wonder of this stuff working never grows old for him. Several times he allowed that “It’s weird!” Many of Doran Sensei’s techniques included what I think of as the kind of misdirection used by magicians. He often taught with a very charming sense of mischief. On the last day I and another white belt (just there for that day, I think) were trying to work out the details of some seemingly impossible technique, when Tissier Sensei stopped to offer us a few words of encouragement. Such a gracious man.
I’ve never done anything so physically and mentally intense, for so long, before. I was very glad for all the Aikido classes I’d been doing, the walking at lunch, the time on the elliptical trainer, and heavy yard work. I came home utterly exhausted (but exhilarated) each night. I had told my husband, Michael, to basically consider me to be “out of town” for the duration; to make his own plans for the evenings. That was a good call. I had just enough energy left to throw my dogi in the wash, feed the critters, shower, eat something, set the alarm clock, and collapse into bed.
I cannot come close to remembering everything we covered in those 5 days. I certainly can’t describe it with any accuracy. Here are some of the impressions that particularly struck me:
Tissier Sensei - Emphasized economy of motion. His speed was incredible. There were techniques he demonstrated “slowly” and some parts where just blurs, they happened so fast. He also worked with us on looking where we were going (for instance, to a point on the floor, and not at Uke’s hand). This point really stuck with me for two reasons. First, it made an immediate, clear improvement in the feel of the technique when I did it. Second, it’s very familiar from horseback riding - jumping in particular. You don’t stare down at a jump as you’re going over it, you’re already looking to the next one. Your attention (or intention, really) on the next jump naturally helps guide you and your horse to it - it’s palpable. And the effect is the same in Aikido.
Ikeda Sensei - Taking Uke’s balance at the first touch. Subtle, internal waves. Giving the impression of something to grab, but nothing being there. I was able to see little glimmers of this working, like seeing the shadow of a fish in dark water. I caught a glimpse. I know it’s there, somewhere.
Doran Sensei - Lots of very sensible techniques, presented in clearly-explained chunks I could mostly manage to understand. I got it about the train coming, and getting off the track. I got it about catching the shomen strike like catching a fish on a hook. I got it about using atemi to get Uke to take their own balance, so you don’t have to.
These things were just moments. An image here or phrase there that was able to snatch up and tuck into my memory as they flew past in a hurricane of information for 5 days. There were also the guest instructors, and dozens of training partners, and new friends, who I learned so much from. It was a pretty mind-blowing experience. I’m already looking forward to going again next year.
Today was the last day of the Aikido Bridge Friendship Seminar 2010, at Jiai Aikido in San Diego. I’ll write up more notes another time (because our power is flickering with the arrival of a storm, and I’m going to shut the computer off).
The very short version is that it was a tremendous opportunity to see and practice a lot of Aikido, and was great fun.
If you were there, please find me on Facebook or Twitter, or even email, at linda@lindaeskin.com. I’d love to stay in touch.
More soon… :-)
I had a great time today (Sunday) at the Aikido Bridge Friendship Seminar at Jiai Aikido in San Diego. I found myself understanding a bit more, able to do a bit more, and somehow not being quite as exhausted or sore at the end of the day as I was on Saturday. Maybe one eventually gets used to training all day? LOL All in all a really enjoyable day, and I feel like I can actually apply some of what I learned.
The guest instructor this afternoon was Francis Takahashi Shihan, 7th Dan. He was very generous about working with everyone, and has a warm sense of humor. He will be holding an Intensive Practice on Saturday, February 6th in Alhambra, California. Here’s a flyer (PDF) with all the info. (Post it at your dojo!)
After the seminar tonight a really big group went out to dinner at Todai (a Japanese buffet). The photo above is of a few of us stragglers still hanging out and talking as the staff tried to close up for the night. A special shout out to Wayne. Looking forward to training with you and everyone on Monday morning.
Another amazing day. I’m learning a lot about attending seminars. Sit in the middle, so you can hear. Drink more water than you think you need to. Eat something at each break. And now I know that if you throw the morning’s sweaty gi in your car at lunch, all the windows will be fogged up when you go to leave in the evening.
There are a lot of levels of understanding at work. There are some things I just Do Not Get. I can’t even understand what’s being explained, never mind attempt it. There are other things I understand, conceptually, but cannot begin to do at all. Someday… Then some things I get glimmers of success, and could see being able to do them with some exploration and practice. And there there are the ones where I Really Got It, and was able to do the technique the way it was shown. Woohoo!
This morning’s sessions included a good mix of all those things. A few “duh… what” moments, and a few “aha!” moments, with a lot of everything else in between.
At lunch a few of us went to the park at the bay to take a quiet break, and just rest. We ended up with a dead battery, but luckily another friend was able to come rescue us with a jump start, and we all got back in time for the afternoon sessions, which started at 3:00.
About midway through the afternoon I was really tired, and my knee was tight from sitting around on the lunch break. I and some of the people I was working with were not catching the subtleties of whatever was being shown, and were sort of just trying stuff. I almost bowed out, figuring I was wiped, and not getting anything out of the rest of the day anyway. Maybe I could grasp it better by just watching. But then I got to work with a couple of folks who got what was going on. Their technique was great, and/but not subtle at all. I did a whole bunch of the hardest falls I’ve done in Aikido (not high breakfalls, just going down hard) and had no problem with that. The technique was really effortless to do, sneaky, and very effective. LOL It was actually hard to not drop Uke like a ton of bricks. Then on the next technique we did quite a lot of pitching each other rather forcefully into forward rolls. All of that kind of woke me up, and I was able to make sense of at least some of the rest of the afternoon.
In the evening there was a beer social at the dojo. It was great to have a chance to sit and chat with some of the folks I’ve met. I’m starting to put names, faces, and dojos together. I’ll probably finally get a few names right on Monday, when the seminar ends. ;-)
Now I’m in that state of mind when one is immersed in an experience over a few days where you start to hear your own thoughts in the accents of dialects of the people you’ve been listening to all day. Even the way I was moving when doing my laundry and feeding the critters felt different. Weird zone to be in. I’m completely wiped out, and on my way to another hot bath and early bedtime.
What a long day! I’m exhausted. A hot bath and a good night sleep (and some ice packs on my knee) are at the top of the priority list, so just a quick post tonight. I need to sit down with my notebook and try to remember what we did today. It’s all in there somewhere, but describing much of it is beyond me at this point.
The guest instructor this evening was Wilco Vriesman Sensei from the Netherlands. (The video above is of him at another seminar - not today.) He had a really interesting way of breaking down the areas of the body, and which area does what. A sort of short hierarchical checklist one can go through when doing techniques to be more aware of where things are falling apart. I would love to spend more time on it (and will try to be aware of it when I’m practicing). There was a lot packed into that one hour!
Aikido Bridge Friendship Seminar 2010 - First Evening
Umm… O… M… G…! What fun! I’ve met dozens of lovely people (and I’m sure will have to be reminded of their names in the morning) from all over California and the West - a few from the Bay Area, some from Boulder, Colorado, one who drove down from the Tahoe area, I believe. Some are even from here in San Diego. ;-)
Each of the three featured instructors, Ikeda, Doran, and Tissier, taught for part of the evening tonight (from 6-8). I wouldn’t want to guess how many participants there were tonight, but it’s a big dojo, and it was pretty crowded - we lined up two rows deep, the length of the dojo. A very good environment for developing eyes in the back of your head - both to find a safe place to fall (or to throw someone), and to keep an eye on the instructors, who move through the dojo stopping to work with groups here and there. They are all very generous, patient, and approachable. When Ikeda Sensei wasn’t teaching, he was in the loft getting video of the event.
There were at least 5 people from my dojo, and I think I got to train with all of them, but we weren’t sticking together overly much. The evening was very fast-paced. The instructor would show a technique, possibly pointing out a detail or or two, and set us to training for a few minutes. Then another, and another… I may have found a cure for thinking too much: Train so fast you don’t have time to think. :-) I got to work with a couple dozen people or so, and experience a huge variety of feels, body types, styles, temperaments… Well, a lot of variety. I got the idea of most of what was being shown, and was able to do most of it OK. Nikkyo is still a mystery. LOL At one point Tissier Sensei picked me out of the crowd and had me try the technique we were doing on him, and later demonstrated a different technique on me, and worked with my partner on it for a few minutes. I also got to train a couple of times with Jeff Sodeman Sensei, whose dojo, Jiai Aikido, hosts the seminar. My little 6th-kyu head is spinning a little from all of this. Haha. Seriously, it was great fun, with tons of new… I don’t want to say “information,” but lots of new stuff to play with.
By the way, the floor, which I’d been concerned about because it looked and sounded hard in the video of an earlier seminar, is perfectly fine - not squishy-soft, but firm and springy, and very comfortable to move and fall on.
The image above is of the back of the seminar t-shirt. If I heard correctly, Sodeman Sensei created the design. In any case it’s very pretty.
At the end of the evening I met someone who knew my name because he reads my blog! Now I can’t think of his, dangit. That was very cool. (If you’re reading this, thanks! And come say hi again!)
Time to feed the critters (who had a late lunch today), grab some dinner and a shower, ice a few things, and get some sleep! Back on the mat at 9:30 in the morning!
Starting this evening I’m off to the Aikido Bridge Friendship Seminar (14-18 January, 2010, at Jiai Aikido, in San Diego). For anyone who’s curious, here are some videos (by others, from other events) of the three featured instructors:
Christian Tissier Shihan
“Christian Tissier 7th dan Aikikai Shihan, Austria, Vienna, Matsumae Budocenter, 19-20. 12. 2009 “
Hirsohi Ikeda Shihan
“Hirsohi Ikeda Sensei demonstrating the principles of “aiki” during a class at the ASU Summer camp in Colorado.”
Frank Doran Shihan
“Frank Doran Shihan at Aikido Summer Camp in the Rockies 2007.”
And you can go to Shutterfly for a slideshow of photos from the 2007 Aikido Bridge Friendship Seminar
