I know that this article is long overdue, and that this Gasshuku is already old news. But better late than never, I guess. Let’s see how much I remember…
In July 2007, a group of us – Sensei, Chelsea, Bob, Kristi, Andy, and myself – traveled to the Shobu Aikido of Boston for its Summer Gasshuku (7/27 – 7/29). This particular Gasshuku was special because the classes were conducted by Bill Gleason Sensei’s former students who each became a sensei and dojo-cho. The Gasshuku culminated in the final class being led by Gleason Sensei himself.
While everyone else in our group took the pleasant 12-hour drive, I decided to travel by plane. Unfortunately, the plane was delayed for about an hour on the Detroit airport runway because of weather conditions along the flight path. By the time I arrived at the Boston dojo, there was about 30 minutes left in the first class. The rest of our Ohio group was already on the mat, but it turned out that they arrived late as well. Jay Sensei waved me in to the mat. So I got to my rental car, obtained my gear, changed into my gi, and here we go…
The first class was taught by Rob Liberti Sensei of Shobu Aikido of Connecticut. When I got on the mat, Sensei was teaching us some tricks to doing Aikido techniques correctly. These “tricks” were jujutsu variations of some of the classic Aikido moves such as Nikyo, for example. Sensei repeatedly told the class that these “jujutsu” forms that he showed us were only meant to be used as visual tools to help us execute Aikido technique properly but should not limit us from researching the principles and philosophies behind Aikido technique.
On Saturday, Lia Suzuki Sensei of the Aikido Kenkyukai International dojo at Santa Barbara led the first morning class. As usual, her class was intense (see my Santa Barbara article in March 2007) and she showed us some interesting techniques. In one technique for example, nage would lie down supine on the mat while uke would grab both of nage’s wrists from a standing position. Nage would then attempt to unbalance uke while remaining to lie down. Lia Sensei’s class brought a lot of energy to everyone on the mat but also left us tired.
Next, our very own Jay Chikyo Weik Sensei of Shobu Aikido of Ohio taught the second morning class. Sensei slowed the pace down and set a more reflective tone as he discussed
kanagi,
sagaso, and
futonorito as well as the dimensions of the Kototama. It was cool that Sensei used some of his own students including myself as his uke in most of his demonstrations. I could tell that many people on the mat had difficulty understanding the concepts that Sensei was going over. However, I was not surprised. Sensei went over these principles over an entire Gasshuku at our home dojo last June (see the June 29, 2007 article). And to have Sensei condense everything he went over an entire weekend into a two-hour class is a formidable task. So Sensei was only able to provide a bird’s eye view of these deep concepts. But in the end it was all good.
For lunch we went to this Macrobiotic restaurant in town. I never knew that any of these ever existed. But I guess one could make a restaurant out of anything. We had a good time at this particular establishment. In one photo you see Jay Sensei talking to Ralph Sensei of Vermont (sitting to Jay Sensei’s left) while you can see us in the other photos enjoying the Macrobiotic cuisine. I ate what was labeled “Steak Sandwich” when I very well knew that they used some Macrobiotic substitute but labeled it as so to appeal to the common folk such as myself. It tasted pretty good as long as I didn’t know what the real contents were.
Saturo Sato Sensei of Shobu Aikido of the Berkshires led the afternoon class. During the first half of the class, Sato Sensei demonstrated the application of the principles of
hanmi,
maai, and
zanshin to technique such as Ikkyo. It was interesting taking ukemi from Sato Sensei. One would not think that a lot of
hara would come from such a small person. The thing with Sato Sensei is that he knows how to control the space really well and so in turn he is able to control the center of the technique and thus the center of uke himself. During the second half of the class, Sensei went over bokken techniques. At this point, Gleason Sensei stepped onto the mat and practiced with Jay Sensei. But as for the rest of the class, we were all lost with what Sato Sensei was teaching. Oh well, in the end it was all good.
It was a tough day of training because it was very hot and humid. It rained most of the day, but it did not help cool down the climate unfortunately. We were all exhausted at the end. In the evening, there was a party at the house of one of the Boston aikidoka. I opted not to attend because I wanted to visit one of my best friends who was living in Boston. I’ll discuss my adventures in another article.
On Sunday, Chelsea, Bob, Kristi, and Andy had to drive back home. Since my flight was later in the afternoon, I was able to attend the morning classes. The first class was taught by Todd Trzaskos Sensei of Shobu Aikido of Vermont. The basic theme of Todd Sensei’s class was trying to maintain a vertical posture throughout the technique. So in one demonstration, Sensei had someone grab him with full force. And even though Sensei was being pushed back, he maintained his vertical posture and allowed himself some time to collect himself and receive uke’s energy and momentum. At the end of class, Sensei showed the application of this principle to kokyu tanden ho. He demonstrated how one could maintain vertical posture from nage’s standpoint (which was obvious) as well as from uke’s standpoint (which was not so obvious).
Next, Ralph Malerba Sensei, the head instructor of Shobu Aikido of Vermont, taught the second morning class. If memory serves me right, I believe that Ralph Sensei was one of Gleason Sensei’s original students when he [Gleason Sensei] returned from Japan after studying under Seigo Yamaguchi Shihan. First, Ralph Sensei went over strict etiquette of entering, practicing on, and leaving the mat. Next, we went over kokyu tanden ho. This time, I had the luck of practicing with Lia Sensei for this technique. As Lia Sensei’s style is heavily focused on
sagaso, I wanted to take the opportunity to ascertain her
hara out of curiosity. And Lia Sensei let me know that she was indeed pretty hard to move. Afterwards, Ralph Sensei performed some demonstrations. And let me tell you my friends, he is one guy you do not want to mess with. He is one mean dude. It is not that his technique is brutal; it’s just that he moves like Gleason Sensei. I had the pleasure of taking ukemi from Ralph Sensei, and all I can say is that his technique is simply amazing.
Since I had a flight to catch, I could not attend Gleason Sensei’s afternoon class. But by that time, I was already worn out. Nevertheless, I had a great time despite the weather. The only problem I had during the training, however, was that sometimes the more experienced black belt students had a tendency to be physically rough toward the less experienced students when training with them. Also, the more experienced black belt students like to lecture their
kohai, including myself, when we are practicing the technique together. I don’t know why they have a tendency to do such things, but I find the behavior quite bothersome. First, it is more distracting than helpful in my research. In a way, it goes against O Sensei’s principle that practice is research involving a mutual cooperation between partners. Second, it is disrespectful to the teacher who is conducting the class. Personally, the only “lecturing” I do is for the newcomer who is obviously lost but even then I try to keep talking to a minimum. Rather, I let my ukemi do the talking, and I leave it up to my partner to figure out how my ukemi reflects on how correctly or incorrectly he/she is executing the technique. And for those of you who I train and work with [in our home dojo], you know exactly what I am talking about. The people who I enjoy working with are guys like Jay Sensei and Sato Sensei. Sato Sensei, for example, whenever he is not leading a class is an excellent training partner. As an uke, he understands that you have less experience and that your technique is not as refined or sophisticated as his, but he will still flow with you. And if you are not doing the technique correctly, he will let you know (nonverbally, of course).
That being aside, I had a wonderful experience in Boston. What made this particular Gasshuku unique is that it felt like a family reunion. In most Gasshukus, there seems to be a subtle competitive spirit amongst members of different dojos. But in this case, with all the Shobu students gathered on one mat, there is a common understanding that we all share. Therefore, the practice becomes very honest and research-oriented. Furthermore, to see how each instructor has a unique interpretation of Aikido and to see how much these senseis progressed since studying under Gleason Sensei are inspiring. I highly recommend any Shobu student to take the opportunity to attend one of these special Gasshukus.
Happy Holidays! Gassho.
-Andre (“Muketsu”)
