River City Aikido

For Sensei Steve Patek What is A Sensei? A Sensei is more then a Father, a friend, a mentor and a teacher,... For you enter into a family at the dojo that is freely and voluntarily chosen, And yet the transformation of oneself through their strong yet loving guidance forms your very marrow. You become the clay that they mold, their blood and sweat becomes as much a part of you as yours becomes a part of them, There is an adoption of spirit and one is knitted into a lineage that one can truly never leave, Through both our memories and our training and future teaching of others their lives continue on, An unbroken circle of O’Sensei’s Dharmakaya goes on filling the universe with unbroken Ki, New dancers join the circle of the eternal dance in our Dojos and the voice of all of our Beloved Masters can be heard in earnest Keiko. Craig T

A Sensei (Master) challenging us, is not to make us feel bad or to insult us. It is to act like an awakening stick to break apart our adhesions and calcifications that keep us from growing in skill and talent. Our old behaviors and movements are so ingrained in us and unconscious behaviors, that they must be dragged out into the light and hit with hammer blows to free us.... The more we can humbly, openly and willingly engage with this process of transformation, the faster we can grow in the art. In this process if we can truly realize how little we actually know, the faster we can grow. Our first opponent is our own ego and it is this opponent that it is the hardest to defeat and throw off and leave on the mat. Craig T

Congratulations on Lizz and Craig passing their 2nd Kyu test

https://www.facebook.com/notes/heaven-and-earth-aikido/alive-ukemidead-ukemi/1808307409198000/

UESHIBA MORIHEI What No One Could Understand. April 19, 2017 by Allen Dean Beebe, posted in Relating to Aiki Due to the esoteric terms, analogies, and meta...phors that Ueshiba Morihei commonly used in his lectures, many, if not most, of the individuals present at his lectures stated that they could not understand what it was he was talking about. These statements were so ubiquitous, that it became commonly assumed, or common knowledge, that nobody could understand Ueshiba Morihei’s lectures. This is a rather convenient assumption, isn’t it? It allows for the re-interpretation, and translation of, his message, by all that followed afterward. If one understood his lectures and could explain them, the bar would be raised for all others that attended the lectures to show an equivalent level of understanding, or suffer loss of face. If one understood his lectures and could explain them, the die would be cast. There would be Ueshiba Morihei’s explanation of Aikido, and everyone else’s. THE NO ONE THAT UNDERSTOOD Shirata Rinjiro was a pioneer in the early days of Aikido. He taught in Ueshiba Morihei’s place at Omoto’s paramilitary branch, the Budo Senyokai. He taught in Ueshiba’s Osaka dojo, and at the Asahi Dojo in Osaka. Shirata was around for the publishing of Aiki Jujujutsu Densho, which later was renamed Budo Renshu. And, he also took ukemi for Ueshiba in the 1935 film Budo. c14ac0d8c5da09cabc7e2be77562de13-2.jpgBefore being called up to become the Commander of a Division in the war, Shirata was tapped by Ueshiba to become a ‘Professor of Aikido’ at the University in Manchukuo. (Tomiki Kenji went to Manjukuo instead.) After the war, he was repatriated to Japan. And in time, he was eventually called back into Aikido service by his teacher Ueshiba Morihei. Ueshiba asked him to look after, and support, his son Kisshomaru. So, he became head of the Tohoku region, head of Yamagata prefecture, and President of the International Aikido Federation, for a time. Unlike Tomiki, Mochitsuki, and Shioda senseis, Shirata chose not to distance himself from, and continued to work in support of, his teacher Ueshiba Morihei and the Ueshiba family throughout his life. Those that were close to Shirata sensei know that this decision was not always easy for him. In many ways, the direction that Aikido took after Ueshiba’s retirement did not accord with what Shirata sensei had been taught, and how it had been taught, and what he knew Aikido to be. Perhaps this is one reason why Shirata and, the much younger, Saito Morihiro got along as well as they did. Nevertheless, to fulfill his debt to his teacher, Shirata outwardly supported the direction set forth by Ueshiba Morihei’s successors. It now is clear to me, that, towards the end of his life, sensei knew the end was coming. One example of this is the amount I was taught, and the rate at which I was taught it. Initially I was shown physical basics, such as the Tandoku Dosa. When I could adequately demonstrate to sensei my performance of these, he immediately began to show technical basics, such as how the Tandoku Dosa related to foundational waza. When I could demonstrate the foundational waza, he began teaching a plethora of techniques and variations. There were so many I am afraid that I have begun to forget. I was also shown techniques that, at the time, I had no understanding of how they functioned, or what made them tick. I knew they worked because they worked on me. I knew what they looked like, because I could see the outer form. But I had no idea WHAT made them work. They didn’t conform to the logic of jujutsu. I now know that this collection of techniques functioned solely via Aiki. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to receive further instruction on these before sensei died. About this time, I was also taught things less directly physical in nature, such as the Hagurozan Yamabushi no Gyo. In the last years of his life, Shirata sensei both wrote and taught until he could no longer do so. During this time, he finished the katas that were the summation of his study of Sho Chiku Bai Ken and Jo. He also wrote the essay that will be presented over the next several weeks. Near the very end, when I invited him to open my dojo in Oregon, Shirata sensei replied in a letter explaining that he regretted not being able to come, but asked me to understand that it was because he was physically unable to, and that he had turned down Nidai Doshu as well. On May 29th, 1993 Shirata Rinjiro passed away. WHAT NO ONE UNDERSTOOD, Explained in an Essay The following essay was included in a publication entitled Misogi in 1992 sponsored by the Yamagata Ken Aikido Renmei and Tohoku Aikido Renmei. By and large, it is Shirata Sensei’s explanation of Ueshiba Morihei’s teaching. Many deshi testify that they did not understand Ueshiba’s lectures about Aikido. Even Shirata sensei humbled himself by saying the same at times. However, by the time that we are done reviewing his essay, I think that you will agree that Shirata Rinjiro understood very well what Ueshiba was saying, how he was saying it, and what it meant. He covers these areas in the beginning years of Ueshiba’s teaching, right up until the end of Ueshiba’s life. I will be presenting this seminal work here in parts. The translation was completed by Mr. Douglas Walker, with me consulting. When Mr. Walker was unsure of the intended meaning of a passage, he would bring it to me. I would say what I thought sensei meant in the passage, and invariably Doug would say, I think you are right, because Shirata says as much on the next page. It was reassuring to me that I knew my teacher’s mind, and wasn’t misrepresenting him, which has always been my concern. I am very grateful to Mr. Walker for his hard work and effort in making this work available to English readers. When I have finished presenting all the parts of the essay, I plan to make available downloads of both the complete translation and the original in Japanese, for further educational exploration. I will be providing commentary after Shirata Rinjiro’s translated text is presented. I hope that this commentary will help lead to further understanding of the text. Ueshiba’s writing is typically multi-layered in meaning and symbolism. Shirata’s writing is a bit more systematic and easily followed. Nevertheless, he too, at times, delivers his message via oblique implication rather direct statement. This is particularly true when his message is critical. As previously stated, it will take many posts to complete the entire essay. We will need to be patient. It will be well worth the wait!

http://aikidojournal.com//effective-techniques-without-st/ He went down easily. I had only used one hand from beginning to end!

The New dojo handbook is finished and in final review. Yeah! As soon as it is approved for publication we will be ordering 20 copies that will be available in the dojo. This handbook is for new and established students.