Learning To Be Silent

Editors Note: This is the eighth in an eight part series discussing past seminars at our school. The videos can be found in our multimedia archive. The series can be found under the video tag.

And so we come to it - the final installment of our video series.  Fret not, however; the dojo vault is teeming with memory cards chock full of videos of seminars past. (To pique your interest, how does technique performed by Nobu Arakawa sound? Or Penny Bernath? We thought so.)

Today, however, we have two videos of Ed Di Marco Sensei, chief instructor of Lake County Aikikai. For those who may not know, Di Marco Sensei is an alumnus of the storied New York Aikikai, where he trained for twenty years under the leading lights in the American Aikido community. He brings a host of real world experience to his technique, which he is fond of sharing on the mat. (And no, I’ve never asked Sensei the particulars about these experiences. These things, I think, are way above my pay grade.)

The first video shows Sensei executing kokyu-nage from a shomen strike. And uke? Well, that’s Joel Miller, one of our past instructors. Nowadays you can find him on the mat at Austin Aikikai, under Damir Jamsek Sensei.

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The second video shows a variation on the same technique. Dee Sensei is uke.

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The seminar itself took place in April 2007 at the UNF dojo.

By Maggie Schill

On Saturday May 15, Aikido of Orlando held a friendship seminar at the MMAT Academy in Winter Springs, Florida. The event was hosted by Aikido of Orlando’s Ian Phillips Sensei, and consisted of four classes and a fabulous meet and greet luncheon. 

Participating in the seminar were various Aikido schools in Central Florida. The instructors shared their Aikido, and the participants discovered new variations to take home and practice.

The first class was taught by Sand Drift Aikido’s Alan Newton. Newton Sensei taught a great warm-up class that focused on proper extension and balance, from an ushiro opening. He demonstrated fundamental technique, which I’m sure was helpful for the many beginning students visiting that day.

The second class was taught by Aikido of Sarasota’s Barry Tuchfeld Sensei. Tuchfeld Sensei spoke engagingly about Aikido as “a martial art.” He demonstrated and explained in great detail about the complexities of shomenuchi ikkyo. It was a class where you felt a lot of room to practice slowly to work on your own form.

After a two hour lunch break, the seminar resumed. Tom Huffman Sensei from Aikido of Gainesville led the third class. Huffman Sensei spoke about his training in the United States and overseas throughout the class. He also allowed the students to suggest techniques they wished to work on. I enjoyed his lessons on shomenuchi ikkyo ura and sankyo.

The seminar was closed by Grady Lane Shidoin of Brevard Aikikai. Lane Sensei demonstrated techniques from ushiro and morote-tori. He emphasized the importance of fluidity, as well as good extension and balance. I saw in his class expansive movement and centered technique. It was a joy to work on these aspects of my own Aikido.

The seminar was filled with variety and friendship. It was a nurturing experience for all Aikidoka present, and I am thankful to Ian Phillips, Aikido of Orlando, and all the instructors present for helping make it happen.

Editors Note: This is the seventh in an eight part series discussing past seminars at our school. The videos can be found in our multimedia archive. The series can be found under the video tag.

Speaking of Wagener Sensei, these next four videos were recorded in January 2004 at the UNF dojo.  (And yes, I know I promised videos of Ed Di Marco Sensei in my last post. I’m showing these a bit out of order in light of our June 19th seminar. You were planning on attending, weren’t you?)

The 2004 seminar was an amazing experience, for several reasons. First, of course, was the expert instruction we received, not just from Sensei, but also from the several talented yudansha visiting us. I have, for example, a clear recollection of a certain bokken kata, which unfortunately is not captured on video. I was training with Linda, a black belt from the University of Florida Aikido Club. The technique exposed my sword arm to ikkyo, which led, imperceptibly, into something altogether different. For me, it was a glimpse into the possibility of Aikido, and was a heady realization for a newly minted third kyu.

Another reason, among many—the party afterwards. Allow me to set the scene. We’re at Buca di Beppo, about fifteen of us, exhausted from training, and crowded around a huge circular table, the kind you might find in some cheesy Arthurian set piece, in something called the Pope Room, which in the context of Buca-land is a cross between the Italian Pavilion at Epcot and the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. We ate and drank and generally cut loose.

In short, we had a blast.

But you’re not reading this for the stories. You came here for this:

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And this:

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Good stuff. See you on the 19th!

On Saturday, June 19, we will be honored to host Richard Wagener Sensei, chief instructor of Palm Beach Aikikai, for our 2010 summer seminar. Wagener Sensei, a sixth degree black belt, began his Aikido training in 1972 and holds a shidoin instructor’s certificate from the Aikido World Headquarters in Japan. A dedicated practitioner of aiki-ken, Wagener Sensei is the featured instructor in the DVD Aikido Weapons.

The cost of the seminar is $55 and includes a full day of instruction as well as a bar-b-que dinner at the dojo.  Interested parties are encouraged to sign up early.

Please email Sensei or sign up at the dojo to reserve your spot.