| In case some students might not be aware; the White Rose Aikikai is now a member of the British Aikido Board. Amongst other things this means that students are insured to train with other BAB organisations and they should make full use of this. Although training at your regular class (or classes) each week is the best way of improving your Aikido, many more opportunities to train under very senior grades exist today than used to be the case when your instructors were starting out. In recent weeks Mark Danford has travelled to a course under Yamada Shihan and also to a course organised by Seijitsu Aikido Ryu and Shihan Terry Bayliss in support of ‘Help the Heroes’. Chris Wright has also attended the recent course in Cardiff under Doshu Moriteru Ueshiba and his son, Waka Sensei. More students should try to attend these events in order to broaden their experiences and develop their knowledge of Aikido.
On June 26th, one of the hottest days of the year, the White Rose held another course and grading at Dewsbury. In spite of the competition from the fantastic weather (and the World Cup) there was a good turnout, and although the heat had taken its toll by the end of the day, Sensei Riley was pleased with the way students had trained. A number of gradings took place during the day, including some quite high grades, and Alex Haigh passed his 1st kyu examination and Ashley Scholefield gained his Nidan.
For the benefit of those who might not be aware, Sensei Maloney has recently undergone major surgery for the second time in the last nine months (for an unrelated reason) but I am pleased to report that, once again, he is doing well. We all wish him a speedy recovery and a prompt return to the mat, as students are in need of his weapons expertise.
Andrew Thornton has put on a demonstration at a local school fete on the 11th July in order to promote the White Rose Aikikai and it all went very well. Our thanks go to Andrew and the other participants – Mark Danford, Ian Tyler and Paul Leadley for their time and effort. (Come back Paul, where have you been?!!!) Look out for photos on this site quite soon.
On Friday 23rd July a number of White Rose students set out on another adventure. Sensei Riley, along with Paul, Mark, Terry and James travelled down to Lowestoft for Broadlands Aikido Club’s ‘The International Big 3’ course. They were joined by Tony and Keith who had an even longer journey down from Durham and by Gavin Campbell who beat us all by travelling from Northern Ireland. We were also joined by Chris Wright who travelled down for the Sunday training session.
The ‘Big 3’ of the title were Haydn Foster Sensei, one of the few remaining original students of Abbe Sensei and ‘The Hut’ dojo, Philip Lee Sensei from Singapore, and Osamu Obata Shihan from Canada. After a long trip down, most of the students settled down to a cold beer, while Sensei Riley engaged all the instructors with his many stories (although I’m not sure how much of his Yorkshire accent they understood!).
After staying up far too late, it was fortunate that the first class on Saturday did not start until 12.00; although, with only a 15min break during the 5 hours of training most students felt that they had got their money’s worth. Sensei Riley forced some of us to stay up late again on Saturday night but Sensei Frank Burlingham, who took the first class on Sunday, eased everyone into training gradually, with good humour, and created a positive atmosphere on the mat.All three of the main instructors taught classes on both days and provided a wealth of material for students to try and get to grips with. Sensei Foster demonstrated a very high level of precision and focus with the Jo awase he was teaching, (particularly impressive from a gentleman who is now in his eighties). Lee Sensei demonstrated a wide range of dynamic techniques employing big movements, but he also taught more unusual techniques such as Yonkyo applied to the leg. Fortunately, Sensei Riley has enjoyed teaching this particular technique several times in the past, so that White Rose students found it easier to apply than others seemed to, and were more prepared for the pain (if the expression on some students’ faces was anything to go by!) Obata Shihan showed very extensive and fluid techniques throughout the weekend, demonstrating tremendous subtlety of contact for all those who took ukemi for him, and he emphasised ‘ki no nagare’ as a central focus of his Aikido training.
The practice over the whole weekend gave all those who attended a fascinating and varied insight into different aspects of Aikido, and because many of the course participants stayed at the same hotel overlooking the water of the Norfolk Broads it also gave them the opportunity to discuss it with old and new friends in a very picturesque environment. Some students are already saving their pennies for next year as ‘The International Big 3’ in 2011 is to be held in Singapore.
Sensei Derrick
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