2011 has been an interesting year so far, especially in my aikido. I thought it would be good to post a summary of the year so far, and compare it to last year.
Training Summary
I trained a total of 136.5 hours in the first 6 months of 2011, a nice improvement over the 102 hours in same period in 2010. I would have liked to train more, but I did manage to train regularly, making it to the dojo 3 or 4 days every week, except for the 3 weeks I was away.
Training hours by month (2010/2011).
On 18th February 2011 I took my test for shodan (初段 – black belt) at Aikikai Hombu Dojo in Tokyo. I took the test along with 8 other people at the end of the winter semester of the ‘Aikido Advanced Gakko’ (合気道学校上級課程). The test was overseen by Katsurada Eiji Shihan (桂田英路師範 6th Dan), and Kobayashi Yukimistu Shihan (小林幸光師範 7th Dan). On 25th February 2011 I received my shodan certificate from the Doshu Ueshiba Moriteru.
Wearing my black belt and hakama to training for the first time.
Now that I’ve finished training for the year I thought I’d post my follow-up to Time on the Mat for the second half of 2010. My goal for the 6 months was 120 hours, and I’m happy to say I exceeded that, training 129.5 hours, despite my slow start in July and August.
Aikido Training Hours per month 2010Here’s the data broken down by number of days training per week – it’s clear that I was much more consistent in the second half of the year:
Aikido Training Days per week 2010Note that the dojo was closed in weeks 32 and 52, meaning I trained at least once every week the dojo was open!
Total
My total training for the year was 231.5 hours of classes (188 lessons) on 172 days.
One of the great things about living in Tokyo is the amazing opportunities to learn Aikido from the masters. Today I was lucky enough to attend the 15th Special Seminar by Tada Hiroshi Sensei (9th Dan), held at the Aikikai Hombu Dojo, Tokyo. I also attended the previous seminar in April, but quickly forgot the finer details of what he taught. This time I thought I’d try to record some of what I remember about the seminar in the hope that I’d be able to retain a bit more.
I attended the Intermediate Gakko at Aikikai Hombu Dojo Tokyo from October 2009 until August 2010, after “graduating” from Beginners Gakko in August 2009. I thought I’d write about my experience during the course.
Intermediate Gakko graduation August 2010Course Overview
Intermediate Gakko, or “Intermediate Academy” (合気道学校 中級課程) is open to anyone holding 3rd Kyuu or 2nd Kyuu. You do not need to have taken the Beginners level, but you must sign up before the course begins and places are limited. The course runs in two 5-month semesters per year, April-August and October-February. There are two 90-minute classes a week, Wednesday and Saturday evenings. At the end of the semester students who have attended at least 2/3 of the classes are eligible to take a grading test (up to 1st Kyuu). The classes are taught entirely in Japanese. More information about “Aikido Gakko” is covered on the Aikiaki web site, in English and in Japanese.
Back in May I wrote about my experience at the 48th All Japan Aikido Demonstration. Here are some videos from the day of the Aikikai Hombu Dojo Instructors.
Doshu Ueshiba Moriteru
The current head of Aikikai, and grandson of O’Sensei. I’ve taken some of the Doshu’s regular classes.
On Saturday I attended the 48th All Japan Aikido Demonstration (第48回 全日本合気道演武大会) at the Nippon Budokan, commonly call the “Embu”. It’s the biggest event of the year for Aikikai, with people coming from all over Japan (and from overseas) to attend. It’s even professionally recorded by NHK, and you can buy a 2-disc DVD set covering the teachers demonstrations (get the 2009 edition here). Eric wrote a bit more about last years event, and again this year. I thought I’d post some photos and write a little about my experience.
