Etiquette in the dojo and beyond

In our preoccupation with training and developing our skills on the mat we sometimes forgot something very important and intergral to our training, etiquette. It is arguable that as we engross ourselves in the pursuit of polishing our skills on the mat etiquette may take a secondary role in the dojo.

Let us take ourselves back to the time when we first started training...and in this case aikido. One of the first things that we were taught was etiquette in the dojo. When, where and how do we bow, which knee goes down first when we are taking a seat in seiza and which knee comes up first when we come up from seiza, bowing to sensei when he finishes teaching, taking seiza or half seiza when seisei is explaining, holding your weapons in your right hand when you are not engaged in training or combat, bowing to your senpais and senseis, how to conduct yourself when being graded and the use of certain honorific terms when adressing each other, etc Has it ever crossed your mind why we need to have and maintain etiquette at the dojo or contemplated upon the subject?

Some of us might take it as just part of what you need to do when you are in the dojo and when you train. However there is much more to that and etiquette is very important not only in the dojo or every else to preserve and maintain civility in society. When Hj Haneef sensei, accompanied by Zainuddin sensei came to Brunei in May 2008 for to conduct a seminar and upgrading, he tooks pains to remind everyone the importance of etiquette. Sensei even reminded every student who was taking their kyuu and/or shodan grading exams at every level to obeserve the necessary etiquette. This is evidential that etiqutte forms and integral part of our lives and in this case in the dojo and in the spirit of aikido/budo, we must strive to make etiqutte and important part of our lives.

Not everyone may agree with the observation of etiquette but there is always a common ground and a threshold level of behaviour and manner of conduct that is applicable to everyone that in a collective undertaking. This is important and necessary to maintain order and civility, otherwise there would not need to be a legal system or any system for community regulation for that matter. For example we would not need to have traffic lights on the road so that individuals can drive however they want to. Even day to day interactions individuals are expected to behave in accordance to the social contract. Etiquette is not peculiar only to the Japanese but in every civilized culture.

Stanley Pranin in his article Etiquette and the Preservation of Well-Being eloquently articulated his views on the issue of etiquette which may provide us with some insight and understanding on the same.

It is hoped that as fellow aikidokas as well as brothers and sisters we keep in mind that learning martial arts or self defense is not just about learning the skills to protect or to be a good fighter , but that in the course of our path in budo we can by extension promote and maintain well being in our lives and those around us.

Rest Day on 25th December 2008

Please be informed that there will be no class this Thursday 25th December 2008. The dojo will be closed for the public holiday.

Season Greetings and Happy New Year!

A synopsis of Zainuddin sensei's seminar, 12th-14th December 2008.

Front row seated from left to right: Ahmad Isa, Zainuddin sensei, Lance Jackson, Hj Sabtu sensei
Back row from left to right: Chiong, Mohd Noh and Sarah

It was great to have Zainuddin sensei with us again and have him conduct a seminar at Aikidamashii.

In this seminar sensei introduced us to some kokyu or breathing exercises and techniques as well as focus during the exercises. The breathes should come from the hara, each breathe in or out should last for 7 beats. Once the breath has been emptied 3 beats should elapse before drawing the next breath. The kokyu exercise lasted between 15 to 30 minutes and if you did it right you shojld be sweating profusely by the end of the session!

In terms of techniques sensei taught us about preparation and response time to attacks. In the usual course of practice we would get ready for one attack and nage will execute the technique commanded accordingly. In this seminar the uke practices making multiple attacks while the nage responds to the attacks and decide what is the best way to diffuse the attacks.

As for grabbing attacks more resistance is given to the nage so that the nage learns how to excute the technique without using brute force. During training one inevitably gets carried away or frustrated, hence will resort to using force to make the techniques work. We are taught to be patient and to feel where and how a "meeting point" can be arrived at to execute the technique.

Randori or jiyuwaza was also part of the training starting with futare gake gradually increasing the number of attackers. As it was part of training the emphasis was placed on the nage'a awareness of the surrounding and learning how not only to diffuse the attacks individually but also in the course of it to neutralize other oncoming attacks.

There were many other lessons learnt during the seminar which were thought provoking as much as they are invaluable. These lessons are not just limited to waza training.

If you want to join the next seminar by Zainuddin sensei please visit our blog for more information and updates!

International Aikido Demonstration at Kumano

On the 7th Day of the 10th IAF Congress & Seminar and International Aikido Demonstration was held at The Kumano Hongu Taisha. The bus set off at approximately 09:00hrs together with our hirugohan bento sets. We arrived at Kumano well ahead of schedule and thus did a bit of sightseeing before making our way to the venue. The Kumano Hongu Taisha shrine is listed as a World Heritage site thus we could not miss the opportunity for a visit.

We proceeded to the demonstration venue in good time and as we were looking for a nice patch of grass to sit on we saw some of the international demonstration teams doing their last minute rehearsals. After 5 days of attending seminars with various shihans the participants would have received some inspiration for their demonstration.

Before the demonstration commenced the Shinto religious rites were carried out, followed by Addresses from the Mayor of Tanabe city Manago Mitsutoshi, Doshu Ueshiba Moriteru, IAF Chairman Dr Peter Goldsbury, Kumano Hongsu Taisha Head Priest and IAF Demonstration Implementation Committee Chairman Kuki Ietaka and Governor of Wakayma, Nisaka Yoshinobu.

The first demonstration was given by Waka sensei, Mitsuteru Ueshiba who is the Assistant Dojocjo of Aikido Hombu Dojo. Therafter 9 dojos each from the Wakayama Prefecture Aikido Federation and Kansai Area gave their demonstration before it was passed on to the international participants. Representatives were from Singapore, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Chinese Taipei, Czech Republic, France, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Great Britain & Scotland, Mexico, Monaco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, The Philippines, Poland, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland and Thailand. Each demonstration lasted for approximately 90 seconds starting and ending with a beat of the drum. The penultimate demonstration was given by Hiroshi Tada shihan and the final by The Aikido Doshu Ueshiba Moriteru and both demonstrations lasted longer, for about 3 minutes.

It was truely wonderful to see a showcase of aikido from so many different perspectives and one can see how each has interpreted or developed aikido in its own practice.

The demonstration ended with the Naorai banquet before we boarded the bus back to Tanabe.

As there were many pictures that were taken at on that day a selection of the pictures have been uploaded on Facebbok. Please click here to have a look at the photo album.

Takeda Yoshinobu shihan's seminar 2008 at Jakarta

With Takeda shihan

It was a wonderful experience being able to attend Takeda shihan's seminar. This seminar was a different sort of seminar as Takeda shihan asked us to put aside the waza that we have learnt and instead will teach us to harness what we all have, chi. He thought us how to gather concentrate and project our chi, extend our chi and gather chi. As it was an abstract practice we were asked to visualize what we want to do, to put an image that we are gathering chi.

This kind of practice is meant for training and we all should take it with an open heart. As aikidokas we are taught to "empty our glass" whenever we attend any glass so that we may receive what the sensei wants to teach us. Aikido is a constantly evolving martial arts and as students we ought not to question what has been taught but to receive the sensei's teaching. We all have to start off at the stage of "shu" which is a process of self negation. By practising self negation we operate as a sponge, to absorb what is being taught to us. There are many senseis with many preference and styles and it is good to receive their teachings for one may not have the chance to meet or learn form them again. Later on when we make a trasition to the next stage of "ha" we can then affirm what was being taught to us.

Still, this kind of teaching is hard to receive as we are trained to be empirical. So it is difficult to practice what you cannot see. Some may feel but some cannot feel it, this thing we call chi.

It was quite a sight, to see Takeda shihan throwing his uke without them touching him or vice versa. Another sight still to see him move and cause to fall a group of 20 solid men.

We have to put an image in our minds that as we train with our aite, he must have the sincere intention to attack you and project that energy towards you, as the nage you receive and gather his energy, connecting and locking it with your and blend with your uke. Tap unto his frequency was one of the examples he use to make us visualize and once you lock your energy with your uke, then both of you can move as one. One very important thing to remember is not to break musubi, even if there is no physical contact.

To achieve something like what Takeda shihan cannot be done overnight and it is normal that some students feel that it does not work or it is not practical. It is a form of training and Takeda shihan said that we can use this to throw attackers away in a real life situation. We are training within the safety of the dojo and must make a disntinction. Hopefully there will a chance to learn more from Takeda shihan in the future!

Location of the seminar, Indosat building


With Takeda Daiyu sensei, son and deshi of Takeda shihan

With Jean-Rene Leduc sensei, Takeda Shihan's deshi

With Berin MacKenzie sensei, Takeda shihan's deshi

With Kaoru Murase sensei, Takeda shihan's deshi

With Imanul Hakim sensei, dojo-cho of Aiki Kenkyukai dojo, Indonesia.

P/S: Congratulations to Hakim sensei, Shanti sensei and members for their tireless effort and a job well done in organizing the seminar. It was well organized and enjoyable!