VKS KI TRAINING NOTES MAY 99 NOTICES: MAY INSTRUCTOR'S CLASS The May class will be held on Saturday, the 29th at 1:30. I will be just back from the Taigi Competition and pass on any changes which have taken place and the latest information from Kashiwaya Sensei based on his recent visit with Tohei Sensei. SUMMER CAMP The Virginia Ki Society Summer Camp will be held on June 11, 12 and 13 at James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia. The Guest Sensei will be the Reverend Bill Bickford from Kingston, Ontario, Canada. You will find that summer camp is a very effective training experience, whether you are a beginning student or a yudansha. Friendships developed at camp are well worth the effort, and cost of attendance. Announcements have been mailed to past attendees. If you have not received one call the Dojo at (703) 971-7928 and request a copy. NATIONAL INSTRUCTOR'S WORKSHOP The following information was received from Sensei Dan Frank last month regarding the seminar. Greetings from the Montgomery County KI-AIKIDO SOCIETY. Attached is the schedule for 1999 Chief Instructors Conference in Maryland. This email is give you and your students the dates for planning to attend the conference. A letter is being mailed to each Chief Instructor with the details on lodging and conference fees. SCHEDULE FOR CHIEF INSTRUCTORS' SEMINAR AND WORKSHOP 1999 Theme: Conflict Resolution THURSDAY July 29 Kataoka Sensei Leaves for Maryland FRIDAY - July 30 Rest Day for Kataoka Sensei Welcome Party 6:00 PM to 9:30 PM SATURDAY July 31, 1999 8 AM Registration for the seminar 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM Training for Ki Society members 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM Lunch , 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM Training for Ki Society members SUNDAY Aug. 1 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM Training for Ki Society members 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM Lunch , 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM Training for Ki Society members and Public MONDAY- Aug. 2 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM Training for Ki Society members 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM Lunch , 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM Training for Ki Society members TUESDAY Aug.3 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM Training for Ki Society members 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM Lunch , 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM Kiatsuho for Ki Society members WENESDAY Aug.4 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM Training for Ki Society members 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM Lunch , 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM Ki Tests (Shoden, Chuden, Joden as appropriate) 5 PM-6 PM Chief Instructors Meeting THURSDAY Aug 5 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM Chief Instructors Workshop (by invitation only) 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM Lunch , 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM Chief Instructors Workshop (by invitation only) FRIDAY -Aug. 6 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM Training for Ki Society members 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM Lunch 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM Training for Ki Society members SATURDAY - Aug. 7 10 AM - 1:30 PM Training for Ki Society members and the Public Afternoon - Rest 6:30 - 9:30 PM Banquet, SUNDAY Aug. 8 Departures The fee schedule for the seminar is as follows: Entire seminar for Chief Instructor (includes Thursday Workshop, Banquet and T-shirt) $250.00 Thursday Workshop only for Chief Instructor, Banquet and T-shirt $150.00 Entire seminar for Ki Society student, banquet and T-shirt (w/o Thursday Workshop) $220.00 One day attendance (training only) $40.00 Banquet only $40.00 T-shirt only $15.00 Remit = of the total amount with a check payable to Ki Conference to: Ki Conference, PO Box 3741, Silver Spring, MD 20918. You will need to sign a release form so request it when you send in your fee. This deposit is due by May 26 with the balance due by July 1. CHIEF INSTRUCTOR'S CORNER Tis is the time of seminars and opportunities for training with different sensei other than those at your own dojo. You should seek out these opportunities for growth and attend all that you can afford, either financially or time availability. Within our own family we have a June seminar in Virginia with Sensei Bill Bickford from Canada. In Maryland we have the National Instructor's Workshop in August with Kataoka Sensei, the person in charge of foreign training for the Ki Society. In September we will have our 25th Anniversary celebration. We need volunteers to assist in preparing for this significant event. Sign-up on the list on the Merrifield Bulletinboard. In November we will host the Second Annual Aikido-L Seminar. This will bring Aikido students from around the country to train with selected teachers who are also members of the Aikido-L ListServ. I do not yet know who will be teaching but do know that it will be over the weekend of November 6 and 7. First priority for attendance will be members of the Aikido-L ListServ. If space is available I will open the seminar to VKS members. Many folks debate the value of receiving instruction in other martial arts or other styles of Aikido. My personal view is that we will never find out if what we are studying is right for us unless we know of the alternatives available. The Internet section contains three commentaries for your information. Our old friend, Dennis Hooker provides some wise views as does Jan from Belgium. Peter makes a reply to a comment about Draeger and his views on the history of Budo. FROM THE INTERNET From: dhooker Subject: Re: Aikido and boxers (what is Aikido?) The subject matter on this topic is again drifting into the realm of general chatter. Before that happens, and before I have to unsubscribe again for a while let me leave these observations. There are a lot of opinions regarding what Aikido is, and what it can do (I definitely have my own) but the fact remains that Aikido is that which Ueshiba Morihei left behind at his death. It was, and is, the culmination of his life's work. That work being a single minded pursuit of the meaning of budo. We may not agree with his final definition of budo, but in that final definition we find the formation of Aikido. Since Aikido is his creation we must accept that definition of Aikido, or rename what we do. His definition of Aikido (for he believed Aikido to be true budo) was not formed in the first half of his life, nor the three quarter point, but only in his last years. Therefore the Aikido of Ueshiba is culminated in the final days of his study. For by his own mouth did he state that he trained and studied everyday of his life. For some students of Aikido, or it's unenlightened clones, the leaves have fallen so for from the tree they no longer know what species they are. That is one reason I have tried to stay as close to the leaves that fell directly form the tree of Aikido as I could. I have, like many others, paid a price both physical and financial, as well as socially and morally to stay as close to the truth of Aikido as I could. Even at that I know what I have is not the full truth but one filtered trough the minds of his direct students. They like I have added the burden of their cognitive inferences to the definition and meaning of Aikido. As I read the list over the years I see many well meaning people, some trained in the various arts Ueshiba himself trained in, offer comment on Aikido. They have not trained with him, or his students, nor have they lived by the principles and precepts and he so laboriously sought to incorporate into his art, "Aikido". To practice the techniques, or a likeness thereof is not enough to form an intelligent opinion on Aikido. To offer well meaning comment on the art it's self to uninformed neophytes is less than helpful, it is destructive. Am I defensive? Yes! Why? Because many have paid the price to study Aikido and feel no need to comment of the various arts that clam lineage to some of the physical techniques often seen in Aikido. I have yudansha grading in judo, karate, and iaijutsu. I have practiced these arts for more that 30 years and none of those give me a reference point to Aikido. So I must question the well meaning comments of non Aikidoka regarding that which is or is not Aikido. Dennis Hooker, Shindai Dojo, Orlando Fl. Jan Beyen I always get the impression that people who focus on the martial aspects and the technical applications of aikido are missing the point (but who am I to say this, maby it's just me who's missing the point). Anyway, although aikido is based on a martial tradition and employs martial priciples and techniques, the important part in aikido for me is not the martial application. What attracts me in aikido is the fact that I am learning how to move (I might just as well take balet lessons for that ;-) ). Aikido also teaches me how to control myself and most things around me, to be aware of my surroundings. All of these things are far more important to me than learning how to fight. Of course, learning aikido will give me a better chance to get out unharmed when I am attacked. And maby the heightend awareness that I (will) learn from aikido will ensure that I don't get into a situation where I am attacked. Share and enjoy, Jan Beyen Robert Cowham wrote >Doesn't this come back to the difference between Budo and Bujutsu? >Quoting from Donn Draeger: "The spirit of self-perfection rather than self-protection is supreme in the classical budo. These disciplines are not intended to serve as systems of self-defense, witness the fact that the most skillful experts of these disciplines are famed more for their perfection of character than for their fighting abilities. If it is a system of self-defense that is desired the reader is advised to seek his study within either the classical bujutso or the modern cognate diciplines developed for that purpose."> Actually no. The whole budo/bujutsu thing was an attempt by Draeger to analyze the development of gendai(modern) budo. There are some problems with it. First, it's not actually a real difference. "Bujutsu" just means "combat skills" and "budo" means "combat way" (and please don't try to analyze their meaning by taking apart the Chinese character. That character is over 2500 years old, and the usage has changed a bit since it was put together. Kind of like the way English words are different from their origins. Check out the history of the word "rocket"). The classical martial arts systems are Ways every bit as much as any of the modern "do". Jigoro Kano started the whole "do" mess because he wanted to separate his Judo from classical jujutsu forms, and Draeger tried to use the terms to discuss differences between the gendai and koryu systems. The problem is that the koryu systems are every bit as much ways as the modern systems. If fact, I cannot imagine a system in Japan not becoming a "do". They are called "ryu", meaning "flow" because they are a direct flow from their source. They have goals and ways of developing people every bit as much as modern "do" and in some cases more so. I can't think of any system that is more complete in terms of developing a person than Yagyu Shinkage Ryu and its affiliated systems. The classical systems sought to develop people as well. Classical teachers, just like gendai budo teachers, vary tremendously. Some are/were concerned only with teaching the techniques while others want(ed) to see their students become the finest human beings possible. The term "budo" didn't come into general use until the 20th century. It is used to described all manner of martial arts in Japanese, not just the modern ones. Draeger's analysis stretched the word beyond the limit's of its usefulness. For martial artists in Japan the "do/jutsu" distinction doesn't even exist. I have an excellent history of Japanese swordsmanship, written in Japanese by the current headmaster of Yagyu Shinkage Ryu, Yagyu Nobuhara. In it he uses the word "kendo" to describe ALL Japanese swordsmanship for the last 500 years! I can't think of anyone who is better informed on the issue. The problem with Draeger's analysis is that it's just wrong. Draeger was a great pioneer for non-Japanese in the budo world, but he was not perfect, and he made some grievous errors. That whole budo/bujutsu one is the biggest. It's not a functional distinction. Colleagues of Draeger have told me that when he tried to explain it to Japanese historians and budo specialists they just smiled and shook their heads (which is a pretty big sign here). When you read Draeger, there are two other things to watch out for. First, he romanticizes the classical warriors a great deal, creating excuses for all sorts of behavior (excuses that are not historically viable). Second, he weights things in favor of the systems that he practiced, notably Katori Shinto Ryu and Shinto Muso Ryu. There are systems older than KSR, and plenty of systems besides SMR with jojutsu. But Draeger tends to ignore these. Draeger was a great pioneer, and his books are a valuable resource, but they should be read with a critical eye. Peter "the Budo Bum" Boylan TRAVELS April 29 - May 18 Vacation. May 20-24 Annual Taigi Competition, Seattle. June 11-13 VKS Summer Camp July 9 - 11 Kingston Summer Camp July 31 - Aug 7 National Instructor's Workshop, Maryland Ki Society August 13 - 15 Peter Bussell Sensei Summer Camp, Ottawa, Canada Sept 24 - 26 St. Louis Ki Society 20th Anniv.