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Above photograph John Stevens with Ron
Tisdale taken by and appears at the courtesy of Bruce Baker.
This year we
were fortunate to have John Stevens Sensei for four days of training,
lectures, and informal sessions.
Once again, he impressed me with his
knowledge of aikido, his practice of Rinjiro Shirata's waza, and his
poise. His topics ranged from Aikido's philosophy and history, to
Aikido's techniques. We were fortunate this year to be able to share
Stevens Sensei with the Aikido Schools of New Jersey (under Rick
Stickles Sensei). Stevens Sensei lectured, gave a demo, answered
questions, and signed books for over 70 students of aikido, in an
absolutely wonderful venue provided by Stickles Sensei. I would be
remiss if I did not thank Stickles Sensei for his hospitality. It is our
sincere hope to continue to provide greater exposure of Stevens Sensei's
Classical Aikido throughout the North East in the coming years.
One of the most interesting facets of Classical Aikido to me is the
fusion of Rinjiro Shirata's early training at the Kobukan, and the
philosophy of Ueshiba Sensei's later years. While many schools whose
lineage springs from the Kobukan days eschew Kotodama and any
connections with the Omoto-kyo religion, I find that Classical Aikido
has a good link to those traditions, and that Stevens Sensei is able to
express that in his classes and lectures. The Kotodama sessions before
practice helped me to relax and to focus, enabling me to train with a
renewed energy each day, and strengthening the feeling of connection
with the founder of Aikido. The practice of Aiki-Taiso (pictured in the
video Budo) also strengthened the connection to the pre-war period of
Aikido.
The major focus of Classical Aikido has always been the relationship of
the sword to the empty hand techniques. In many schools, this
relationship is illustrated by a few exercises with the sword, some
paired practice with the sword, and perhaps an occasional illustration
of a sword technique like Shihonage. But in Classical Aikido, the
fundamental principles (Riai) of the techniques are all taught from day
one both with sword and empty hand. This is accomplished by forms such
as the Aiki Kihon no Ken (basics of the sword) which illustrate the
fundamental footwork, positioning, angles and power of techniques like
Shihonage, Iriminage, Kaitenage, Kokyu Nage, Ushiro Nage, Tenchinage and
Osae Waza. The Aiki Kihon no Ken contains at least four versions of each
of these techniques, 31 in all (as best I can remember), and we
practiced it each day. In Shiho, for instance, entering, turning,
redirecting Uke forward, and redirecting Uke to the side are all part of
the sequence of cutting and moving with the sword. In no other style of
Aikido that I have practiced have I seen such reliance on the use of the
sword as in the Classical Aikido of John Stevens.
We also practiced the Misogi no Ken (Cleansing or Purification with the
Sword), both as a sword form and as a sequence of paired standing Waza
with a partner. What gives meaning to this form is the understanding
that each movement is really done in relation to a partner, and that
without that knowledge, the form can seem more like just a bunch of
pretty movements. Once you go through the techniques contained within
the form, suddenly all of the movements gain a much deeper meaning, and
they are no longer just cut here, or cut there, in any style of movement
you please. The Misogi no Ken partnered practice contains throws like
Shihonage, Iriminage, Kokyunage, as well as evasions, pressure points
and Atemi. Many of the techniques were versions that I have never seen
in any other style of Aikido, and yet the roots in Ueshiba Sensei's
early days in the kobukan are easily visible. To see it done well is to
really begin to appreciate it. The Misogi no Jo is also not an exercise
that we should think of as if it were a solo form. There are actually
paired sequences of Kumi Jo that cover the entire form. While we mostly
practiced the first 15 movements of the Kumi Jo sequence, once again it
changed the way in which I think about and practice the Misogi no Jo
movements.
A highlight for me in the last two seminars was the time we spent on the
Sho, Chiku, Bai (pine, bamboo, plum blossom) partner practice with
sword. This seminar was no exception. I actually feel like I almost have
the first 3 sequences, and I'm getting closer to the last 3. Stevens
Sensei refers to Sho, Chiku, Bai as Aiki Ken Po, or Aikido Sword Play (a
more direct translation is Aikido Sword Law). I believe it has its root
in Ueshiba Sensei's pre-war practice (see The Essence of Aikido; by John
Stevens). It also includes a continuous group practice where we
alternated partners going from one to the other with complete attention.
It is this group practice which was inspired by Stevens Sensei's
training with the followers of the Tesshu school of swordsmanship that
he took many years ago with some highly ranked kendo players. The pine
represents the shomen attack, the bamboo the Yokomen attack, and the
plum blossom the tsuki. In the first three sequences, Uke is attacking
with Shomenuchi, and Shite/Nage is controlling the centerline and
responding with their own Shomen, Yokomen, or Tsuki. The partners pause
after each section and reset their Maai. In the last 3 sequences, Shite/Nage
and Uke move through all 3 without a pause, highlighting the give and
take, as well as the rhythm of an engagement. The roles of attacker and
defender quickly become blurred, and great attention is paid to
distance, targeting, openings and Zanshin (remaining/continuing mind).
Even the Aiki Ken Po was related to our empty hand practice: Uke grasps
Shite's wrist with pine, Shite responds with bamboo, and the plum
blossom corresponds to Shite's Atemi.
Above photo
taken by Gary Ohama Sensei, courtesy of
Bruce Baker.
The Seminar wrapped up
Sunday afternoon and evening with a tour of the George Nakashima Wood
Workshop and Museum, and a party held on the grounds there. The
Nakashimas presented an excellent tour, and we even got to see a Meiji
era katana (an absolutely fantastic piece of work, even the saya was
magnificent). All donations for the tour went to the George Nakashima
Peace Foundation. Highlights of the tour included the viewing of
George Nakashima's architecture (he was a contemporary of Frank Lloyd
Wright), furniture designs, and bowls and utensils. All of his work
presents an interesting fusion of western and eastern influences.
Information on the foundation can be found on the following web page:
http://www.nakashimafoundation.org. Some examples of George
Nakashima's work can be found on this web page:
http://www.modernegallery.com/pages/nakashima/
nakashima_bio.html. Our thanks go out to Mira and Kevin
Nakashima for their support of the Homeikan dojo and John Stevens
Sensei. What great hosts! I would also like to thank Gary Ohama Sensei
and Joe Sperduto Sempai for their hard work on the seminar. I must thank
John Zenkewich as well for hosting the information about the seminar on
his Classical Aikido web page.
I hope that this year's seminar is just a taste of things to come...we
had participants from all over the Philadelphia area, Virginia, New
Jersey, Washington State, and New York. A sincere thank-you to all who
participated, and I hope to see you again next year. It was good to
train again with old friends like Andrew Grochowski, John Zenkewich, and
Mei Sempai. If pictures become available shortly, I will post them with
this article.
by Ron Tisdale
Many
thanks to Ron Tisdale for taking the time to submit a fine review and
interesting article! We very much appreciate Ron's generosity and his
kindness!
Also,
thank you to Bruce Baker for his great photos!
All photographs here are courtesy of Bruce Baker.
*****
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