In celebration of a common passion for Yoshinkan Aikido, the Aikido Network in London, Ontario, Canada is pleased to announce that Jacques Payet Shihan is confirmed and visiting exclusively, Feb 24th-26th. We are honoured to host Payet Shihan during his visit from Japan.

Payet Shihan, 7^th Dan Yoshinkan, is the head instructor of the Mugen Juku Dojo in Kyoto, Japan. He has had the unique experience of being uchi-deshi or live-in apprentice directly under the guidance of Shioda Sensei longer than any other Westerner. He was appointed staff instructor at the Yoshinkan Honbu dojo (world headquarters in Tokyo), designed the Foreign Instructor course in 1991 and translated Aikido Shugyo the autobiography of Kancho Gozo Shioda. He was also appointed technical director for the English Aikido Yoshinkan Federation.

Founded by Sensei Derek Bindner, in 1997, Aikido Network (Seishukan Dojo) offers Yoshinkan Aikido privately and in small group’s as well as full time instruction to the general public. Due to increasing popularity and rapid growth, over the years the Aikido Network has expanded its facilities numerous times to what is now a new 3000 sq. ft. dojo in August 2011. The Japanese name “Seishukan” (“Place where the Spirit is Master”) was given to Sensei Bindner by Kiyoyuki Terada Shihan, 10th Dan; Yoshinkan Aikido’s most senior student and highest ranked Black belt in the world prior to his death. Derek, 3^rd Dan, has been training in Aikido for 25 years and teaching for 15. He is a registered and certified Instructor with the Aikido Yoshinkan Foundation, in Tokyo Japan. Derek recently journeyed to Kamakura, Japan in 2010 and completed the Aikido Yoshinkan Instructors Course.

This is the first event to take place in 2012, that the Aikido Network will be celebrating, in honour of Sensei Bindner’s dedication to Yoshinkan Aikido.

To book your spot:

Aikido Network Training Center

19-1615 North Routledge Park
London, Ontario, Canada
Phone: (519) 660-0992
info@aikidonetwork.com

Mustard Sensei Clinic

Clear your calendars!

Mustard Sensei returns to Sendokan Dojo in Mississauga  Friday April 30, Saturday May 01 and Sunday May 02.

For those of you not familiar with Mustard Sensei – shame on you!  Robert Mustard is the embodiment of the spirit of Yoshinkan Aikido. 

The moment Mustard Sensei enters onto the mats there is an incredible energy that fills the room.  You almost feel as if your spirit is strengthend from his mere presence.  Then comes the real magic.

Mustard Sensei takes simple principles and techniques and shows you how intricate and mystical they can be and takes intricate and mystical principles and techniques and shows you how simple they can be.

These clinics are an incredible experience for all levels. 

I attended my first clinic as a relatively new aikidoka and cannot believe how much I learned and how my views of Yoshinkan Aikido widened.  Mustard Sensei is amazing and roaming the mats with him are many other incredible instructor including Mills Sensei (of Sendokan dojo).

Don’t hold yourself back, attend this seminar.  You will grow!

Steven Seagal has never sought publicity for his work with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. However, over a span of almost two decades, he has regularly gone out on patrol and worked major cases. The series will allow fans to ride shotgun with Seagal as he and his hand-selected elite team of deputies respond to crimes-in-progress. Then, when Seagal goes off-duty, the cameras will continue following him as he pursues his many ventures – including musical performances and philanthropic efforts – in Jefferson Parish and New Orleans.

His movies have grossed more than $2 billion worldwide. He is an expert martial artist with a 7th-degree black belt in Aikido. He’s considered to be in the same class of action hero as Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, Steven Seagal isn’t just an action hero in the movies. For almost 20 years, Seagal has been working as a fully commissioned deputy with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana. In addition to going out on patrol, Seagal is an expert marksman who has worked with their SWAT team and has instructed Jefferson Parish officers in firearms and hand-to-hand combat.

Steven Seagal Lawman will allow fans to ride shotgun with Seagal as he and his hand-selected elite team of deputies respond to crimes in progress. Then, when Seagal goes off duty, the cameras will continue following him as he pursues his many ventures, including musical performances and philanthropic efforts in Jefferson Parish and New Orleans.

Wow!

Where do I begin? The Robert Mustard seminar at the Sendokan dojo in Mississauga is over. Did you miss it? If so then that is a real shame. Those in attendance will echo my sentiments.

The day was filled with an incredible amount of energy and wet willies. There turn out was fantastic and everyone came focused on training. The classess flew by leaving everyone wanting more. The mirrors were fogged and everyone was breathing heavy and dripping in sweat and loving every minute of the experience.

Mustard Sensei is as complex as he is gifted. At first glance one might be intimidated by Mustard Sensei and if that was not enough then his “reputation” might be enough to put some on edge. Mustard Sensei commands everyone’s attention from the moment he strides out onto the mats. Then within seconds he puts all at ease. The seminar was not only informative and inspirational but it was extremely entertaining. Robert Mustard has a “way” about him. Robert Mustard is extremely easygoing, relaxed and a dynamic speaker. When Robert Mustard speaks, his passion for aikido cannot be hidden.

Saturday consisted of two classes and a demonstration. The underlying focus of the day was to teach us how to use the energy given to us by Uke and to show us that to do this we need to relax, “The easiest thing to do in aikido is to relax and the hardest thing to do in aikido is realx”. “If you want power then don’t use power”.  The importance of a strong kamae and strong basic movements was shown as well.  These principles were demonstrated through nikkajo, tenchinage and timing throws.  These concepts may seem simple but I believe their importance is quite often overlooked.  I am fortunate that in my training thus far, Bindner Sensei has stressed these ideals with me and instilled in me their importance.  Seeing them used again in such a dynamic environment only helped to drive home their importance.

The day took a look at smaller aspects of Yoshinkan Aikido that are important but easily overlooked.  As Mustard Sensei said at the start of the day, “you can learn the basic movements at your own dojos, lets make them powerful”.  From that point on it was one fantastic insight after another.  Subtlties with our direction of Uke’s energy that take a technique from “kind of worked” to “Wow, do that again!”

I want to take a moment to again thank Mustard Sensei for sharing his Aikido and stories with us and Mills Sensei for organizing this event.  I can’t wait for next year!

There were several different aspects of Mustard Sensei’s classes and I think it will be best if I discuss each one in an individual post.  The topics include the impact of being relaxed, how to control Uke by stealing his heart, and the importance of being a good uke.

SENDOKAN SEMINAR – MUSTARD SENSEI

So I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am for this seminar.  I have sent in my registration and October is nearing. 

This seminar I believes comes at a great time during my training.  I have been studying Yoshinkan Aikido long enough and in depth enough to understand the importance of the basics and to see that there are powerful little subtlties to the art.  Almost like a tease.  I know that there is something amazing behind the curtain, I just can’t quite reach the rope to pull it back just yet. 

I am lucky to have an extremely talented Sensei (Bindner Sensei) that is able to impart his knowledge so easily but I believe that being exposed to Aikido in different forms from different people will only deepen my understanding.  Mustard Sensei is a tremendous opportunity for the fledgling aikidoka in that he has devoted his life to Yoshinkan Aikido and immersed himself to a level that most could only imagine.  This experience and knowledge is rare and the fact that he is able to share it with us in such a dynamic way is surely not to be missed. 

I look forward to writing my impressions of this seminar.  I am sure that all can draw from it if not able to attend.  I encourage everyone to attend this seminar as it surely will be a cornerstone in your training.

Mills Sensei has posted the schedule on his website, please check it out.  Mustard Sensei and Mills Sensei, I look forward to meeting you in October!

Terada Kiyoyuki Hanshi, was born on March 20, 1922 in Nagasaki, Kyushu, Japan. Below, you will find a brief chronology of events in his life. This starts in April of 1934, when he graduated from the Minami Kushiyama grade school and entered the Kaisei Junior High School where he took up his first martial art of Kendo. Many thanks to Terada Hanshi and the Yoshinkan Seiseikai International Committee for supplying the following information and to Kenji Nakazawa and Leslie Mills for their assistance with the formatting and editing. Enjoy!

 
June, 1937: Terada Hanshi ,age 15, wins Judo championship and receives an award for best Judo player of the year. He had been scouted by Judo Shihan at that time and became an uchi-deshi at the Shubukan dojo and in July of 1937, while a student of Nagasaki prefecture Junior High school, he participated in the school Judo tournament.

April, 1940: At the age of 18, Terada Hanshi entered Takushoku University, where he joined the school Karate club. In 1941 he enters the Shidojuku University dormitory where he meets Shioda Gozo Soke. During the period between 1940 and 1943, Terada Hanshi had learned Sumo from Akutsugawa Sensei, Judo from Sone Sensei, and Kashimaryu Jujitsu from Osugi Sensei.

December, 1943: Terada Hanshi, age 21, joins the army because of the ongoing war and in March of 1944, received orders to go to the Air Force academy to become an aircraft mechanic. Terada Hanshi reported to Kumamoto Airfield in 1944, where he engaged in aircraft maintenance until August of 1945. At that time he heard the official announcement (in Kumamoto) that the war was over. Two days later, on August 17, he returned home to Nagasaki.

1948: Terada Hanshi, age 26, moves to Tokyo to work for Miyakoshi company. Two years later, in 1950, he goes to work for the military police in Yokohama. That same year, Terada Hanshi started training at the Aikikai Honbu dojo and took lessons from Ueshiba Morehei O’Sensei and Ueshiba Kisshomaru Doshu.

1952: Terada Hanshi, age 29, conducts an Aikido training seminar for NKK Company and 85 police stations in Tokyo, together with Shioda Gozo Soke. Then, in 1955, he conducts Aikido training for the Police Department in Yokohama and Camp Drake in Saitama.

July 1955: Terada Hanshi, age 31, co-founded Yoshinkan Aikido with Shioda Gozo Soke.

1957: Terada Hanshi, age 33, meets US Senator Robert Kennedy and Prime Minister Nakasone at the Yoshinkan Honbu dojo.

1961: Terada Hanshi, age 37, leaves Tokyo and starts teaching Aikido at the military base in Yokosuka, where he meets and starts to train Amos Parker Sensei, who had started his training under Noguchi Yukio Sensei.

1967: Terada Hanshi, age 43, makes the first of several trips outside Japan to conduct an Aikido seminar in Honolulu, Hawaii.

1977: Terada Hanshi begins to teach Amos Parker Sensei again after his retirement from the U.S. Navy. Terada Hanshi would train Parker Sensei for another 20 years after his returned to Yokosuka, from Guam.

1990: Terada Hanshi, age 66, receives his 9th degree (Ku dan) from Shioda Gozo Soke. He also receives the title of Saikoo Shihan of Yoshinkan Aikido. Today he is the president of National Yoshinkan Renmei and the president of Aikido Yoshinkan Seiseikai as well he serves as Saikoo Komon of Yoshinkan Aikido. (Chief Technical Advisor to Yoshinkan Aikido)

2008: Elevated to Judan (10th degree black black), Yoshinkan Aikido.

This text was written by Gozo Shioda and was left in the kitchen of his dojo as a sort of unofficial manual to the life and way of Aikido for his Uchideshi.  It is a definate must read for all.

Aikido Shugyo, by Gozo Shioda, was originally released in Japanese in 1991. Throughout this important and insightful work, Shioda Sensei relates many stories about the time he spent training directly with the founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba Sensei, about his war-time experiences and about his years as the Headmaster of the Yoshinkan. He also uses countless anecdotes to convey important insights into the functioning and application of Aikido techniques. Aikido Shugyo will inspire anyone interested in traditional martial arts with its lessons, its history, and its straight-forward approach to the application of Aikido techniques.

Aikido Shugyo is a rare insight from one of the leading and most well-known martial artists of his time. Already a “classic” in Japanese, it is a required text for every martial arts library. This first ever English publication is a faithful and complete presentation of the original Japanese text and includes a Forward by Kyoichi Inoue Sensei, 9th Dan, Dojo-cho of the Yoshinkan Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.

Gozo Shioda was one of the most prominent Aikido Masters of the latter half of the 20th Century. He began his study of Aikido at the age of 17 directly under the supervision of the Founder, Morihei Ueshiba Sensei. For some 8 years, he undertook severe training as an uchideshi – a live-in student.

After the war, Shioda Sensei spent a brief period in Iwama where he resumed his formal training under Ueshiba Sensei. It was during this time, in 1951, that Ueshiba Sensei awarded him the rank of 9th dan. Shortly after this Shioda Sensei returned to Tokyo where, in 1954, after the lifting of the ban on martial arts training imposed by General MacArthur, the Nippon Sogo Budo Yaitai (Life Extension Association) sponsored the first post-war martial arts demonstration. Shioda Sensei participated in front of some 15,000 on-lookers and was awarded the Grand Prize for best performance. Shortly thereafter, in 1955, he established his own independent school – the Yoshinkan.

The translators, Jacques Payet and Christopher Johnston, have worked closely with the Yoshinkan Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, to present the definitive English translation of Shioda Sensei’s exciting and thought provoking book.