Eric Gillet, Tacoma Aikikai
An intensive is a wonderful opportunity that allows a dojo to breathe deeply as one. For four days in October, members of our dojo trained together, learning from Diane Deskin Sensei, along with a few aikidoka from other dojos. This second annual weapons intensive was made feasible thanks to a grant offered by Birankai North America, which allows dojos of any size to host these types of events. If used regularly by a growing number of dojos, I believe the effects could be felt in the whole federation. This could exponentially affect every Birankai aikidoka to benefit their practice, while increasing the sense of community.
A seminar focuses on the exchange between visiting aikidokas to challenge and increase everyone’s practice. A seminar schedule is usually Friday night, Saturday all day, and Sunday morning, with attendance focused on Saturday. The students from the hosting dojo welcome and train with members from many other dojos and create bonds that will deepen with the years. After visiting Alameda Aikikai for Mike Flynn Sensei’s seminar, for instance, the Tacoma and Alameda students decided to stay connected through Discord and develop their own relationships between both dojos.
An Intensive, on the other hand, having a longer, sustained format, focuses more on the dojo members and helps to build a deeper relationship between them and the guest instructor. The instructor adapts their teaching to the dojo members’ needs, and in our case, carried out that teaching for four days. We saw students practicing between the classes during the Intensive, and see this as a beautiful thank you to the instructor. The guest instructor can see the effects of their teaching on a whole dojo, as well, and when they return, they can appreciate the long-term effects they have helped to generate.
The other benefit to an Intensive is that the dojo members learn and evolve collectively. Working with a dojo member during the Weapons Intensive increases the possibility to “recreate” a feeling that you capture later during a regular class when you work together again. Many students practice only two to three days a week. The Intensive, which was held in the evenings, offered a chance to increase the amount of practice, while not conflicting with the regular day schedule that people have off the mat, and demonstrates to students that they can practice more than their 2-3 days. They may discover that their physical capacities are much greater than they thought. Many students who only meet occasionally at the dojo due to their different training schedules, also have the opportunity to train together. In this way, dojo members together increased their cohesion, practice, and curiosity in the art.
Tacoma Aikikai has been lucky to host a Weapons Intensive with Diane Deskin Sensei for the past two years. While focusing on the weapons work, the effects of her teaching also affected the students’ body arts. Deskin Sensei spoke about “sizzling” during the encounter of our bokken, and about zanshin. Those concepts should be present in the body arts training as well and feeling them through the weapons will translate into body arts. I’m confident that many other effects will keep growing within the students’ practice. Later they might have an “enlightenment”, on or off the mat, about something they saw or felt during the Intensive. This is not specific to an Intensive, but the more you train and focus, the more you increase the chance of an “enlightment”.
An Intensive does not replace a Seminar and a Seminar is not an Intensive. Both are extremely valuable and great opportunities to deepen our training.
Editor’s note: a dojo may apply for a grant for a Seminar, a Technical Team (TT) Seminar, an Intensive, or a Dojo Event such as an open house. The maximum grant award for a Seminar is $1,500, for a Technical Team (TT) Seminar or Intensive is $3,000, and for an Event is $500. A Seminar is defined as a 2-3 day event, a TT Seminar involves hosting two or more members of the TT for any length event, and an Intensive is defined as a 4 (or more) day event. Any grant shall be placed into one of these categories.
Apply here: https://birankai.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Seminar-Grants-Application.pdf