Lock in your early registration discount ASAP for 2015 Birankai Summer Camp — the deadline is May 11. Register here at the 2015 Camp website.
Pay at least 50 percent to get the discount and ensure you’ll have a spot at this exciting event, featuring Miyamoto Shihan from Aikikai Hombu Dojo and top Birankai teachers from across North America. Camp is at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash., from July 16-21. Lots of information available online: camp.birankai.org.
Like the Summer Camp page on Facebook to keep up with the latest news — and sightings of the Fremont troll, above, a Seattle landmark!
Elizabeth Lynn Shihan of Eastshore Aikikai helped BIrankai’s winter-weary East Coasters welcome spring this weekend at Green River Aikido in Greenfield, Mass. Also teaching were Phil Traunstein Sensei of Long Mountain Aikido, George Lyons Shihan of Bucks County Aikido, Dave Stier Sensei of Green River Aikido, Robert Savoca Sensei of Brooklyn Aikikai, K.T. Grimaldi of Copper Mountain Aikido, Kathy Stier Sensei of Green River Aikido and Liese Klein Sensei of Fire Horse Aikido, along with lots of Birankai and USAF colleagues and friends.
Thanks to the great team at Green River Aikido for making the weekend happen!
Archie Champion Shihan of Central Coast Aikikai and Dennis Belt Shihan of Ventura Aikikai got together this weekend once again to teach what has become a semi-annual “Weapons in the Park” class in Ventura, Calif.
Much emphasis was placed by both instructors on NOT being mechanical in our weapons work. Students were reminded to “know what you are doing and why you are doing it” and to “be able to respond to whatever comes.”
Much thanks to both shihan for donating their time. And speaking of being able to respond to whatever comes, we actually got a little bit of rain (hallelujah!) while in the park. It wasn’t nearly enough to end our drought here in California, but it felt good all the same.
Editor’s note: Also check out the video below of Pat Belt Sensei of Ventura Aikikai, the latest in our “Women of Birankai” video series. Keep those videos coming!
“Would your dojo like to do a demonstration at our event?”
My usual answer is an immediate “No,” but this time was different.
The Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, located a mile or so from our dojo in New Haven, Conn., was opening a new exhibit called Samurai and the Culture of Japan’s Great Peace. The museum wanted martial arts demonstrations related the exhibit and asked Fire Horse Aikido to take part.
The Peabody is close and familiar to our members, plus the exhibit seemed relevant to our practice. I thought it over for a bit and say yes to a demo for the first time in my dojo’s seven-year history.
Demos bring up mixed feelings for me – mostly stressful ones. Chiba Sensei used to volunteer members of San Diego Aikikai to take part in demos at Balboa Park’s Japanese Friendship Garden and my memories of the events are of sheer terror. Would I screw up? Would someone get hurt? Would Sensei be pleased with our ukemi? (No, he wouldn’t.)
That stress was even more magnified at the public demos we used to do as part of Summer Camp. The demos seemed to go on for hours and the stakes seemed immeasurable, though usually only a few dozen “civilians” would attend to watch. Blood always seemed to flow. After years of these demos, Sensei decided that they weren’t the most effective way to attract members and we let them go.
In my years in Japan, I enjoyed watching the shihan demos that were the focus of the annual Embukai Aikido event in Tokyo. Birankai teachers including John Brinsley, Roo Heins and Manolo San Miguel have taken ukemi at these demos over the years and they’re always exciting to watch. (Here’s a good clip of Miyamoto Sensei at the 2013 Embukai, with John Brinsley Sensei of Aikido Daiwa on the far right.)
But even in Japan the demos seemed to attract mainly the Aikido faithful, who enjoy most of all critiquing other teachers and their students from the bleachers. And of course there’s the infamous demo by Steven Seagal at the 1993 Embu…
Keeping my doubts about demos at bay, I marshaled the Fire Horse crew for the event at the Peabody Museum on March 28, 2015. Everything went off without a hitch in front of a hundred or so spectators. The kids loved being part of it and we got lots of interest from observers and saw increased traffic on our dojo website and social media.
Putting together the “highlight reel” of the demo above was also lots of fun and appreciated by friends and family.
I might be saying yes to more demos in the future, but I wonder if other Birankai teachers have ideas about how to make them better.
Do you demonstrate Aikido in your community?
What works and what doesn’t work?
Is it something we should be seeking out to promote our art?
Add to the conversation in the comments below. (Comments may take a day or two to show up due to moderation process.)
Editor’s Note: Thanks to John Brinsley of Aikido Daiwa for this writeup from Miyamoto Sensei’s visit earlier this month to North America. I’ve just posted some new video of Miyamoto Sensei from the event and 2013 Camp on the BiranOnline YouTube channel. Don’t forget that the deadline for early registration for 2015 Summer Camp is approaching!
Power Aikido in the Great White North
Miyamoto Sensei provided a rigorous and thoughtful weekend of instruction in Vancouver March 6-8 that left the practitioners tired and yet somehow energized.
East Van Aikikai and Tony Hind Sensei, a long-time Hombu dojo student who lived at Hombu in the early 1990s, did a masterful job in hosting the event. The seminar brought together people from as far away as Hawaii and proved once again that having different organizations are no barrier to a committed group who wish to experience first-rate keiko. I would like to thank Hind Sensei again for putting on such a successful seminar.
Regardless of the technique, Miyamoto Sensei returned again and again to the importance of timing, connection and proper spacing. Even for those of us familiar with his ability to create dynamic technique while adapting to the uke’s movement, there was always a need to pay close attention to how he managed to unbalance his partner while retaining complete control. For me, anyway, it also served as a reminder of how vital the concept of “stealing” the teacher’s technique is, rather than having it spoon-fed.
For Birankai members and attendees, along with valued USAF friends Malory Graham Sensei and Seattle Aikikai students, it provided an excellent chance to spend time with Miyamoto Sensei ahead of Birankai Summer Camp. Which, if the weekend is any indication, should be epic.
T. Miyamoto Shihan — guest instructor at this year’s Birankai Summer Camp — led a great seminar March 6-9 in Vancouver, Canada.
Birankai Aikidoka from across the Northwest, Canada and California attended the event, hosted by East Van Aikikai. Check out these great videos: More at the BiranOnline channel on YouTube.
And check back later this week for a full writeup of the event.
L. Klein
Didier Boyet Sensei of Tokyo gave a great seminar this weekend at Brooklyn Aikikai focusing on kihon waza (basics) and the interplay between sword arts like Iaido and Aikido. Boyet Sensei will be a featured instructor at 2015 Birankai North America Summer Camp — register now at the Summer Camp Registration site.
BTW, we’re getting near 1 million views for our videos — pass the link around and let’s hit seven figures! Better yet, send me more clips of events at Birankai dojos so we make sure to keep the site fresh and interesting. Share via Dropbox or another site — we can also highlight videos posted on your own channel on BiranOnline playlists like “Women of Birankai” and “Summer Camp 2014.”
Look out for your Summer Camp posters in the mail and arriving in the next week or two. And make sure your calendars are marked for July 16-21, 2015, the dates of Birankai Summer Camp at University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash. (Fly into Seattle.) Birankai favorite Miyamoto Shihan, 7th Dan, of Aikikai Hombu Dojo is the guest instructor this year.
Lots of information is available on the website: www.birankai.org/summercamp. Click on the Registration Page (coming this week) to see pricing, FAQ, and to register online. The registration system has been customized by Derek Shaw, Summer Camp registrar, for our very own needs. Enjoy the ease of registration this year.
Important dates: Early Registration ends May 11 Regular Registration ends June 8
Any questions regarding Summer Camp should be sent to birankai@gmail.com or call 503-683-2454.
Looking to get more training before camp with Miyamoto Sensei? Come train in Vancouver, B.C. on March 6-8. Visit the East Van Aikikai website for more information.
On behalf of the Birankai Summer Camp Team,
See you in July!
The countdown has started — less than six months to go before Birankai North America 2015 Summer Camp at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma. The dates are Thursday, July 16 through Tuesday, July 21. Check out the Summer Camp Facebook page for more information as it becomes available.
A dedicated Summer Camp website will also be going live soon with info on the schedule, travel and pre-ordering t-shirts.
See you in Tacoma!
We have our first contender in the Birankai poster creativity contest: Kangeiko in the Midwest!
Word on the street is that the poster depicts a yamabushi — a mountain hermit endowed with weapons skill and uncanny mystical powers…
Outstanding seminar this weekend at Brooklyn Aikikai with Jenny Flower Sensei of Athens Aikido in Greece. Flower Sensei explored iriminage and basic body arts and weapons movements over two days with a full mat of Birankai members from around the Northeast and Midwest.
One of the most inspiring younger teachers in Birankai, Flower Sensei will be back in Brooklyn next December – stay tuned for the date and details! Check out more videos from this weekend’s event at BiranOnline’s channel on Youtube.
At its most basic, fundamental level, testing plays a key role in ensuring the consistency and integrity of any practice whether martial arts, academics, business, medicine or virtually any established system. Testing within our practice functions as an assurance that the core fundamentals are intact and documents continual progress and growth.
This is true as well for any of the aforementioned endeavors. Rigorous testing goes into every product released to the market, any educational institution, any medicine produced, vehicles, airplanes, weapons, clothing; in essence anything of value has been tested. It is important that benchmarks be set in an effort to ensure results are measurable. I believe that the test requirements established by Chiba Sensei and the Birankai Teachers Council Continue reading “A life in testing”
Birankai Aikido instructors gave some powerful seminars this past weekend across the U.S.
Today’s clips include Bernadette Vargas at Aikido of Albuquerque and Robert Savoca at New England Aikikai. Birankai Midwest also gathered this past weekend for a weapons seminar at Fox Valley Aikikai — more clips coming soon.
Lots of energy and dynamic practice this past weekend at the Birankai Aikido East Coast Regional Seminar in Vernon, Conn. Thanks to everyone who made it happen, especially the hard-working crew at Fire Horse Aikido!
More new video up today at BiranOnline of teachers featured at upcoming Birankai events.
Today: Lorraine DiAnne Shihan, George Lyons Shihan, Frank Apodaca Sensei and Robert Savoca Sensei. All are scheduled to instruct this weekend (Nov. 7-9) at the East Coast Birankai Aikido Regional Seminar in Vernon, Conn.
This coming weekend my dojo is hosting our Birankai East Coast Regional Seminar, and I’m about to go nuts. Details are buzzing through my brain like gnats: Who can put up visitors? Will we have enough gluten-free options at the potluck? Will the pole-dancing class next door to the seminar be a distraction?
Not to mention that we just moved Fire Horse Aikido this past week to a new location, with all the craziness that entails. Can people find the new place? Will we have enough tape? Why does every dojo space we find have some kind of leak?
But every time I start to lose it, I have to remind myself that we have the basics: people to train with and a place to train. This weekend – on both East and West coasts – Birankai Aikido practitioners will gather on a mat and practice. That’s all that really matters. Who cares about pole dancers?
In that mode, I’ll be posting new video this week from instructors scheduled to teach at upcoming Birankai regional events. By gathering to practice Chiba Sensei’s Aikido with spirit and commitment, we’re keeping Birankai strong and honoring his ongoing legacy.
Next weekend, Nov. 14-16, features Birankai events including seminars with Darrell Bluhm Sensei at Clallam Aikikai, Alex Peterson Sensei at Aikido of Albuquerque and the Midwest Regional Weapons seminar at Fox Valley Aikikai.
Pack up your gi bag and weapons and see you there!
More new video of Birankai North America’s many strong female instructors: This time of Suzane Van Amburgh, chief instructor at Multnomah Aikikai in Portland, Ore. The footage above is from a seminar Van Amburgh Sensei gave September 27 and 28, 2014, at Aikido Takayama in Mission, B.C.
Van Amburgh Sensei, godan shidoin, has practiced Aikido for more than 30 years and has served as Birankai Northwest Regional Coordinator and Birankai North America 2011 Summer Camp Director.
In addition to her Aikido teaching certification, she is a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Teacher.
Thanks to Van Amburgh Sensei and Norine Longmire Sensei of Aikido Takayama for the footage and keep those videos of our Birankai instructors coming!
