Lia Suzuki brings teachings of Japanese Aikido to State Street
June 10th, 2005
By Leah Etling
Santa Barbara News Press
Sunlight streams into the alleyway dojo off State Street, flooding the little room with peace.
Outside, tourists are streaming by on a nearly-summer day in Santa Barbara. Inside, Suzuki Sensei talks about the upcoming visit of her teacher Takeda Sensei from Japan, the focus on complete dedication to training and improvement.
She points out the traditional Japanese banner on the wall, one that customarily says aikido in Japanese characters.
The ai means harmony, or blending.
The ki means chi, or energy.
The do means the way, or the path. But on this banner, the do is missing.
That is the teaching of Takeda Sensei.
“Takeda Sensei had it left out, because he wanted to emphasize how the path is the student’s responsibility. They have to put that in themselves,” explained Lia Suzuki, who spent nine years in Japan training with Takeda Sensei to improve her skills in this challenging martial art.
Aikido has elements of jujitsu and the Japanese sword arts. The emphasis is on timing and positioning, not power and strength. It can be practiced by everyone from children to the elderly.
Ms. Suzuki, a native of Pennsylvania, has had her dojo, Aikido Kenkyukai Santa Barbara, for six years. She returned to the U.S. from Japan after having lived there for nearly ten years. She also owns a dojo in Pennsylvania.
In college she picked up aikido and years later, continued her studies at a dojo in Boston that truly piqued her interest. There, she met a man who studied with Takeda Sensei — whose name is Bill Gleason Sensei.
“Takeda Sensei is the top student of the late Grand Master Yamaguchi Seigo Sensei, who was head instructor at the World Headquarter Dojo in Tokyo for many years. Takeda Sensei has his headquarter dojo in Yokohama, with many satellite dojos in the Yokohama/Tokyo area, as well as the USA, Canada, Chile, Uruguay, Australia, and New Zealand.”
Suzuki describes her teacher’s aikido as highly evolved and subtle, something she wants her students to experience.
“I hope that my black belts can get some hint of how it’s more evolved than my aikido — a different feeling, a different perspective. And by training with the high level participants who will be attending from around the world, perhaps my black belts can gain some technique for how to replicate those nuances.
“Ninety percent of the visiting practitioners will be students of Takeda Sensei’s, much time studying with him personally in Japan — Jean-Rene Leduc, from Canada, Paul Rapoza, from New England, myself, etc. Often times, when a teacher’s art (whatever kind of art it may be) is so very evolved, it is that teacher’s high-level students who serve as a link between the master and the new student.”
Takeda Sensei travels infrequently to the U.S., and will be making only his third trip here when he visits Santa Barbara from June 10 to 13.
During that time, he will work with Suzuki Sensei and her students, and conduct a public demonstration at 4 p.m. Sunday June 12.
“We’ll start with a dedication of a ‘peace pole.’ It’s a gift from Takeda Sensei — a pole that says ‘May peace prevail on earth’ in four languages. We chose English and Japanese of course for two of the languages. The other two we decided should be Spanish (because of the large Hispanic population of the area) and Chumash (to honor the indigenous people of the area).
“People think that martial arts are all about hurting others. Aikido is just the opposite. It’s the study of communication and conflict — outside ourselves and within. It’s about bettering oneself, thereby the bettering world, making it a more peaceful place. For this reason, the dedication of the peace pole is very appropriate.
“We’ll then have a demonstration of the art itself,” Suzuki said.
Even a first-level black belt, which usually takes three to five years to achieve, is still a beginner student.
So even if Suzuki’s classes are still finding their path, that’s OK.
The journey is a learning experience.
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