June 23 – 25, 2006
After weeks of anticipation, my first Gasshuku. I’m nervous and excited. Nervous about whether training three times a day for three days will be too much to handle. Excited about facing that challenge and meeting the visitors who will train with us.
Thursday night there is a little preview. Jean-Rene sensei arrives in time for keiko. From the keiko to the salsa club afterward he brings a spirit and a joviality that epitomize joie de vivre.
On Friday he leads our first session. Besides the familiar physical motions he teaches us his particular view of the world. One can become big or small, move forward or back, rise up or come down while knowing and holding a center that is both solid and nimble. Circles, lines and planes of motion and of existence are ours to explore. His embodiment of a solid center makes it easy to see and comprehend the possibilities, but incorporating them will be something to work on for many, many years to come.
Lia sensei leads the afternoon keiko. She blends what we learned in the morning with her now familiar style. How to thread your way on your own path while inviting, encouraging and guiding an attacker to join your journey. You both arrive at the destination that you choose without forcing or alarming your new companion. Sometimes you lead with enticements and sometimes the attacker’s original path meets an apparently immovable obstacle in you. Sometimes he’s just so far out on limb that gravity takes him to a convenient harmless place.
Later we welcome the Bay area contingent. We now have friends from Canada, Pennsylvania and northern California. Many new faces share an evening watching the sun set from the waterfront.
Saturday I’m thrilled to get out of bed. Nothing about me is bent, broken or too creaky to function. The morning keikos continue the themes from the prior day. It?s all still beautiful to see and hard to recreate.
Lunchtime is a typical Santa Barbara affair. Throngs of people with four foot high feathered headdresses, mermaids and mermen, conga lines and hula dancers, stilt walkers, battling bands and flying confetti all moving down the center of State Street.
Saturday night the siren song of cool jazz draws us to Café Buenos Aires where we unwind after a stimulating day.
A few people had said that on a Gasshuku Sunday, the pace would probably be more relaxed than the days before. After several days of hard training and several late nights socializing, an easy pace seemed inviting. However, neither Sensei felt the need to go easy on the last day. After keiko comes testing. This is another first for me. I try to find the balance between thinking just enough to hear the technique to perform and then letting go of conscious thought and responding naturally to the attack presented. I get caught up in the moment and the time flies by. After the blur of activity I?m left dry mouthed, panting and happy. My sempai get tested next. I know what Belinda and John can do and it?s fun to watch and to get to be the uke for a few techniques. Last is Richard for his Shodan test. He has the added hurdle of needing to lip read from across the dojo as Lia sensei calls the techniques. She also has provided written signs to display the names for clarity. He rarely needs to read those signs and simply seems to respond appropriately to whatever the uke brings. Maybe it?s seeing the skill of a Shodan in the making or maybe it?s the pride one would feel for a ?big brother? but I?m really moved to see him in action. He?s calm, well centered and proficient at test after test. Toward the end as he defends against three simultaneous attackers fatigue begins to show, but his spirit and skill shine on.
There?s an excited buzz as we leave the mat with congratulations for all who were tested. We quickly start to get organized for the public demonstration which will be the last event of the Gasshuku. From lowest kyu to highest dan both hosts and guests display various small parts of what Aikido offers. When Lia sensei answers questions from the public I’m a little saddened to see that not everything shown to the crowd gets perceived correctly. It’s a paradox because as the skill increases smaller efforts have greater effects. The two senseis move calmly and fluidly yet the attacks are repelled much more forcefully. To the uninitiated it appears too easy to be real.
One final party at Joel and Shioban’s lovely home. Many happy, relaxed and tired faces gather to share stories and enjoy some food and drink. Today we also say goodbye to all of our new friends. Each new friend brought a different personality and style, but through sharing Aikido and parties I now feel personally connected to them and I’m sorry they have to go.
Monday morning I awaken naturally. Then I notice something unusual. Although I’m rested and breathing calmly, each breath is deeper, more fulfilling and bigger than any I’ve ever felt before.
- Andy Cranmer, AKI Santa Barbara
The combination of world class training and genuine hospitality in a fun and vibrant town set the stage for a remarkable 10th anniversary gasshuku in Santa Barbara in June. I journeyed from Canada in the hopes of deepening my understanding of aikido and to my delight discovered that I received that and more.
What an honour to not only receive training from two highly accomplished instructors over the course of one seminar, but to experience it in an environment that allowed for a lot of personal attention for each student.
There was obviously a lot of thought and preparation work that took place behind the scenes to organize the event as every day was filled with great training, wonderful food and fun after-hours activities. The dojo members really know how to make a visitor feel welcome.
Many thanks to Lia Suzuki Sensei, Jean-René Sensei, the organizers and participants who all helped create a great gasshuku experience. See you again in Santa Barbara!
Best regards,
- Joan Posivy , Kootenay A.K.I., Nelson, BC Canada
I finaly arrived in Santa Barbara eager to see and train with my friends for Lia Sensei’s 10th anniversary in America gasshuku. It was a treat to be in Santa Barbara again after a long absence. Three days of keiko found both Lia Sensei and Jean Rene Sensei teaching the classes. I was glad to have the chance once again to soak in the teaching from these two wonderful Senseis. The highlights of the after-keiko going out included a trip to the botanical gardens and a night of delicious margarita drinking. After the gasshuku was over, even with aching knees, it seemed to me that the weekend went by too fast. I wished I could go back and do it all over again. Thank you Sensei for a special ten years of Aikido in America.
- Gene Buryakovsky, AKI Pennsylvania
I found the demo very wonderful. It was interesting to me to see as the skill level went up so did the beauty of the display, like a dance performance. Also love that it is a peaceful martial art. Loved the explanation/demonstration of the different martial arts. I felt even more than ever that I had chosen the right place for my child to be.
William was very proud about the mention of his seiza. When I ask him about class he always says he likes going and does not want to stop going, and seems very happy when he goes.
Thank you very much.
- Katherine Demille, AKI Santa Barbara Kids’ Class Mom
The June Santa Barbara Gasshuku with Jean-Rene Sensei and Lia Sensei was great! It had been a while since I trained Aikido for 3 days in a row, and once again it was an experience very fulfilling. Especially since there were several people that traveled to attend. It was good to see Gene from Pennsylvania, Jamie from San Francisco, and Jean-Rene Sensei and Joan from Canada. Thanks everybody for coming!
- John Kuehl , AKI Santa Barbara
I was surrounded with awkwardness that lurks in my body exploring something new in the silence of an aching heart when i ask myself am I training with my everything with the joyfulness of the smiling foot crashing down in front of my eyes i smile back in the solace of so many open hearts to an exposed adventure.
- Belinda Guarisco, AKI Santa Barbara
Recently I attended a gasshuku in Santa Barbara, celebrating the 10th Anniversary of AKI USA. I had left Santa Barbara nine months earlier, and in the meantime had had minor knee surgery. I was a little out of practice, but when I stepped back into the dojo– my first dojo, my home dojo– I felt the power return to me. Granted, I have only been training Aikido for about 2 years total, but there’s really something to be said for it. It is amazing to be with people whom I respect so much– teachers whose wisdom I hold in the highest regard– yet feel such a connection, and to be so at ease. I am learning the difference between being at ease, and being lazy and disconnected. It is a wonderful feeling to be so connected to people, like family, that I can be open to their gifts. This feeling is marked by being able to make the same connection with people who have joined the dojo in my absence, whom I had just met, and to reconnect with visitors I have met before.
I was also quite glad to be a part of the tests. I was able to see two of my dohai make third kyu, to see another friend become first dan, and a new friend to test for the first time.
It was a remarkable weekend. I look forward to my next visit home.
-Wes Baumgartner , AKI Santa Barbara
The Spirit of Training and the Heart of Aikido
AKI USA 10th Anniversary Gasshuku in Santa Barbara
As a non-training observer at this year’s gasshuku, I had the opportunity to watch the weekend’s events from the perspective of both teacher and student. Over the course of the three-day seminar major themes emerged that I believe embody an approach to training shared by the two instructors: Jean-Rene Leduc and Lia Suzuki.
This first is that Aikido is not easy. It demands tremendous physical and mental stamina, and reveals its secrets slowly. It is a lifelong study that asks us to examine the validity of our training and research each time we step onto the mat. As a result, we are free to – indeed obligated to – evolve our physical and mental attitude as we gain new insights and make new discoveries.
The second theme that stood out is the importance of the attitude of the teacher in guiding the students. Many times I watched as the instructors would push the students to make a change – sometimes physical, sometimes mental – that could crystalize the focus of the moment. Never though did these admonishments demean or belittle. They came always from the sincere desire on the part of the teacher to help the group as a whole make a leap forward. Watching these interactions I saw how an apparently uncompromising and hard-line approach on the part of the teacher has the potential to carry the entire dojo to a higher level.
These two themes: the constant renewal of our focus and dedication in training, and the desire to keep Aikido vital and evolving through individual and collective efforts, reflect a spirit of training that has been growing steadily in recent years throughout the world Aikido community. These two themes, I feel, form the heart of Aikido that is O Sensei’s legacy and gift to the world.
Congratulations to Lia Suzuki and students on the 10th Anniversary of Aikido Kenkyukai USA!
- Neville Nason; Redwood City, CA; July 2006
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