1-Day Seminar with Suzuki Yasu Sensei, Spring 2007

AKI Santa Barbara and others
March 11th, 2007

(All photos inside the dojo taken by Gen Yamaguchi.)

We at Aikido Kenkyukai Santa Barbara were so lucky to have Yasu Sensei visit us for a one day seminar on March 11th. I had met Yasu Sensei when I visited Japan several years ago, myself very new to training, and most of my memories were only of how generous and caring of a host he was to myself and the other visitors from our dojo. When I heard he was coming to teach for a day I was very excited because I had heard many stories about his unique abilites. I was also anxious because I wanted our dojo to give him as great of an experience as he showed us while we visited. Not an easy feat for a week much less a one day trip. Needless to say the training was fantastic.

After our training we went to a couple of our favorite spots and tried to give Yasu Sensei a taste of Santa Barbara in the limited time we had with him. There were a lot of festivites and a lot of laughing and story telling and the night passed very quickly. I feel so fortunate to have been able to spend the whole day with Yasu Sensei and now have a whole new set of experiences to remember, although I will never forget how kind of a host he was to us in Japan. I hope that we in Santa Barbara were, in some way, able to repay him with a similar feeling.

We hope to see you again soon, Yasu Sensei!

Nicholas Hoyle
AKI Santa Barbara

We had a great seminar, and were certainly rewarded for making the effort to attend.

Thanks again to you and your students for putting things together.

– Neville and Jane Nason
Aikido Dokokai, Redwood City

It was a real honor to have Suzuki Yasu Sensei give a one day intensive training seminar at our Santa Barbara dojo. I knew that he was a dai sempai to our own Lia Sensei but had no idea what to expect.

Rather than the formality that I envisioned from one so far advanced from my level, Yasu Sensei was accessible and easy going. He was continuously in motion around the mat and provided personal instruction to each of us. With a few words and many participatory demonstrations we all got to see and feel the crux of the techniques.

I don’t know if I can find the right words to describe his skills. Calm, methodical, poised yet powerful, his techniques combined efficiency with simplicity. Economy of motion is not exactly the proper phrase because he did do big moves when appropriate. However, mostly he just unerringly found, exposed and controlled the openings to the attacker’s center in such a direct manner that it seemed nearly effortless. I’m so appreciative and inspired from the chance to learn from such a talented teacher.

Afterwards, we enjoyed the sunset over the Pacific while hearing stories of Lia Sensei’s early days training in Japan. We were all sorry that it was such a brief visit with Yasu Sensei, but thankful for the time he shared with us.

Andy Cranmer
AKI Santa Barbara

Before the seminar I have had the question as to what the relationship is between strength, muscle, tension, relaxation in Aikido. Some people work out very loose and soft but then they feel also mushy. I always thought of such practice as unrealistic because in a real situation my muscle force would overpower them, so what is the point? Nobody is so loose in real life. In contrast, my own technique has been very muscular and I do everything with a lot of strength and muscle. My intention and focus has translated into muscle. In the seminar I experienced a paradigm shift and learned that good Aikido is forceful but without muscular tension unless necessary. I experienced Yasu Sensei as non-threatening and joyful and friendly and inviting when I attacked him. He seemed not powerful at all and very unimpressive and unassuming. What happened next is not quite clear to me… He moved somehow and not very much and I landed on the floor. I didn’t feel like I had any chance with my muscular strength. What I was missing in my practice was fluidity and flexibility and vulnerability, willingness to be receiving and to let someone in. This seminar taught me the basis of what I need to work on, which is less than more. I need to work on becoming softer and more present without becoming mushy and loosing my strength!
I am a 5th Kyu and just beginning to learn but the seminar gave me a big reference on where my practice needs to go. Thanks, Lia for inviting Yasu Sensei up to Santa Barbara. Thanks, Yasu Sensei for practicing with me!

Tanya Stoyan
AKI Santa Barbara

We at AKI SB know the real reason the time change came early this year. We know that it really had nothing to do with conserving energy, etc. Our nation was simply thrown off and confused by a whirlwind, which originated in our small dojo on State Street when Yasu Sensei visited. There seemed to be hurricanes, twisters, typhoons, and tornadoes tossing us around in the dojo that day!

We were so lucky that Yasu Sensei agreed to travel up to our little beach town on a quick, one-day escape from his L.A. business trip. And of course, it was great to see our friends from the San Fransisco Bay area again: Neville and Jane, and Laurel.

As a teacher, it’s always such a valueable experience for me to see how my sempai like Yasu Sensei deal with each of my students. As a student myself, Yasu Sensei left me with a lots of “homework”, as usual.

I had a wonderful time and look forward to Yasu Sensei’s next visit.

Lia Suzuki
AKI Santa Barbara

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