Don't worry mate, you are not alone.
This sort of crap is running riot here in Aus at the moment and from my
recent first hand experience it has also filtered back to Japan. (At least
you hadn't booked tickets to Japan before you were denied...LOL)
Understandably though, as the powers that be here obviously can say what
they like to HQ, whether true or not, without any recourse available to the
student. Yes I agree with you, this is not the message from O'Sensei as I
understand it.

It's a sad state of affairs for sure. And I believe the Aikido community has
lost a lot from this, both in students and quality of teaching. If it
continues and Japan ever understands what is really happening here, we could
lose more than that.

It goes a little deeper for me than a seminar attendance though. (not making
light of it though) My question is, how can any one man here is Australia
determine the fate of any student and sleep straight in bed at night? I'm
not going to give full details on this list but suffice to say, in my case,
this was done without a dojo committee decision or even the manners by the
head dojo instructor to involve the student or give an explanation. Even
without an understanding of Aikido principles, that is just plain rude in my
opinion.

My only advice to you, from someone who has been involved with this first
hand is to just worry about what you can do for the good of Aiki. Don't
worry about these small minds.

Plant good seeds and reap a good harvest. For some maybe there should be a
first line that reads, don't be afraid to plant good seeds. ;-)

Best of luck with your training and if you are in Brisbane, feel free to
drop in and train with us. Our new dojo now has a true open door policy.




-----Original Message-----
From: Aikido_Australia@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:Aikido_Australia@yahoogroups.com]
Sent: Wednesday, 25 January 2006 11:01 AM
To: Aikido_Australia@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Aikido_Australia] Digest Number 556

There is 1 message in this issue.

Topics in this digest:

1. Doshu Visit
From: "assunta_morrone" <assuntam@...>


________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Message: 1
Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2006 11:33:15 -0000
From: "assunta_morrone" <assuntam@...>
Subject: Doshu Visit

Hi everyone

I recently had an experience that has prompted me to ask if any one else has
had the same.

I have been training in Aikido for 10 years. My home dojo is an independent
dojo headed by Catherine Schnell Sensei, with over 25 years experience in
Aikido. Sensei has always provided a solid base in our style she has
encouraged us to train with other teachers and experience different styles
and training environments. During my training I have had the opportunity to
train with some wonderful teachers such as Suzuki Yas Sensei, Endo Sensei,
Ariga Sensei, Patricia Hendrix Sensei, Denis Wheeler Sensei and many others
both interstate and overseas.

So you can imagine how excited I was when I heard the Doshu was coming to
Melbourne Australia. I was even more excited when I heard that Aiki-kai
Australia had a non-member fee. Knowing that it would be an extremely
popular event we promptly sent in our registration forms only to be told
that our registrations had been refused because we did not hold a Dan
grading that was recognized by Hombu Dojo.

You can imagine how disappointed I was that I was denied entry. Having
trained with so many other groups and teachers I have never experienced such
overt discrimination and exclusion at any Aikido event. No one has ever
asked for proof of my Dan grading, nor have I ever practiced Aikido in an
unsafe or disrespectful manner.

I feel embarrassed and sad that Aikido in Australia is dominated by an
organization that excludes and discriminates against fellow Aikido
practitioners. From my experience I have not found this to be the case in
other countries, where I have been told that everyone trains with everyone
and seminars are open to all.

I can't help thinking that the narrow-minded "powers that be" at Aiki-kai
Australia, I would argue, have missed the point of O Sensei's teaching.









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