Griffith Shukan News

Thursday, 25^th  September  2008 

CONTENTS:   

1.     Reminder - No Adult Classes At Nathan Dojo During Maruyama Sensei Seminar

2.     Taninzugake – Steve Mitchell Sensei

3.     Zen Poetry - Wendy

1.     Reminder - No Adult Classes At Nathan Dojo During Maruyama Sensei Seminar

Please be aware that there will be no adult classes at our Nathan dojo for the duration of the Brisbane Seminar 25^th – 28^th September inclusive.  That means the classes that would normally be held on Thursday night 25^th, Saturday 27^th and Sunday 28^th September are cancelled.  The Saturday morning children’s classes will proceed as normal with Steve Mitchell Sensei.

2.     Taninzugake – Steve Mitchell Sensei

Some Personal Thoughts on Taninzugake

We are about to embark on a new timetable in October which promises an hour of Taninzugake on Tuesdays.  This is welcome, as there is more to this form of practice that can be explored than we currently get to do.  I worry that some see Taninzugake as a ‘play’ or ‘fun’ form of aikido.  Of course it’s fun, but there is a great deal to learn, and we should be serious about pursuing that learning.

I have been watching Taninzugake practice recently, which as a club, we have the privilege of regularly getting to practice.  It is wonderful fun, of course, great for the cardiovascular system, and allows us to practice and contemplate our aikido as a more dynamic form.  There is much it can teach us if we look for, or are open to, the lessons that exist within this type of practice.

I was surprised a couple of years ago to learn that many dojos do much less ‘freestyle’ than we do.  We are very lucky to have time set aside every week.  So Taninzugake is an opportunity which we should treasure for the insights we can gain for ourselves and our aikido, as well as for the fun it provides. 

I was very conscious when I was a beginner and junior, of ‘performing’ in Taninzugake.  I felt that I was continually being critically assessed every time I did it, that I had to produce ‘nice’ free-flowing aikido to receive recognition that I was improving.  As a beginner, Taninzugake felt like a barometer against which others judged how I was going with aikido.

The actual reality was far removed.  What I realise now is that Taninzugake is a gift provided to students, an open and flexible learning opportunity, with myriad lessons.  Students can see it as a barometer, against which they are judged, as I did – but that barometer only existed in my mind.  If anything, perhaps Taninzugake can be seen as a reflection of growing confidence and improvement by a student.

As I gained experience and confidence, I am proud to say I cared less and less about what others thought.  As much Taninzugake as we did, it seemed it was only a short time available to try to do so much, and I became increasingly determined to explore different aspects of my own aikido which I wanted to improve or which I was working on in my head, which were important to me, as well as squeeze as much fun as I could out of it.  In a way, aikido itself was changing my approach, and was strongly encouraging me to set my ego aside.  As a result, I let go of the need to ‘perform’, learnt much more profoundly, and advanced my understanding of the art as a consequence.

If I can offer advice to juniors, it would be to set ego aside, have fun, forget that others might judge, work on things that are important to you (e.g. improving awareness, extension), don’t worry about ‘failing’, and definitely choose all sorts of uke’s when you do Taninzugake.  I think there can be a tendency at times to continually choose ‘good’ uke’s, and while this tendency helps confidence and does provide some insights, I believe it can hide things we can improve on and is often an opportunity lost to advance our personal growth and understanding in aikido.  Choosing a variety of uke’s includes the people who don’t always make our aikido look as pretty out on the mat.  Selecting uke’s who make our aikido look ‘nice’ is clearly an ego-driven choice and we should be willing to discard such an approach.  I’m not saying don’t choose good uke’s.  I’m saying don’t always choose them, if you’re thinking it makes your aikido look better.  I’m saying that choosing a wide variety of uke’s can add to our understanding of body types and shapes, as well as the energy and rhythm of different people.  For example, we too often leave out the older members of our club (older than me that is), as they can move more slowly and we worry about hurting or overexerting them.  This is a mistake, as they are usually very experienced (and can look after themselves – don’t do them the disrespect and disservice of feeling you need to protect them) and have much to offer in enhancing your Taninzugake and understanding of aikido.  They wouldn’t be coming to aikido if they were worried about getting hurt.  They’re coming to aikido to learn like we all are, and in Taninzugake, we can also learn a great deal as uke.  Let them have fun too!

See you on the mat!

Steve Mitchell

3.     Zen Poetry - Wendy

The mind of the past is ungraspable
The mind of the future is ungraspable
The mind of the present is ungraspable
-Diamond Sutra

If all the waves of the Zen stream were alike
Innumerable ordinary people would get bogged down

consumed with anger
the world is an ugly place
bathed in happiness
the world is a wonderful place
but aha! the same world
-unno

These are some Zen sayings I felt were related to Aikido practise. Whilst I am there  myriad  thoughts rise, moods change, people change, the structure and rituals of training remain the same. A constant underlying change as I progress.