A Message from Yamada Sensei

I hope you are enjoying the cool ending to summer. I have been traveling so much that it's hard to remember which country I am in, but it's always good to be back in New York! After such a wonderful summer camp at the Seaview Resort in New Jersey, I was unfortunately called to Japan for an emergency family visit. Since then, I have also been to Europe for 2 weeks, and now I have to return to Japan again for both family business and USAF business. It is definitely a busy fall for me, so please excuse me if I am not easy to get in touch with or have not been around much over the past couple of months.

I know there is some news being presented to the USAF instructors about the new USAF 6th kyu requirements. I hope you find these useful guidelines for both your teaching and your training. We will be including the 6th kyu in our tests at New York Aikikai this fall, and hope you do as well. The Techincial Committee and the Board of Directors continue to work hard to present improvements and exciting changes for our community, and I am pleased with the positive and strong outlook for our future.

I hope you all enjoy your fall season, and I'll see you in sunny Florida at winter camp.

Yamada Sensei