Archives for May 2020

Yamada Sensei’s Article for Honbu Dojo Newsletter

Yamada Sensei was asked by Honbu Dojo to write an article for their newsletter. Yamada Sensei wrote the article in Japanese and also provided a copy translated into English. Sensei asked that this article be shared with USAF members and his students around the world:

To the Members with Gratitude

Yoshimitsu Yamada
US Aikido Federation

I am writing this at a small park in front of my apartment.  It’s 7 am.  Beside me, some ten doves are pecking at bread crumbs.  Every now and then, a brave sparrow couple dares to intrude.  What a heart-warming sight!  Were I given a cup of Italian espresso and a Cuban cigar, it would be beyond my bliss!  But, under the current circumstances …   When the birds retreat to their nap, the park may find a lonesome man dancing in a frenzy to his smart-phone music while, away on a bench young lovers, sitting 6 feet apart, may still affirm their love.

To our generation who never knew the Spanish flu of 100 years ago, the “Corona attack” was a horror no one had experienced to date.  Saying this in the past tense sounds as if the issue has come to an end, but unfortunately, we must still fear and be ready for a second and third wave.  Bearing this firmly in mind, let me tell you how we have faced and coped with this catastrophe.

Please allow me to begin with a personal experience.  In February every year, I go to Japan to take care of both personal and official business.  It was the same this February.  At that time, I had heard about the corona virus, but I was not aware that we were in any immediate danger.  However, when I checked in at my usual hotel, I noticed something was amiss.  February is China’s New Year, but the Chinese tourist groups that normally fill the hotels were strangely absent.  Then, having learned the news of infections on a cruise ship, I immediately decided to return to the US.  Alas, the corona virus traveled faster than me, and upon return I found New York under an emergency order.  In March, we were told to stay home and close our Dojo.  Frankly, at this point, I felt that this would be like a vacation, but for more than two months now I have been inundated with phone calls and letters that required my attention (never mind vacation).  Then my thoughts were full of “negatives” – declining Aikido membership, financial problems with the dojo, disappointing cancelation of domestic and international summer camps as well as more than a dozen training sessions, etc. that I look forward to and enjoy.  Most painfully, I learned about the passing of our members and their loved ones due to Covid-19.  

When I felt the most despair, it was the very people whose future I worried about that helped lift my spirit.  Nearly every day I received phone calls of encouragement from members around the US and the world.  Hearing their words, I was happy they felt a part of the Dojo, that Dojo is theirs; further, I was touched by the passion they have for Aikido and the affection they feel for Dojo and Sensei, i.e., me.  As time went on, they came together which led to their developing an on-line class program.  This act by Aikido members reaffirmed for me how important Aikido, Dojo and students are to me.  All this made me very proud of them.  They are my treasures.  The corona episode, which initially made me feel so negative, has in the end made me appreciate the positives. 

Thank you all!  Let us persevere together!  You and I have Aikido!!

Invitation to Share Dojo Virual Classes

Dear USAF and Sansuikai Instructors:

We hope this finds you healthy and well, and that you are managing to adjust to the many new challenges we face in our daily lives.

One of these challenges is how to keep dojo members connected and engaged while our schools remain closed. A growing number of USAF and Sansuikai instructors are holding virtual classes – some of you may be offering classes available only to your dojo members while others are providing classes accessible to anyone through Facebook and other social media outlets.

To help create a centralized location for these USAF and Sansuikai dojo resources, we invite you to share your class invitations, videos, links to your You Tube page, etc., on the USAF Facebook page. Sharing in this manner will help create easier access and visibility for members and the aikido community at large. It will also help everyone stay in touch, remain connected, and support each other as we work on sustaining our physical dojos while keeping the art of aikido alive.

We kindly ask you refrain from posting any videos or materials that have children present, unless it is the instructors’ child(ren) attending the class with them. In addition, any information that is not posted by, or on behalf, of the dojo’s Chief Instructor requires the CI’s approval. Please also know that all posts will be monitored to ensure they are being shared only by USAF and Sansuikai instructors and are instructional.

If you have any questions and/or difficulties sharing to the USAF Facebook page, please email laura@usaikifed.com. Thank you for all your hard work and commitment to help keeping our community together!

A Message From Yamada Sensei 2020_05_10

Dear USAF members:
It’s hard to believe that almost 2 months have gone by since we were in our dojos on the mat together. Sometimes it feels like just yesterday, and sometimes it feels like a lifetime ago.  I am still receiving so many messages from my students around the world, and it brings me much happiness to hear from you and know you are doing okay.  As for me, I am healthy and well, but missing my old life very much. I am just waiting for the day when I can be in my office speaking with people face-to-face, and being on the mat with everyone again. I never realized how much I would miss all the noise and commotion from the construction outside my NY Aikikai office window!
Well, we all must be patient and do what is best of our health and each other.  This is my busy seminar season, and unfortunately I will not be traveling for many months. It is also with a sad heart that I must announce that the USAF summer camp is now officially canceled.  The hotel is in complete agreement and understanding about the situation, and the they are not even open for business yet. As I’m sure you can imagine, it will not be possible to keep everyone safe and enjoy our time doing aikido.  This is very hard for me, there are so many of you I see each summer and it brings me great joy to have the USAF host this camp. It is one of my favorite weeks each year.  The good news however is that we already have our contract to return to the hotel in 2021, and will extend our invitation to Osawa Sensei and Jikou Sugano Sensei to join us next year.
Please stay healthy and take care. I will be in touch again soon, hopefully it will be with good news with a positive forecast for dojos and the aikido world.
Sincerely,
Y. Yamada
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