Gaku Homma Nippon Kan Kancho Visits East Timor

Nov 17-22, 2007

Group photo in front of East Timor dojo;
On the left, Wada Sensei. On the right, Sung Ju-hwan Sensei.

North of Australia and east of Indonesia lies the worlds newest independent nation of East Timor. Last November I had the opportunity to visit the capitol city of the island country of East Timor for five days. I came at the invitation of Sung Ju-hwan Sensei to teach Aikido to Aikidoka practicing there and at the UNPOL Police Academy.

East Timor has had a tumultuous history. In 1999, civil war broke out in East Timor over becoming independent from its neighboring country of Indonesia leaving many dead and over 50,000 internal refugees. The United Nations were called in to serve as negotiators and peace keepers and have remained in East Timor ever since. In 2006 civil unrest erupted once again in East Timor this time between East and West Timor and was complicated by the war like clashes between rival martial art gangs. These were the circumstances in East Timor when I went to teach Aikido; challenging to say the least.

Aikido practice in East Timor

The TAF (Timor Aikido Federation) began in 2003 when an Italian Aikidoist was stationed in East Timor for about four months. Mr. Yoshikazu Wada, sent to East Timor by JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) practiced at the Azabu dojo under Kosaku Takano Sensei and volunteered his time to teach Aikido in East Timor during his off-duty hours from 2005 until 2006.

2006 was a year in East Timor marked by civil unrest, internal war and the disruption of most civilian activities. Under these conditions, Aikido was not practiced again until the arrival in March 2007 of Sung Ju-hwan Sensei who reinitiated the program with Mr Wada and Mr. Ziad Ysuf Abuamer. Mr. Ziad Abuamer is an instructor practicing Aikido in Alexandria, Egypt under the Egypt Aikido Association and Kenji Kumagai Shihan who was also sent for active duty in East Timor as a UNPOL peace keeping officer. Last September Sung Ju-hwan Sensei organized the firstunified open peaceful martial demonstration ever held in East Timor.

After my visit to East Timor in November, the United Nations General Secretary Ban Gibbons also visited East Timor and saw an Aikido demonstration arranged in his honor. Even the General Secretary is aware that the martial art wars in East Timor are a serious problem and has found a new interest in the positive influences of Aikido and its practice in this war-torn arena.

In front of East Timor Police Academy. On my left Instructor Ziad. On my right Sung Sensei.

I first met Sung Ju-hwan Sensei in Korea when I visited the Korean Aikido Federation under Ikam Yoon Sensei in 2005. Sung Ju-hwan took to heart the philosophy of AHAN and AHAN activities around the world and vowed to do something himself to bring peace to the world through Aikido. With this dream in mind, he joined the United Nations UNPOL and was sent to East Timor for a one year tour of duty. While in East Timor I taught Aikido to civilians at the Timor Aikido Federation at a local gymnasium. I also taught classes to Instructors in Training at the Police Academy.

: Police Academy Principal, Mr Hornay.

: Police Academy Instructors class.

On this trip I was introduced by Mr. Wada and his wife Kaeko to Father Toshiro Horie who runs a Catholic monastery in the capitol of Dili. Since 2006, Dili has been overrun with refugees and originally over 5000 men, women and children sought refuge at the monastery. Still today many refugee families remain and Father Horie takes care of them with compassion and diligence. Father Horie spent 15 years at a missionary deep in the Amazon jungles and has now been in East Timor for the last 6 years. Father Horie is 68 years old, but remains a very positive force in the reconstruction of East Timor. In Nippon Kan AHAN’s name, a large supply of powdered milk was donated for the refugees living at the monastery.

: Father Horie with a class of students.

: The classroom tent is well ventilated…

Refugees still living at the monastery.

Please link here to my article “Bujutsu Fighting Gangs in East Timor PART I ” which explores my views on Budo and Bujutsu and the international impact of both on our global society. Please also link to the article about East Timor and my November visit written by Korean Aikido Federation Instructor, UNPOL Officer Sung Ju-hwan titled “Sharing not Struggling”.

PART II of “Bujutsu Fighting Gangs in East Timor” will be posted after my second trip to East Timor in early February 2008.

Capitol City of Dili, East Timor-Photo Album