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Homma Sensei Visits Nippon Kan Wisconsin
in Milwaukee.
By Charles Deiro Sensei
Without fanfare he arrived, and after
three days of powerful practice, he was gone.
Every time Homma Sensei visits us in Milwaukee, it is like this.
No press releases, no flyers, no fanfare, advertisements or hype…just
a magical time. Homma Sensei does not ask to be entertained, or
even paid for his time and expertise. The only arrangements I needed
to make, was to find a place for him to sleep and to arrange the
practice schedule. Worrying about our dojo budget, Homma Sensei
even made a donation to our dojo to help cover his hotel expenses.
Not wanting to burden students financially there were no testing
fees or books for sale. Homma Sensei did not even bring his bokken
and jo. When I asked him about this, he commented that a mop handle
would suffice.
Once practice began however, there was no more time to be low-key.
Homma Sensei punctuated his powerful teaching methods with insights
into life with the Founder Morihei Ueshiba, and the history of Aikido
development in the United States. He surprised everyone with the
depth of his knowledge and direct experience. He also talked about
A.H.A.N., the Aikido Humanitarian Active Network
of which he is Founder.
Nippon Kan Wisconsin has also been involved with community service
projects such as those sponsored by AHAN. Nippon Kan Wisconsin is
involved on an annual basis doing demonstrations for the Asian American
Community. We most recently were involved in a project sorting and
distributing food for the local food bank in town. We also put on
volunteer Aikido workshops for local Lutheran Churches.
Practice was held over three consecutive evenings. The practice
themes were flexible, covering what the students needed to focus
on to improve their technique and understanding. Homma Sensei spoke
at length about what could be learned through the practice of Aikido
as it relates to life beyond the mat. The third evening we spent
working on the relationship between bokken, jo and open hand movement;
which is major part of the foundation of Homma Sensei’s teaching.
In the United States, it is rare for Homma Sensei to travel outside
of Denver to teach. We felt lucky to have him here with us.
Charles Deiro Sensei
Aikido Nippon Kan Wisconsin
Note from Editor.
After reading Charles’s report, Homma Sensei
had the following comments.
Dear Charles,
I did not come to Milwaukee only to go to your dojo, I came to meet
with you. You have been an important student and friend of Nippon
Kan and mine for over 25 years. It is because of support such as
yours, that Nippon Kan has been able to grow.
I do receive invitations from different dojos to teach seminars,
but it is not a goal of mine to become a weekend Aikido vender.
I still concentrate on my own shugyo (life path of practice), and
have far to go. The older I get, the more I think about our practice
of Aikido and what it truly means. Thank you for the opportunity
to learn from all of you.
Gaku Homma