Nov 8, 2005
I wonder how many shoes will be left on the last day of this Beginner’s class…
Every year Nippon Kan in Denver has thirty six sessions of beginner’s classes. This last beginner’s class for 2005 had twenty five new beginning students enrolled. This high attendance was a little surprising to staff since this last class of the years begins so late in the year and runs close to the holiday season. The staff joked “There must have been a new Aikido hero movie released”!!
This particular class we call the late class, and each session is held from 7:45 pm. to 9:00 pm. Tuesday and Thursday evenings for a six week period. We also have beginner’s sessions earlier in the evenings and on weekend mornings.
This year Nippon Kan had over 500 beginning students attend beginner classes throughout the year. Over the past ten years attendance has been very consistent, with a slight increase most years. It is our hope that Nippon Kan’s involvement in community service, humanitarian and cultural exchange projects in Denver has been one of the reasons for this level of consistency in our beginning student attendance.
In Colorado, Nippon Kan does not have any satellite or branch dojos with the exception of associated Yama dojo, instructed by Nippon Kan Instructor Rick Thompson. Yama Dojo is located in the mountain town of Telluride, Colorado, and is about a five hour drive from Denver. Homma Kancho considers his visits to see Instructor Rick Thompson and Yama dojo, as a retreat and part of his personal practice. Instructor Rick Thompson often accompanies Homma Kancho on his travels to other countries to teach and to promote AHAN.