|
|
 |
 |
Aspen
Fundraising Kick-Off Seminar for
AHAN’s Mongolia School Named Hope Project
July 9-11,2004
by Brad Manosevitz
A.H.A.N.
Aikido Humanitarian Action Network is a non-profit founded by Gaku
Homma Sensei and based out of his dojo, Nippon Kan, in Denver,
Colorado. In addition to feeding Denver’s homeless population
once a month, AHAN raises money for people in need. The current
focus of A.H.A.N. is a school in Mongolia. The proceeds from Gaku
Homma;s Visit to Aspen, his first domestic seminar outside his
home dojo in years, benefit this project. Gaku Homma Sensei has
traveled extensively outside the U.S. to spread the teachings of
Aikido and raise funds for A.H.A.N. projects. It is truly inspiring
to see the efforts of a few make such a profound difference for
so many. Besides the training and instruction, Homma Sensei’s
example of grassroots community mobilized into action is a lesson
for us all that we are the ones who can and will change the world.
It is our direct action that will yield progress in difficult situations.
That we should not wait for others to solve problems when we can
do something NOW! Homma Sensei’s vision is one thing but
the students and staff that make A.H.A.N. more than just a good
idea speak highly to the dedication to take their aikido practice
beyond the matt and out into the world. Our little group of 40
or so participants raised $1,500.00 in the course of a weekend!Gaku
Homma Sensei and A.H.A.N. are practicing what they teach! For more
information on A.H.A.N.,
visit the web site at: www.nippon-kan.org.
Hard to Understand
On Friday night at the very beginning of the weekend one of the
first things that Homma Sensei said was that he was well aware
that he could be hard to understand at times and we should do our
best to pay attention and get what we could. As this was most certainly
the case, it should be kept in mind that as I write this article,
I am only able to relay what I was able to understand and remember
and that this in no way represents the complete or accurate representation
of all that went on during Homma Sensei’s visit.
Ai-Ki-Do Spectrum
Early in the weekend, Homma Sensei held a jo in his hand. He pointed
to imaginary segments on the jo and spelled “A-I-K-I-D-O” ‘...
At the A end, there is aikido that is very very hard. At the other
end, the O side, is very soft, “California foo-foo aikido...” he
went on to explain ‘... it’s hard to hold the boken
at one end or the other, but look how easy it is to hold it in
the middle, at a balanced point...’ ‘... the practice
at Nippon Kan is about here...’ he points to where the “I” and
the “K” are on the jo, about a third or a quarter from
the “hard end” ‘... some say that our style of
practice is very hard, very dangerous.... I don’t think so....’
I had heard that Homma Sensei practiced a “hard” style
of Aikido and I was a little concerned about injury. As it turned
out, maybe I did not need to be so uptight about Homma Sensei’s
visit. Throughout the entire weekend he was in good spirits, pleasant
to be around, and encouraging. His excellent sense of humor put
everyone at ease. As a co-host to this honored guest, I was plenty
nervous, but as it turned out, needlessly. Homma Sensei consistently
used Rick Thompson Sempai for his uke and it became very clear
that Rick was familiar with Homma Sensei’s style and as such
was well equipped to handle the ukemi. When Homma Sensei chose
others for demonstration — or came around to students during
practice, I observed his technique to be safe and appropriate for
the student he was working with.
ORIGINS of the BOKKEN, and JO.
One of the things I liked so much about the weekend was the historical
perspective that Homma Sensei brought to the mat. He explained
that after WW2, there was no martial arts practice allowed of any
kind in Japan; practice had to be hidden. He showed us that his
bokken had no tip to it. It was cut off square at the tip so as
to appear less as a weapon and more as a garden tool. When a jeep
was heard to approach, boken and jo were simply discarded into
the field. I think it is important to understand that in the aftermath
of WWII, Tokyo was nothing but burnt timber. Nearly everything
in pre-war Japan was built of wood and was no match for an atomic
explosion. Destruction that we as westerners can only imagine was
second only to the shame of losing the war at a terrible cost.
These words can not possibly do these extreme circumstances justice.
And in these extraordinary times, here was O'SENSEI offering an
alternative to fighting through self correction. Keeping this perspective
on the origins of Aikido add much to the meaning of my practice.
If you ever visit Nippon Kan you will discover in the museum a
large collection of kamikazi sake cups. You need only look at this
display to get a feeling of the impact that the war must have had
on Homma Sensei. It is a very subtle way of making a very strong
statement about the destruction and waste that is a part of war.
WEAPONS TO EMPTY HAND RELATIONSHIPS.
Gaku Homma Sensei’s self described specialty is his demonstration
of the relationship between empty hand technique and weapons practice.
It was amazing to witness his practice with Rick Thompson Sensei,
powerful, precise, and quick. I am looking forward to reviewing
the video footage of these exercises in slow motion. Like the historical
perspectives of Aikido that Homma Sensei constantly referred to
throughout the weekend, this empty hand to weapons practice relationship
brought a deep and thoughtful quality to the training.
MA-AI
Gaku Homma Sensei explained Ma-ai this way. He laid down on his
front side and stretched his hands toward his uke. His fingers
just barely touched the toes of Uke. Then he stood up and told
uke to move around. Homma Sensei also ran around and the yelled “stop”.
He again laid out on his front and reached for Uke’s toes...again
just barely touching. This demonstration was repeated a few more
times. Homma Sensei noted that eventually, this sense of distance
develops naturally. It was quite different from the arms reach
version of Mai-ai that I had originally been shown. Later, when
we practiced with bokken, Homma Sensei suggested that we greatly
increase the distance of Mai-ai so that we could practice with
full strength and big movements without risking injury to our partner.
He also demonstrated that, in reality, opponents could reach each
other quickly with a 3 foot razor sharp blade and that a larger
mai-ai was necessary.
ONE STEP LEADS TO THE NEXT
One of the things that I was able to take from the weekend was
that one step leads to the next. Homma Sensei would move to one
foot almost exclusively, bending at the knee, almost lifting the
other foot completely off the ground as he seemed to coil a spring
to maximum tension before the spring uncoiled and he sprang forward
to the next move. Almost a hopping from one foot to the other,
making use of the natural momentum that was created from moving
to one
foot and then to the other.
NO, STOP, PUNISH
Another important gem that I received from Homma Sensei was the
three step process of No, Stop, Punish. I have always had a problem
with choosing an appropriate, timely response to a conflict situation.
This has almost become harder as I have continued to practice because
there are so many more options to choose from than when I first
started to train. Homma Sensei’s system was simple. NO! Letting
Uke know, in no uncertain terms, that what was happening (an attack)
was not welcomed, not appropriate, and not okay. STOP! A second
warning to Uke to cease the attack, a second chance for Uke to
rethink the offending action. PUNISH. Uke continues the attack
and a technique is used to control or throw Uke. Since learning
this concept from Homma Sensei, I have been wondering how I might
apply this to verbal conflict, since the majority of conflict I
encounter are verbal. Whether the attack comes from a stranger
at the store or a co worker, my current contemplation is how can
I successfully apply NO, STOP, PUNISH to a non physical conflict.
It is good reference point for me to keep in mind, a good procedure
to follow when selecting a timely and appropriate response to an
attack. Homma Sensei expressed this in terms of how Uke and Nage
begin their interaction with each other. It was an interesting
way of “getting into” a technique. It is also something
that I will need to practice more before I can attempt to describe
it in detail.
FIRST FIVE MINUTES OF THE MOVIE.
Related to the section above, Homma Sensei took great care on Saturday
morning to show us that just sticking a hand out for Uke to grab
was like missing the first five minutes of a movie and not very “real”.
He noted that sometimes, if you miss the first five minutes of
a movie, there is a good chance that you’ll be lost for the
rest of the time; that sometimes the whole point of the movie depends
on the first 5 minutes.
OVERSIZED MOVEMENT-BUY YOUR JEANS JUST A LITTLE BIG.
Homma Sensei encouraged all of us to make bigger movements. Exaggerating
our movement s in practice will yield proper sized movements in
actual conflict resolution. “...you buy your jeans just a
little big, right... so that they shrink to fit just perfect...”
MAKE WHAT YOU CAN WITH WHAT YOU’VE GOT.
On Sunday morning after threatening to cure our hangovers with
koshinage practice, Homma Sensei asked us to gather around as he
began to empty out a plastic bag of artifacts from one of his trips
abroad. He pulled out a tin scooper, a lamp, cheese grater, and
a crude scale. All of these items had been crafted out of tin cans
of various sizes. Homma Sensei explained that the people who made
these items were so poor that they would make these items to sell
at the market or use themselves. He explained his fascination with
the ingenuity that went into producing these items, and that the
lack of financial resources did not deter these people from their
goals. He emphasized how it was not necessary that one have a famous
aikido teacher or a fancy dojo, or nice mats, etc.. that it’s
more important to do what you can with what you have. That sometimes
the lack of instruction he had witnessed in other countries led
to more independent thinking and ability to improvise.
FIN.
In the days and classes that followed the weekend with Homma Sensei,
my training partners and I put our collective experiences together
to discuss and decipher what we had seen. It occurs to me that
our confusion and our attempts to piece together Homma Sensei’s
message and instruction might resemble the challenges O’sensei’s
students must have experienced on some level as they tried to absorb
the Founder’s teachings. I am not comparing Homma Sensei
to O’Sensei, but I am comparing a feeling that these two
groups of students must have shared on some level. The gratitude
for the teaching, the determination to absorb the instruction and
the desire please the teacher. Meeting afterward to practice what
has been shown, to compare notes, and make an attempt to retain
what we can, has been part of our practice too.
COLLABORATION BETWEEN DOJOS
In addition to all of these new things to work on, I came away
from the weekend with enormous gratitude for the instruction and
spirited practice, a sense of satisfaction borne out of co-opperation
and collaboration with Yama Dojo and Aspen Aikido to pull the seminar
together, and the very good feeling that comes from meeting new
people, all of whom are committed to the self work that is budo.
|
|
|
|
