ENDO SENSEI COURSE - February 2003
In February 2003, Endo Shihan paid his first visit to England and conducted a 3-day seminar in Birmingham, hosted by the United Kingdom Aikikai.
Two hundred people
from a number of different organisations attended the seminar. As the organiser, I was delighted to get
such a good response. For many people this
was the first time that they had seen Sensei.
It is a testament to Sensei’s popularity that so many people came on the
recommendation of others.
We were also pleased to welcome several students from
abroad. Sensei introduced 4 of these as
being his students for more than 20 years: Juhani Laisi (Finland); Frank Ostoff
(Germany); Mouliko Halen (Norway) and Kurt Bartholet (Switzerland).
We were most
fortunate that Makiko Tachibana was able to travel from Japan to be Sensei’s
interpreter for the weekend. Maki did a
fantastic job both on and off the mat and added a dimension to Sensei’s
teaching and to socialising that we
would not have benefited from without her.
Thank you Maki!
In writing this article, I particularly wanted to get
impressions from those students for whom this was a first. I can well remember how I felt the first
time that I saw Sensei and the profound affect it had on me. To this end, I asked several people to tell
me their reaction to the seminar. I
have summarised below the main themes
that occurred in the responses that I received and quoted verbatim from
several people:
Sensei’s graceful and elegant movement impressed a number of
people. This, in conjunction with his
aikido being totally effective:
“His serenity, his calmness, his elegance.”
“The
overwhelming feeling I got when taking ukemi for Endo Sensei was one of just
falling into a vacuum. There was no feeling of power as such, just a light
contact and an inability to keep my feet. His ability to change his technique
slightly for each attack, giving a different feel to each movement, I found
amazing.”
One of the aspects of this seminar that will have been
different for many people was the absence of technique! So often, we leave the dojo having practised
8 or 10 techniques without really understanding what makes them work. It was very beneficial to spend time on the
elements that are required to make the techniques work. In light of this, it seems unimportant to
list the actual techniques that we practised:
it seemed to me that the lesson was about movement, contact and timing,
not simply “how can I get uke to the floor with shiho nage”. This struck a chord with many people:
“It was
refreshing not to be racing through techniques but to concentrate upon 'higher
order' principles. I thought that his
method of teaching was exemplary.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed the freedom of movement that his style promoted - at my practice this week I found that I enjoyed my aikido more than ever partly because having seen Sensei I feel more confident of the validity of a more sensitive, energy-rich, flowing way of moving that is not reliant on muscle alone.”
“Quite often I can get
too focussed on the word 'martial' and lose the softness and flexibility
required, that was my biggest lesson from the weekend.”
“It was amazing to come on a course where relaxation and harmony with a partner were emphasised yet feeling I had still worked as hard as any other weekend.”
These comments sum up Sensei’s teaching very well. Sensei continually emphasised the need to be
relaxed and to move in order to find the point at which uke’s balance can be
broken effortlessly. One of the very
enjoyable aspects of Sensei’s teaching is that he continually goes around the
mat proving just how effortless it is: at least he makes it look easy! Many students were thrilled to have an
opportunity to receive Sensei’s technique.
One of the over-riding themes from the
e-mails that I received was the hugely positive personal impression that Sensei
had made on many people. At the risk of
shamelessly flattering Sensei (!), some of those comments follow:
“It was one of the best
(in fact maybe the best) course I have ever been on and it left a really happy
feeling with me on Monday morning (and still thinking back makes me very
happy). I could go as far as saying it is a bit like being freshly in love and
finding in hard to concentrate on work.”
“He would say something
like "I am holding a bokken or jo lightly in my hands...and “no” I could
not visualise him holding a blunt piece of wood in his hand - he was holding
the finest, gleaming, pristine, sharpest blade one had ever seen.............if
it/he moved, all one would see is it glinting in the light - no shape, no warning,
whoosh.”
“He
inspired me…..If you have contact with him offer him my personal thanks for
opening a new window in my Aikido.”
“…the clarity and splendid teaching of Endo
Sensei.”
“His
extreme patience with the 'juvenile' minion (i.e. me!); his affability; his
smile.”
For me, reading what people have written says
more than any one person could have done in simply writing an account of the
seminar. I hope this gives you, the
reader, a glimpse of the deep impression that Sensei made on many people. One final quotation sums up for me, and I
think for many, the seminar and Endo Shihan:
“Endo Sensei was truly amazing. Nothing more can be
said.”
Cath Davies
United Kingdom Aikikai Pictures