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Shizentai 6British Aikido Association news Summer 2015

BAA ‘Rising Dawn’ & Winchester SchoolsBAA Squad Visit to DublinBAA Senior ChampionshipsHarvey, Dick & Steve Visit JapanGoshinaikikwai reaches 40Hideo Ohba part 4Coaching Young PeopleJunior Reports and more!

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Editor’s page Contents

Editor: Paul Wildish all correspondence andcontributions to shizentai@aikido-baa.org.ukPublished by the British Aikido Associationwebsite www.aikido-baa.org.uk

Reports

3 BAA Rising Dawn Dublin6 BAA Squad in Dublin8 Winchester Spring School9 BAA Senior Nationals10 Bob Jones writes for Martial Arts Illustrated14 Goshinaikikwai hits 4017 International Sports Aikido News

Articles

11 Three Men on a Train18 Hideo Ohba: part 423 Coaching Young People in Tomiki Aikido: part 3

Juniors & Youth

21 BAA Junior Open Championships North

Association News

16 The Importance of Insurance16 Changes to the BAA Executive Committee25 BAA Calendar

First apologies to members for thelate arrival of Shizentai 6 this year.We have not gone away and willbe publishing three issues thisyear. Our intention is to aim forpublication to follow the majorevents in the BAA calendar ofevents. So late ‘spring’, ‘earlyautumn’ and December arebroadly our publication times. Ofcourse much depends on ‘copy’,the articles, reports andphotographs that come in frommembers about our and youractivities. Shizentai is not intendedto be solely the voice of the BAAExecutive but a forum for theexchange of information and thepromotion of the activities of clubsand our members.

It is also intended that it shouldhave an educational role,reminding members of the historyof the BAA and Tomiki Aikido’sdevelopment in Japan as well asproviding articles on coaching andtechnique. This requires people towrite these articles and as BobJones, Paul Wildish and other ECmembers such as Sarah Fletcherand Laura Beadsmore areinvolved in managing theAssociation, we are writing thebulk of the copy. Obviously wewould like more members tocontribute to reflect the views andcharacter of the wholeAssociation.

This issue sees a broader andvery welcome input from JeremyVon Ryan, Pamela Dempsey andSteve Powell who have our thanksfor providing just the sort ofinteresting and lively articles weare looking for. I hope to see thembecome more regular contributors!

This issue also sees the first ofwhat we hope will be regularfeatures, focusing on an individual

BAA club, its history, activities andmembers. In this issue we reporton the Goshinaikikwai's 40thAnniversary. Many other club’smust have long and interestinghistories also, so get together andput something together and sendit to me. We want to know whatyou have been doing.

Changes to the Executive

On page 17 Bob Jones introducesthe changes that have been madeto the management of the BAA.Bob as the longest servingChairman of the BAA has beenheroically carrying the biggestburden of the management of theAssociation for many years. Nowwe have moved to a ‘not for profit’company and are working on bigcoaching and developmentalchange, the burden of work hasconsiderably increased. We havetherefore split the work that Bobpreviously conducted betweendevelopmental affairs and day tomanagement. With Bob as ChiefExecutive Officer and Paul Wildishas the Chairman of the BAArespectively.

Membership Renewal

You can now pay for your BAAIndividual and Club MembershipRenewal online athttp://www.aikido-baa.org.uk/membership-renewal/via paypal. Multiple renewals canbe made by clicking “add to cart”,then once in your paypal basketclick “continue shopping”, whichwill return you to the BAA websitepage to add more renewals beforechecking out. Please note this isonly for renewals. You should usethis when you have received yourrenewal notice from either theMembership Officer or your club.

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‘Rising Dawn’ Dublin, Eire

Ireland’s newest Aikido Club,'Greenhills Tomiki Aikido Ryu'(GTA) welcomed visitinginstructors Bob Jones 7th Dan,Shaun Hoddy 6th Dan, VandaFairchild 5th Dan and over sixtyenthusiastic Aikidoka to the BAA2015 Rising Dawn Seminar atGreenhills Community Centre inDublin.

In its third year, the Rising DawnSeminar has become one of thepopular highlights on the BAAevents calendar attractingincreased attendance year onyear not just from the Republic ofIreland and Northern Ireland butalso from the UK mainland.

Kicking off early at 08:00 was animpressive line-up of GTA Youthand Junior students who took partin a vigorous youth developmentmini-seminar instructed bySensei’s Bob and Vanda. Thenoise, energy and exuberance ofthese young Aikidoka being putthrough their paces greeted earlyarrivals and set the tone for theentire first day.

Formal Welcome &Introductions

Once the formal welcome andintroductions had taken place allwere eager to begin.

Report Jeremy Von Ryan, photographs Mark Cheevers

Session 1 – Dai Roku – SeanHoddy

A vigorous warm-up andstretching programme marshaledby Sensei Fairchild led straightinto the study of section D of theDai Roku, a koryu on the 5th Dansyllabus, under the experttechnical instruction of SenseiHoddy. A fast pace was set andwe had to pair off and attempt toreplicate what (we thought) wesaw demonstrated. It was notlong before beads of sweat wereappearing on furrowed brows asthese kata techniques requiredfull concentration, focus and goodobservation to perform correctly.

Session 2 - Free-playDevelopment – Vanda Fairchild

An hour and a half later, a waterbreak was called and then we wentstraight into a dynamic session onFree-play Development led bySensei Fairchild, the core focus ofwhich was practical methods ofbreaking balance on the move as aprelude to discovering potentialtechniques that could be appliedfrom Uke’s reaction.

The awareness, dynamicmovement and strong posture ofSensei Fairchild’s technique wasamazing. There was a lot to learn(and unlearn) before we wouldhave any chance of executing withthe same grace, but all were eagerto have a go and the sound of

active good humoured practicerang out throughout the hall.

An hour or so later brought us to ashort break at 12:30 where theopportunity to briefly catch up withold friends, take on some much

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quickly to the examination andpowerful demonstration ofdynamic movement of centre asthe basis of good throwingtechnique.

After another hour of techniquedemonstration and practice I thinkwe were getting close to anunderstanding of the softness withmovement needed to explore theconcepts further.

Session 4 - Free-playcontinuation – Vanda Fairchild

A mere five minute break led

needed sustenance for the nextsession.

Session 3 – Dynamic Movement& Softness – Bob Jones

At 13:00 and after a quick warm-up, Sensei Jones slowed the pacedown a little with one of his trade-mark, insightful and entertainingshort lectures on the evolution ofour branch of Aikido from its rootsin Ju-Jitsu through to the Judoinspired training methods adoptedby Kenji Tomiki. If we thought wewere in for a slow session wewere wrong as the focus changed

straight into the second sessionby Sensei Fairchild oncontinuation in Free-play wheredifferent continuation scenarioswere examined as potentialoutcomes from the initial balancebreaks demonstrated in session 1and Uke’s reaction to each.Again, Sensei Vanda this timewith Randori Champion NathanLomax-Cooke as ukedemonstrated the level ofcommitted dynamic movementand timing required from tori toachieve a successful techniqueon an experienced player. After aquick demonstration of each

concept we paired off to practiceand explore how it might work forus.

It was plain to see that everybodywas enjoying the practice andwith many experienced Dangrades on the mats everyone wastaking it seriously. Day 1 of formalseminar instruction concludedwith a quick warm-down and short

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break before the official BAA Kyuand Dan grading got under way.

Day 2 – Session 1 – SuwariWaza with a difference - BobJones

Starting at 10:00 a short warm upwas slowly under way to allow theover indulgent to wake-up andrecover sufficiently from theprevious night’s social activitiesand focus for the first section ofthe Day 2 schedule led by SenseiJones. This session was veryinteresting, working from Aikidokata suwari waza techniques intovarious pins, holds and chokesfound within the Judo syllabus.

Day 2 – Session 2 – Dai Roku(continued)- Sean Hoddy

After another short break, it wasstraight back into the remainingsections of the Dai Roku withSensei Hoddy. As we had a lot ofsyllabus to get through, the pacewas fast and again a high level ofconcentration was required to takein the techniques. This was newsyllabus to nearly all attendeeswith high grades struggling withthe rest to execute what wasdemonstrated. This mind meltingaspect of Aikido is as exciting as it

is challenging as it forces us outof our comfort zone in the struggleto absorb new information quickly.

Day 2 – Closing Session –Softness & Power – Bob Jones

Continuing the theme fromSession 3 of Day1, Jones Senseiclosed out the seminar this yeardemonstrating the awareness,softness and dynamic movementneeded to effectively executetechniques from the Dai Yon, witha special focus on flow andmaintaining good posture. Thetotal combination of all theconcepts in the execution of asingle technique revealed howdifficult this kata is to master to ahigh level.

Uke appreciationIt’s easy to write off the role of ukein a seminar as an accessory.Indeed an experienced uke’scontribution is largely invisibleallowing the instructor to commitand apply technique fully withminimal adjustment orcompensation for full effect. Icertainly appreciated the skillsand utility of the amazing NathanLomax-Cooke, the brilliantPamela Dempsey and theindefatigable Keith McCleanSensei, who after a full day ofseminar uke duty, still had energyto uke for 1 dan grading tests aswell as some serious dancingdemonstrations at the local nightclub. A special mention goes hereto Vanda Fairchild in this regardalso (so I am informed).

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BAA Squad Session Visit to Dublinand the Road to Brisbane

It’s just under a year since my firstsquad session. As with many ofthe aikido trips it was just myselfand Keith McClean that attendedthe last squad session with MickPratt and Danielle Jones as squadmanagers as they handed overthe reigns into the very capablehands of Laura Beardsmore andPaul Carr.It only took one and that was it wewere hooked. Other aikidocommitments prevented us fromattending every session for theremainder of the year but we didmanage to get in a few. Cominghome to our club with a new zestfor aikido and the competitiveelement ever growing we tried torally the troops to our cause. Noteveryone is as addicted as Keithand I so unfortunately most wereunable to commit to travel.It was announced that the newsquad managers would visit ourshores for the first time. A historic

occasion for us and theexcitement was palpable. Our joywas dampened slightly havingattended squad sessions alreadyrealising that now we would havetwo days of it instead of one.We attended the squad session inOctober in what would be our lastof the year in that venue. The

new managers now in full swingset out a tough session. We werereminded of what was to come inNovember. It was after thissession being encouraged byother members of squad and theteam that we made the decisionthat we would commit to going tothe World Championships inBrisbane. It was so exciting nowto welcome Paul and Laura toDublin knowing that we would betraining with them on the run up toour first international competition.November arrived. It was coldand miserable, like every othermonth in Ireland. But they camenonetheless not knowing whatwould be waiting. We are only atthe beginning of our competitiveroad in Ireland. The knowledgeand experience brought with thesquad managers was beyondmeasure. For some it would bethe first time they would witnesswhat competitive aikido reallylooks like. Despite our bestefforts to explain it, it was Pauland Laura who managed to makesense of it for so many whoattended.It was a two day session, run likemany of the others we’d attended.

Pamela Dempsey

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Irish Squad Session November 2014

Paul took the lead with the warmup and much of the uchikomitraining. It was well attended withall those there giving it their besteffort. Much of the first day washigh tempo physically as wewould expect. Moving swiftly intoa quick introduction to the rules ofcompetitive aikido. Specificallyfor Randori. For many thatattended this would’ve been thefirst time they had access to thissort of learning experience. Whobetter to explain this than the twotime female world championLaura Beardsmore. Laura’srelaxed and honest approach toteaching allows a level ofunderstanding that previouslyseemed beyond our grasp.Paul Bonnet was also inattendance and kindly took asession on embu. His recentvisits to Japan adding invaluableexperience and knowledge to thekata. Focusing particularly onsome of the finer points of kuzushiin each section.This wasn’t just a historicalweekend for competitive aikido inIreland it was a weekend that Ifeel cemented our commitment tosquad and to competing for aslong as our bodies will allow.The benefits of attending squadsessions over the last year havebeen immeasurable. Personally

my aikido has evolved to a level ofunderstanding far greater thananything I could’ve imagined. Butby far the best thing aboutattending squad both in our newhome in the Judo centre ofexcellence and in Dublin was thesense of being a part ofsomething. It is a privilege to trainwith some of the best aikidoka inthe UK and in the World at squad.From the moment we began ourjourney we were welcomed andencouraged. With Paul and Lauraat the helm we’ve managed totake our competitive aikido to thestandard where we can competewith confidence at world level thisAugust. Without their support andnever ending patience we wouldno doubt be lacking theconfidence to even attempt this.

At the beginning of August I willbe practicing aikido 5 years and Ican tell you when I started I neverwould’ve dreamt of this.Paul and Laura and in fact all ofthe team have given us nothingbut encouragement from thebeginning to help me build a selfbelief that will allow me tocompete with confidence inBrisbane. Given the chance totrain with some of the best canonly help you improve. Anyonethat attends freely share theirknowledge and experience withthose less experienced, such asmyself. Brisbane is waiting and Ican’t wait to go and be a part ofsomething special. A part ofsomething more than myself. Apart of a team.

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BAA Spring School Winchester

The Winchester Spring School2015 provided an opportunity forover 50 Aikidoka to practise andshare experience both on and ofthe mat. The school itself hasbeen growing over the years andis now established as regular BAAevent hosted by Francis Burgessand many helpers from his club atthe Winchester Lido.

Clubs came from far and wideincluding Leeds, Wakefield,Brighton, Herne Bay, EPIC,Newbury, Sheffield, Bristol andWinchester

Instructors from variedbackgrounds gave strong andinteresting instruction covering awide range of topics. LindseyComens demonstrated techniquesfrom the Daito Ryu school, whichfor many provided someinteresting links between

traditional and Tomiki approaches.Paul Wildish undertook to teachthe Dai Ichi; a traditionally focusedTomiki Kata. Bob Jones focused

on a kneeling techniques and IlyaSolonitsyn from Russia engagedthe class with a unique approachfocusing on inner power andgeneration of movement.

The coaching course provided forseven more newly qualified BAACoaches to teach at their

Course Report Bob Jones

I really enjoyed attending this yearsspring school, it was good funpracticing with higher grades andpeople from different clubs. Myfavorite part was learning grasptechniques because I could performthem quickly and properly. Theweekend has been lots of fun learningnew aspects of aikido with neinstructor and making lots of newfriend.

 Matthew Millen Age 11, Green Belt,Eastleigh Aikido Club.

respective clubs.

Sarah Fletcher organised anumber of coaches for the juniorswho thoroughly enjoyed theirexperience including the gradingon the Sunday.

The senior grading saw for the firsttime both traditional and Tomikipractitioners grading togetherunder the revised gradingregulations. The grading wasdifficult and exacting with elevenout of the fifteen candidatesachieving their next gradeincluding six new Dan grades,Jack Wilson, Sam Mossaheb, JackSharpe, Johnathan Hedley, DarrenBird and Peter J Hall.

It was a great weekend includingthe social barbeque withexchanges of ideas andtechniques making it enjoyable foreveryone – if you weren’t thereyou missed a treat.

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British Senior Nationals 2015

Participating Clubs:Leeds Central (Lds), Huddersfield (Hudds), Tanseikan (Tnskn), Ittaikan (Ittn), Shoshinkan (Shskn), City ofLondon Shodokan (CLSh), Bradford (Bfd), Greenhills Tomiki Aikido Ryu (GTAR), Sussex Sports Aikido(SSA), Thanet Judokwai (TJK)

Junanahon – Kyu Grade ( 10 pairs) Junanahon – Dan and 1st Kyu (10 pairs)1st M.Bolton/Ellie Gander Lds 1st D.White/P.Carr Lds2nd M.Murphy/C.White Lds 2nd L.Mazacs/J.Pullen Hudds3rd E.Harrison/G.Pullan Hudds 3rd D.Fielding/F.Kamara Tnskn

Open Kata – Kyu Grade (7 pairs) Open Kata – Dan and 1st Kyu (5 Pairs)1st J.Pullen/W.Firth Hudds 1st D.Fielding/S.Pearce Tnskn2nd M.Murphy/C.White Lds 2nd D.Ogunbiyi/N.Smalle Tnskn3rd K.Bolton/Ed Gander Lds 3rd L.Simons/W.Hayward Ittkn

Goshin No Kata - Open Grade (9 pairs)1st S Pearce/N Lomax-Cooke Tnskn2nd S Fletcher/A Rigby Lds3rd P Livett/D Szymanski Shnkn

Ninin Dori – Kyu Grade (8 teams) Ninin Dori – Dan and 1st Kyu (5 Teams)1st Panitiru/Livett/Szymanski Shnkn 1st Fletcher/Rigby/Carr Lds2nd Harrison/Pullan/Firth Hudds 2nd Pearce/Lomax-Cooke/Smalle Tnskn3rd M Bolton/Gander/Ducketts Lds 3rd Simons/Hayward/Hayward Ittkn

The BAA Senior NationalChampionships were held on the8th of March this year at DartfordJudo Club’s impressive 3 matcentre in Kent. This year saw

impressive first time outings fromHuddersfield and Shoshinkan anda well contested challenge fromTanseikan and Leeds Central forthe top club position.

It was undoubtedly Tanseikan’sday with a very strong competitiveteam taking the top position with26 points and dominating bothKyu and Dan grade Men’s randori.

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Tanto Taisabaki (14-17 yrs) (18 competitors) Women’s Tanto Randori – Open Grade(5 competitors)1st Jake Pullen Hudds 1st Natuely Smalle Tnskn2nd William Firth Hudds 2nd Sarah Fletcher Lds3rd Morgan Murphy Lds 3rd Ellie Hughes CLSh

Men’s Tanto Randori - Kyu Grade (8 competitors) Men’s Tanto Randori – Dan and 1st Kyu(12 competitors)1st Chris Wilson Tnskn 1st David Fielding Tnskn2nd Vamba Konneh Tnskn 2nd Scott Pearcxe Tnskn3rd Emilio Bielsa Tnskn 3rd Fred Kamara Tnskn

Team Trophy1st Tanseikan 26 points2nd Leeds Central 18 Points3rd Huddersfield 15 Points4th Shoshinkan (Essex) 4 points

Bob Jones brings Aikido to

Bob Jones 7 Dan, our formerChairman and now the new ChiefExecutive Officer of the BritishAikido Association, is currentlywriting a series of aikido articlesfor Britain’s largest circulationmartial arts magazine, ‘MartialArts Illustrated’.

Beginning with the July issue2015, Bob set outs the principlesand practice of competitive TomikiAikido for the MAI’s wideaudience of martial artspractitioners and enthusiasts. Theseries is entitled ‘Spirit of the

Samurai - The Aikido Way’making the important connectionbetween the development of mindand body.

Bob opens his article in thecurrent July issue with thisimportant reminder;

“In Aikido, individuals must also learnthat is not just techniques that theyhave to master. The development ofthe ‘self’ is also an important factor inthe development of a true martialartist. Without this holistic approach todevelopment, maximum effect cannot be achieved.”

The article then goes on toexplain over four pages theprinciples, technical, physical,psychological and emotional skillsthat must be acquired as we moveforward along the aikido pathway.

The articles while primarilydirected towards those notcurrently practising aikido, theyrepresent a succinct and wellthought through account of aikidopractice relevant to bothbeginners and experiencedaikidoka. Buy a copy online youwill not be disappointed.

‘Martial Arts Illustrated’ magazine

July issue August issue

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End of February 2015, threemen of a certain age (andweight) visited Japan to trainand travel. Harvey Goodman,Dick Todd and I, Steve Powell,with 97 years practice betweenus. For Harvey and I this wasour first visit to Japan. Dickhad visited fifteen yearspreviously and trained at SentaYamada’s dojo in Fukuoka.

Our first job on arriving atHaneda airport after the elevenhour flight was to get theJapan rail passes activated.Which was easy enoughalthough I took all three whenwe should of handed them inindividually, and then off tocatch the train to Ningyochostation that was just up theroad from our hotel in ChuoWard.

Lesson number one was howto read the subway map withstations and price, which isnow also in English butapparently this wasn’t availableyears ago. Then how to workthe ticket machine. Stationstaff were extremely helpfulwhen trying to find the rightplatform. On entering the trainwith at least two bags eachfilled with gi, luggage and giftswe found it wasn’t particularlypacked and we could read thestation information. As we gotfurther into Tokyo we couldn’tactually see each other so wemade an educated guess bylooking out the window and onarriving at our destination thecall went up and with elbowsout it was a scramble to get outof the door before the trainedmoved on.

Just an observation that was acommon theme during ourstay in Tokyo, note the gateyou come out from the subwayas there are many and can besome distance apart. This alsoapplies if you arrange to meetsomeone. Also, there are notas many escalators in Tokyocompared to London which isgreat fitness training after aneleven hour flight and up tothree bags.

The first full day, a Saturdaywe visited Sensoji which isalso known as Askusa KannonBuddhist Temple, completed in645 and next to this the ShintoAskusa shrine built in 1649 byTokugawa Iemitsu. In theafternoon it was off to WasedaUniversity for the first time.Fumiaki Shishida met us at thestation as we had managed tofind the right gate and he tookus through the campus toWaseda University gym.

The building is divided betweenaikido, fencing and wrestling inthe basement, Judo on theground floor, then kendo,karate and ‘Ping Pong’ on thetop floor. As you enter thebuilding and descend the stairsthere is a plaque by theentrance to the judo dojo thatwas penned by Tomiki Sensei.

When we arrived at the aikidodojo, the university studentclass was already underway,taking techniques to the point ofbalance breaking. The three ofus trained in the first area of thedojo, also balance breakingand then Shishida Shihanconcentrated on techniques.Beginning from reverse twohanded grasps then increasingthe amount of force from uke.This was achieved by workingon the timing of droppingposture and hip turning. Thestudents worked on a form ofninindori, where toricontinuously did the same two

Three Men on TrainHarvey, Dick and Steve visit Japan Steve Powell

Harvey, Dick and Steve with Shishida Sensei at the Waseda University Dojo

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techniques, one on each uke.When kotai was called theymoved around and changedthe technique. The Studentclass stopped briefly to rei toShishida Shihan and weintroduced ourselves andjoined in the very fast but lightkakarigeiko and tantohikitategeiko. The studentsthen did fitness training and thesession was finished by allgrabbing a broom andsweeping diagonally across themat.

In the evening with we had thehonour to go to dinner withsenior senseis Kitayama,Yamaguchi, Sato and Shishida,fortified Chinese wine was thefavoured drink of the evening.

In the morning FumiakiShishida took us to the TokyoNational Museum where therewas a special exhibition ofancient Buddhas from NorthernJapan and then onto the majorshopping area of Ginza. Wewere advised that umbrellasare cheap in Japan because itrains as much as London. Justoutside the doors to themuseum there is a sizeablearea to lock up your umbrellas.We didn’t take this advice!

Up early the following morningwe headed north to see theSnow Monkeys at Jigokudani,five hours, three trains, a busand a mile walk up an ice trackbecause the Shinkansen couldnot make it through theprevious night’s snow fall, threehours back. Followed by thenext with day a more sedatestroll in the Royal PalaceGardens, heard the kiai

screams from the kendo hall,and made a visit to judo’sKodokan central headquartersand museum.

After being taken to the‘Landmark Tower’ with greatviews of Yokohama, the nexttraining session was in a smalldojo with Yoshiomi InoueSensei. The emphasis of hislesson was on maintainingtension whilst using a dip andhip movement to break balanceand execute the technique.

Inoue Sensei demonstrated thepower of keeping on thetension by tori and uke holdingeither end of a two litre cold teabottle. All the time tension ismaintained tori can control theweight of the bottle, as soon asuke let go, the bottle drops astori cannot hold the weight andloses control. We alsoconcentrated on ushiroateusing the “wheel of the bus”movement to break uke’sbalance. We participated in thefollowing two classes and laterMr Ehara and Mr Konomivisited the dojo and joined usfor a Sashimi Dinner.

Thursday night is the adultclass at Waseda with MrShinohara as the regularinstructor. Before the classTakeshi Inoue Sensei wasgiving an individual a lesson onkata and Sato Shihan waslooking after two Russianvisitors. Points taken from thissession were the “winning thecentre” from tegetana.

Tegetana awase was firstpracticed as we are familiarwith, hand blade, good posture,with tori leading but then variedby tori entering by tsugiashi atspeed whilst transforming theleading hand blade from soft tohard. This had the effect ofturning uke a fraction andunsettling his balance.

Over the couple of weeks weattended on Thursday night,Shishida Shihan amongst othertechniques, gave us histhoughts on the combinationtechniques of the Randori NoKata, oshitaoshi/udegaeshi,kote hineri/kotegaeshi,hikiotoshi/ude garami.

Over the next few days the tripmoved on to Nara (Deers in thestreet) via the Mount Fuji resort(nice large rooms), Kyoto(traditional ryoku, in the 1000Buddha temple) and the SpringSumo Basho at Osaka.

When booking a box for four,for the Sumo Basho online, afew weeks before, there was apolite warning on the web site,“stout westerners may find thebox uncomfortable”. The boxwas slightly smaller than atatami with four cushions and ascaffolding type bar aroundyour area. As we were there forseven hours we were fortunatethat a very kind Japanesefamily next to us let usencroach on their area. Wefound out later that their sonwas one of the referees for thelower ranks. We were also

Dick and Harvey with Inoue Sensei

The giants of Sumo

Respect for the Dojo

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lucky enough to be near one ofthe entrances where the rikishiwaited to enter the hall. Theatmosphere was magnificentparticularly when the ozeki andyokozuna lined up to fight. Ourown personal challenge wastrying to stand up and walkafter the concluding bowwielding ceremony.

Dick returned home from Naraand Harvey and I travelled ontoFukuoka in Kyushu viaHiroshima. In Fukuoka we hadtold Dick we would try andtrack down the dojo he hadtrained in 15 years ago. Istarted taking photographs of ahall only to be told by a passer-by that it was a fire station andthe dojo was around the back!

Having found the entrance wewere invited in to watch judoand were joined by Mr ManzoShitama who lives above thedojo and whose family hadtaught Sosuishi jujitsu for 360years. He pointed out SentaYamada’s name plate on thewall and by coincidence told usthat he was being interviewedthe follow day by Mr Shishidawho was due to meet us thefollowing evening.

Still trying to get over the “LiveDancing Fish” which was thefirst course of the evening mealthe next day we trained atFukuoka under SenseisShishida, Yoshio Takemotoand Osamu Nagayoshi, themain themes were the warmup exercises during whichShishida did the splits and anexamination of oshitaoshi. Alsoin the far end of the hall therewas a Sensei giving individualtraining in a form of kenjutsuand in the next hall was aSunday morning kendo trainingsession.

We later took a train down toKumamoto where we were metby Mr Yuji a Shinto priest whotrained in the more traditionalstyle of Manseikan Aikido. MrYuji’s father knew Kenji Tomikiand is friend of FumiakiShishida.

We were treated to anexcellent meal at the home ofMr Yuji and his wife and thenext morning we were taken toa Dojo in Aso which is thehome Mr Kimura a retiredpolice officer. This dojo was setin a bamboo forest with a viewof a live volcano.

After the rei Mr Kimura led achant, which invoked the spiritof aikido and then cut with abokken thirty six times in acircle, followed by cuts to thefour points of the compass. MrKimura then demonstratedtechniques to be practiced withan emphasis on kokyu ryoku(breath power). At the end ofthe session Harvey and myselfwere invited to demonstratekoryu dai ni. After ourdemonstration a cover was putover the tatami, a low tablewas brought in and we had avery nice lunch with senseisand students, whilst MrShishida interviewed MrKimura.

Manseikan Aikido was startedby Kanshu Sunadomari whodied in 2010, he was one of thelast uchideshi of MoriheiUeshiba who he met throughthe Omoto Kyu religion andafter Ueshiba’s death in 1969

he started his own style inKumamoto. A film on You tubecan be seen of him doing ademonstration at the first AikidoFriendship games in 1985 withMr Kimura being one the ukes.

Harvey and I finished our tripwith a visit to Reigando, thecave where Miyamoto Musashispent the last part of his lifeand wrote the legendary GoRin No Sho – The book of 5rings. The rain was torrential sowe decided to take a cab,trying to explain that we wouldpay and make our own wayback to Kumamoto as we didnot know long we would be gotlost in translation so the taxidriver turned off the meter andjust joined us on the path tosee the cave and then drove usback.

My observations are, you onlyneed to stop and get out a mapand someone will stop to helpand usually walk with you untilyou are at your destination. Allclubs were very welcoming anda four person box at sumo isnot big enough for three robustEnglishman.

We would also like to take theopportunity to thank MrShishida, Mr Ehara, Mr Inoueand others for the hospitalitywe were shown during our timein Japan.

Manseikan Aikido

Miyamoto Muhashi’s cave in Reigando

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The Goshinaikikwai reaches 40

My name is Dudley Osborneand for my sins I am the Chairmanof the Goshinaikikwai Aikido Club.I would, on behalf of all the clubmembers, welcome you and thankyou for coming to this 40thAnniversary special training andsocial event. I know you will be anxious toget on with the show but on thisoccasion it seems appropriate tosay a few words regarding ourfounder Basil Stephenson and themany members and instructorswho have over the years, kept theclub running and enabled us tohere today. The club was founded by BasilStephenson and Ken Saunders,both 1st Dans from theRenzukwai, in September 1974,at the Downes School in Dartford,Kent. Ken departed after a shorttime leaving Basil to run the clubon his own, which, as far as Iremember, consisted mostly ofbeginners. Eric Brown whoinstructs in Norwich and Ian Dunn,who is now back with theGoshinaikikwai, were in the firstbeginners class in September1974 and Paul Wildish and myselfwere in the second class whichstarted in December of that year.Dave Freed joined in 1976, as Ibelieve did Bob Barrow, both withprevious aikido training. DuringBasil’s time and after he left to live

with his daughter in Australia, PaulWildish and Bob Barrow playedmajor roles in coaching and otherclub activities, including coachingat another club that Basil ran inNorbury, near Croydon. The Goshinaikikwai has hadvarious dojos over the years. Imake the tally five in Dartford, twoin Bexley and two in Otford andusually with two venues running atany one time. The club has been veryfortunate in progressively havingvery talented instructors, some ofwhom have attained highrecognition and status within theBAA. As I mentioned earlier theseincluded Bob Barrow, Paul Wildishwho is also vice-chairman of theBAA, Dave Freed, Ian Dunn,Kevin Lee, Geoff Cox and Rob

Paul Wildish, Dudley Osborne & Ian Dunn Dudley still on the mat in his 80s

On the 25 April this year theGoshinaikikwai celebrated its 40thAnniversary, with a training dayheld at their dojo St. Michael'sCommunity Centre, Welling, Kent.Sessions were taught by PaulWildish, Ken Broome, HarveyGoodman and Adrian Tyndalewith extra contributions from DickTodd and members of the club.Presiding over all was theindomitable, if diminutive, figure ofDudley Osborne. An octogenarianbut practising with a great heartand spirit as the chairman and‘father’ of the club.

Sadly as posted on the BAAwebsite he Dudley shortly afterthis immensely enjoyable event onthe 12 May. We have thought itfitting that Dudley should tell someof the club’s history in his ownwords. What follows is the speechhe gave that day to members andguests recalling theGoshinaikikwai’s story.

Dudley Osborne

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instructor, with Steve Powell, TimButler, Rob Johnson and hisnephew Scott Johnson in support.Ian Dunn is now also part of thecoaching team. We have also hadclose ties with Dick Todd, who is here todaywith some of his members fromhis club in Margate and we havereciprocal training arrangementswith them. All past and present membersshould be congratulated for theirefforts on behalf of the club overthe last forty years and who havemade the club what it is today. I would also like to drawparticular attention to twomembers, Jo Holbourn who was

Johnson, who also now plays amajor role within the club andmany others. As you will seeduring the course of this eventmany of our members are wellqualified in other martial arts,including iaido, judo, karate andtai chi. We have for many years hadclose ties with the Shukumie Clubunder Rob Johnson and theMishinakwai under HarveyGoodman and so it was decidedsome time ago that in the presentclimate it would make sense tomerge. This made theGoshinaikikwai coaching teameven stronger. So we now haveHarvey Goodman as our chief

our secretary for twenty plusyears, now retired, well done Jo,and Simon Davies, our clubtreasurer, who apart from DaveFreed and myself is the longestcontinuous serving member withtwenty four years service. Simonis also a high ranking karateinstructor as you will see later. I will finish on a personal levelby saying that over the last fortyyears I have made many lastingfriendships, trained with and beencoached by some of the finestpeople in the aikido world andconsider myself exceptionallylucky to have been able to do so.Thank you.

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The Importance of InsuranceTo claim Coach PI Insurance clubs must have members

Bob Jones BAA Chief Executive Officer

The Association offersmembers a range of insurancefor the protection and peace ofmind of students and coaches.

There are two key benefits ofmembership: first - permanentdisability insurance, thisprovides a range ofcompensation packages tosupport members. Second -member to member liabilitycover provides cover againstpotential legal action from othermembers.Accident or loss of earningsinsurance is not part of thepolicy provision but can besought directly through theinsurance provider Endsleigh.

The above policies apply tocoaches; in addition it ismandatory for all activecoaches to hold ProfessionalIndemnity Insurance coveringrisks related to potentiallitigation.

Coaches actively engaged inday-to-day coaching must have

Professional IndemnityInsurance. Qualified coacheswho may have completed theircoach award are not requiredto hold PI insurance until actualcoaching begins.

The association has had twoliability actions in the past threeyears, it is therefore extremelyimportant that active coachesaccess this cover.

The PI Insurance is heavilysubsidized by the associationon the understanding thatstudents are also covered byinsurance through associationmembership. This means thata club coach can only accessPI insurance whilst coaching ator for a BAA member club. Assome clubs are accessing PIbut have no registered clubmembers the ExecutiveCommittee have taken action.From January 2016 thesubsidy for PI insurance will belinked to student membersregistered with the associationin a ratio of 1 to 5. This means

that for every five registeredstudent members the club canaccess one PI subsidy for acoach. For example, a clubwith fifteen registered BAAmembers can have up to threecoaches claiming a PI subsidy.So subsidized coachmembership fee will be £45.00with student members and fullcost £85.00 for those withoutstudent members.

We know insurance works byspreading the financial riskacross a large number ofpeople. The Association’spolicy is no different and isbased on risk spread the costacross the whole membership.The lower the number ofmembers the higher the cost. Itis therefore in everyone’sinterest that all studentmembers are enrolled in theassociation.

CONTACTBAA CEO

ceo@aikido-baa.org.uk

Changes to the ExecutiveThis year’s AGM has set thescene for future developmentsfor the BAA. A number ofchanges have taken place injob roles and responsibilities toset the association on firmground to move forward. Thesechanges include a division oflabour between the

Chairmanship and the newlyestablished role of ChiefExecutive Officer (CEO). Themain focus of each will be thatthe Chairman can focus on theday-to-day management andmaintenance of theassociation’s affairs whilst theCEO will focus on the

developmental aspects. TheAffiliates Liaison Officer willlook after the needs of alltraditional Affiliates. Whilst thenew Club Liaison Officer postwill provide ongoing support forall existing clubs. The Technicaldevelopment Officer will Chair

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the associations technicalCommittee.

The new Chairman is PaulWildish and the CEO is BobJones.

The Finance Officer BrentMoran, Membership Officer LeeAdams, Child Welfare OfficerFrancis Burgess andCommunications Officer PhilEyers all remain unchanged.

Relatively new to roles, thathave not changed, are PaulCarr and Laura Beardsmore asNational Team Managers,Vanda Fairchild as SportDevelopment Officer, SarahFletcher as Junior and YouthDevelopment Officer.

Also remaining in post is theQualifications and StandardsOfficer Mark Jenner and theInternational Liaison OfficerDanielle Jones.

Elected at the AGM was a newGeneral Secretary ClaireGrundy.

Roles that have been deletedfrom the structure are CoachLiaison Officer, TraditionalLiaison Officer and SelfDefence development Officer.Affiliates Liaison Officer TonyDavis, Club Liaison OfficerPaul Holding and TechnicalDevelopment Officer DanielleJones are replacing these.

The role of Vice Chairman isnow elected internally by theExecutive Committee and isnow Lee Adams.

Current Fellows include BobForrest-Webb, Lesley Hepden,Terry Gibbs, Mike Smith, BrentMoran, Bob Jones and PaulWildish.

The Child Welfare Teaminclude Francis Burgess, Terry

Gibbs, Paul Holding and MarkAldridge.

The Meritorious AwardsCommittee comprises TonyDavis (Chair) Paul Wildish (asChairman) Bob Jones (asCEO) Shaun Hoddy, TerryGibbs and Lesley Hepden.

Competition Committee VandaFairchild (Chair) SarahFletcher, Danielle Jones, PaulCarr and Laura Beardsmore.

The composition of theTechnical Committee withDanielle Jones as Chair hasyet to be considered by theCommittee.

These changes are intended toaid the association’sdevelopment and support thenext stage of its application forNational Governing Bodystatus.

The BAA National Team will soonbe heading for Surfers Paradise,City of the Gold Coast inQueensland, Australia for the firstAikido World Championships co-sponsored by the Shodokan AikidoFederation and the BAA backedWorld Sport Aikido Federation.

The BAA Team have been traininghard over the last eighteen months

International sport aikido newsAustralia

under the leadership of LauraBeardsmore and Paul Carr, theNational Team Managers.

There will be the usual Randori forboth men and women and mixedEmbu events. We are of coursehoping that our National Team willcontinue to perform well at thehighest international level andbring back the medals. We havehad much success in the past,proving for both the SAF and theJAA the BAA is the team to beat.

The event coincides with theAustralia Multi-Culture WeekCelebrations and will include anumber of Japanese culturaldemonstrations interspersedthrough the event. Which should

add extra interest for thespectators.

On a lighter note, we expect theBAA National Team, once thecompetition is over to have a greattime wearing their medals in‘Surfers Paradise’ one of the mostpopular and spectacular holidayresorts on Queensland’s beautifulGold Coast. Sun, sand and sea!

Good luck to the BAA NationalTeam and we are all behind you!

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Hideo Ohbathe aikido of ‘quiet taste’ part 4

Paul Wildish

Hideo Ohba resigned his post asa judo and police compliance andarrest tactics (taiho jutsu)instructor for the Akita Police in1959. This resignation wasprompted by a request from KenjiTomiki, to join him in Tokyo at theprestigious Waseda University.

Tomiki Sensei had joined theuniversity in 1951 as a full-timelecturer in the PE Department andwas given charge of Waseda’sJudo Club. Under his leadershipTomiki had introduced the study oftechniques for use in therikakutaisei, or separated standingposition taking ‘a distance apart’,as well as the more usual judograppling forms taking a grip onthe gi. These were the techniquesTomiki had worked on inManchuria with Hideo Ohba as hisassistant, based on what they hadlearnt from Ueshiba Sensei.

In 1952 Tomiki extended theseideas and began to teach acourse that he named Judo Taiso(judo exercises). At first thiscourse was for women only but by1953 it was opened to men.Tomiki taught this course basedon both judo and aikido toWaseda students for next eightyears. Finally in March 1960, thecourse name was changed toAikido and the first steps towardsthe creation of Aikido Kyogi, or‘competitive aikido’ were taken.

The creation of Tomiki Aikido

Ohba joined the PE Departmentof Waseda University as a judoand aikido instructor at Tomiki’sbehest in that same year,specifically to help further hisambitions for the ‘new aikido’.Fumiaki Shishida attests that withhis typical modesty that he feltprivileged to have such anappointment which he felt hehardly deserved and was verygrateful for. Characteristically hethrew himself into encouraging thestudents to more active study andpractice of Tomiki’s new aikidotechniques designed for randoripractice.

Waseda was not his only teachingassignment at this time as histhird son Kiyoshi remembered.

"My father would go homeimmediately after practice at Wasedaand then after he ate he would go toteach at the United States ArmedForces Base in Fuchu. Then hewould come home again, this time todo some washing, and then go offsomewhere else to teach. He was

very busy every day going back andforth between his house and theplaces he taught, sometimes as manyas four times a day."

Fumiaki Shishida Sensei alsorecalls the tireless nature of HideoOhba’s teaching programme.

“The places at which he taught aloneor together with Tomiki changed overthe years, but he taught at a largenumber of locations. If I recall back tothose times, he taught at many newlyestablished clubs such as theSeidokan in Kasumi-cho, theWrestling Hall in Aoyama, SportsKaikan in Okubo, as well as at theShudokan. He also taught the newlyestablished aikido clubs of Seyo,Kokushikan and Meiji universities.Furthermore, he taught at each of thebranch dojos established in Osaka(Shodokan), Yamaguchi, Fukuoka,Imabari (Ehime Prefecture) andNiigata. In this way, he exertedhimself teaching all over the country.”

In 1977 Ohba retired fromWaseda University but that did notin the least stop his commitmentto teaching Tomiki Aikido.Immediately upon retirement hetook a post at KokushinkanUniversity and then in 1980 hebecame an instructor at theNational Police Academy. Hecontinued to pursue his passion toteach and communicate aikidountil he finally retired to his hometown in 1985, his spirit undimmed.

The 25 years of his teaching at

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Waseda and at numerous clubsboth in Tokyo and across thecountry, ran in parallel to thedevelopment of Tomiki’s‘Competitive Aikido’ and theformation and growth of the JapanAikido Association (Nihon AikidoKyokai).

When Ohba Sensei joined KenjiTomiki in 1959 at Waseda, theformation of the new ‘CompetitiveAikido’ was still in its early stages.Recruiting Ohba to Wasedaenabled Tomiki to gain thesupport of an accomplished budopractitioner with whom he hadworked closely with in Manchuria.Ohba had been his closestdisciple, confidant and faithfulfriend. This combination of

Tomiki’s questing intellectualvision, coupled with Ohba’sbreadth of budo experience,teaching and performance skills,was to prove an enduringpartnership of great benefit to thecharacter of Tomiki’s ‘CompetitiveAikido’.

Ohba’s arrival at Waseda came ata fertile moment of technicalchange within the nascent JAA.Up until that time the pattern ofpractice consisted of unsoku,tandoku undo, yonhon no kuzushi(the original version of what wasto transform into nanahon nokuzushi) and the basic jugohon nokata (15 technique kata) thatformed the basis of Tomiki’ssystemisation of aikido waza.Shortly after Ohba’s arrival, in andaround 1960, this began tochange taking the fundamentalshape in which it is practicedtoday with the creation of thejunanahon (17 basic kata). Inaddition to which the roppon nokuzushi was created and then the

dai san or goshin no kata as akata of classical aikido techniquesresponding to unarmed andarmed attacks.

Takeshi Inoue who was a closestudent of both Tomiki and Ohbaat this time, recalls this process ofcreation.

“During the mid-60s Ohba Senseiand others worked on the creation ofthe kata forms of the dai-ichi (first) todai-roku (sixth), which we presentlypractice as the koryu no kata, in orderto work on techniques fordemonstrations and for purposesother than randori. What OhbaSensei particularly stressed informulating these kata was theorganization of different techniques insuch a way that students could learnconnections between techniqueseasily and naturally. After he hadorganized the techniques to someextent, Ohba Sensei reported toTomiki Sensei and demonstratedwhat he had done for him. Hereceived some advice from TomikiSensei and then added corrections tothe kata.”

Takeshi Inoue, who came to theUK and spent time teaching withthe BAA, was the catalyst for thestudy of Ohba’s koryu no kata byprominent British instructors suchas Ah Loi Lee and LesleyHepden. It was Takeshi Inouewho first introduced Loi Lee toOhba in March 1971 when shewas taken by him to early morningpractice at Aoyama. Both Loi Leeand Lesley Hepden, who alsostudied in Japan with Ohba, wereprofoundly impressed not only byhis great skill but by the wisdom,humanity and gentle considerationhe displayed as a teacher. Bothwere to regard him as their aikidomentor from that time forward,

which would condition their ownapproach to teaching and practiceand ultimately influence that of theBAA.

Such was Loi Lee’s and LesleyHepden’s enthusiasm for histeaching, upon their respectivereturns to the UK, that they easilyconvinced their aikido friends thatOhba Sensei should be invited tothe UK to teach. Through thegood offices of Takeshi Inoue, thiswas finally achieved in march1976.

Ohba’s visit to England

Loi Lee in her book ‘TomikiAikido: Past and Future’ wrote ofthis time.

“It was typical of the man that whenwe met him for the first time atHeathrow Airport accompanied byShinohara San from WasedaUniversity and took them to my flat,he insisted on playing his shakuhachi(bamboo flute) as his way of greetingus for the first time and also thankingus for the invitation. This is after along tiring journey of 17 hours.”

Shinohara San was a 3rd Danfrom Waseda University and wasto act as uke, translator and to‘look after’ Ohba. However LoiLee describes many instanceswhere Ohba was looking out forShinohara and making thetranslations himself when hethought his assistant was beingtardy and long-winded. Ohbastayed in England for five weeksteaching and also visitingStratford upon Avon, Brighton andthe Lake District.

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Importantly for the BAA, Ohba notonly taught and demonstrated thekata of Tomiki Aikido but heintroduced the practice of tantorandori for the first time. All thosewho attended his sessions werecharmed by his engagingpersonality, and impressed by histechnical mastery and charismaticteaching.

Ohba was to visit England onceagain three years later in 1979, tocelebrate the opening of Loi Lee’sYawara Centre dojo in London.This time he travelled without anuke from Waseda, as Itsuo Haba4 Dan was already staying withLoi Lee while studying English. Onthis occasion he was only able tostay for two all too short weeks,but nevertheless immenselyregarded by all who had thebenefit of his teaching.

“a rare close teacher andstudent relationship”

Hideo Ohba throwing Ken Broome with his signature inEnglish and Japanes on the left (from Dick Todd’s collection).

Kenji Tomiki and Hideo Ohbaenjoyed, according to RyosukeTogashi “a rare close teacher andstudent relationship” through themajor part of their professionallives. Ohba’s devotion to Tomikiwas the central pillar of his life andhad been tested through thehazards of war in Manchuria andtheir long teaching partnership. Itwas never found wanting of anabsolute commitment to Tomikiand his vision for aikido at alltimes. This was again confirmedwhen Ohba had news that Tomikiwas critically ill in hospital. Ohbawho was in Akita at the timeimmediately drove, without rest orsleep, across the country to be byhis master’s bedside. His hopesand prayers that Tomiki wouldrally and recover were to bedisappointed. Three days later inDecember 1979 Tomiki died,leaving behind a great legacy ofbudo scholarship and technicalinsight and creative invention thathad moulded the teachings ofjudo’s Kano and Ueshiba’s aikidointo a coherent unity. Now it was

to be Ohba’s mission to carry thatlegacy forward.

The second president.

After Tomiki’s death Ohba Senseibecame the second president ofthe Japanese Aikido Association,and stepped into the role ofleading the instruction anddissemination of Tomiki Aikidothroughout Japan and the widerworld. In this capacity, despite hisage, from his base in Tokyo hemade regular visits to dojos inother cities across Japan to teach,encourage and inspire hisstudents. This passion took himfurther afield, making as we noteda second visit to the UK andEurope and teaching trips to

Taiwan and Australia. He alsoappeared in an episode of theBBC documentary series, “ TheWay of the Warrior” entitled“Aikido & Kendo: The SportingWay”, which can still be trackeddown on YouTube. His efforts topromote Tomiki Aikido bore fruit,particularly internationally, whereclubs developed not only in theUK but in Belgium, theNetherlands, Switzerland, SpainAustralia, the USA, Brazil andTaiwan. Today even more clubshave opened in France, Russia,the Ukraine, Georgia and theCzech Republic. Giving a vitalinternational dimension to TomikiAikido eventually bringing manycountries together to celebrateand compete in both kata andtanto randori.

For the UK, Ohba’s koryu no katahave been continuously practicedand valued, even when they fellfrom favour in Japan. Now thatthe JAA are revisiting andreviewing these kata, a vitalcontribution made by Ohba toTomiki Aikido is hopefully beingrestored.

Continued on page 23

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AiKIDo Juniors& Youth

Sarah Fletcher BAA Youth Development OfficerJunior Open North Competition

On Saturday 14th March 2015one hundred and thirty of theBAA’s junior and youthcompetitors turned out for theJunior Open North championshipsin Bradford. It was an extremelysuccessful day with allcompetitors demonstrating somegreat Aikido and excellentsportsmanship. Congratulations to

all those who took part, and thankyou to all the referees andassistants who helped the day torun smoothly. We hope we willhave seen you at the BAA JuniorNationals - 27th June 2015 inBradford and then at the next BAAJunior Open South – 21stNovember 2015 in HighWycombe.

Junior competitions count towardsthe Youth and Junior AwardScheme.

For more information pleasecontact: Sarah Fletcher -youth@aikido- baa.org.uk

UNDER 8’sRANDORI-NO-KATA

BRONZE – Cox & Gumbs(LDS/BDF)SILVER – Mustafa & Obbard(HUD)GOLD – Wallon & Carter (HUD)

KAKARIGEIKO

BRONZE – Bundred & Woodward(LDS)SILVER – Wallon & Carter (HUD)GOLD – Cox & Tippling (LDS)

NININ DORI

BRONZE – Grundy, Sutton &Cheetam (YJH)SILVER – Clubs, Watson & Tipling(YJH/LDS)GOLD – Mustafa, Carter & Wallon(HUD)

BEST INDIVIDUAL

Gumbs (BDF)

UNDER 10’sRANDORI-NO-KATA

BRONZE – Grundy & Oostervic(YJH)

SILVER – Barnaby & Stenson(YJH)GOLD – Masterfano & Bishop(YJH)

KAKARIGEIKO

BRONZE – Bishop & Masterfano(YJH)SILVER – Bearne & Davidson(HAR)GOLD – Stewart & Emmerson-curry (HUD)

NININ DORI

BRONZE – Kasongo, Emmerson-Curry & Stewart (HUD)

Junior Open Championships (North) results

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SILVER – Baker, Compston &Cox (LDS)GOLD – Bishop, Masterfano &Grundy (YJH)

BEST INDIVIDUAL

Howes (LDS)UNDER 12’sRANDORI-NO-KATA

BRONZE – Emmerson-curry &Firth (HUD)SILVER – Ball & McKenzie (HUD)GOLD – Hartshorne & Kellitt(YJH)

KAKARIGEIKO

BRONZE – Ball & Mckenzie(HUD)SILVER – Keyworth & Sutton(YJH)GOLD – Hartshorne & Kellit (YJH)

NININ DORI

BRONZE – Ball, Mckenzie &Kasongo (HUD)SILVER – Marsland, Hill &Goodsman (BDF)GOLD – Hartshorne, Kellitt &Oosterviv (YJH)

TANTO TAISABAKI

BRONZE – Cox (LDS)SILVER – Kerrigan (LDS)GOLD – Firth (HUD)

BEST INDIVIDUAL

Hewitt (LDS)

UNDER 14’sRANDORI-NO-KATA

BRONZE – Barnby & Walker(YJH)SILVER – Millar & Millar (LDS)GOLD – Goodall &Pilling (LDS)KAKARIGEIKOBRONZE – Barnby & Walker(YJH)SILVER – Pilling & Goodall (LDS)GOLD – Firth & Young (HUD)

NININ DORI

BRONZE – Pearce, Reddish-Good & Hudson (LDS)SILVER – Goodall, Cheney-Thornton & Pilling (LDS)GOLD – Firth, Young & Galiev(HUD)

BEST INDIVIDUAL

Al- Hassan (BDF)

UNDER 16’sRANDORI-NO-KATA

BRONZE – Gander & Bolton(LDS)SILVER – Firth & Emmerson(HUD)GOLD – Harrison & Pullan (HUD)

OPEN KATA

BRONZE – Harrison & Pullan(HUD)SILVER – Bolton & Gander (LDS)GOLD – Pilling & Cox (HUD)

KAKARIGEIKO

BRONZE – Bolton & Gander(LDS)SILVER – Pullan & Harrison(HUD)GOLD – Firth & Emmerson (HUD)

NININ DORI

BRONZE – Bolton, Gander &Riley (LDS)SILVER – Gornall, Cheshire &Aldridge (BDF/LDS/WHF)GOLD – Barker, Emmerson &Harrison (HUD)

TANTO TAISABAKI

BRONZE – Harrison (HUD)SILVER – Gander (LDS)GOLD – Firth (HUD)

BEST INDIVIDUAL

Rowichi (BDF)

TEAM CHAMPION

1st - Huddersfield Tomiki Aikido2nd - Leeds Central Aikido3rd - Yon Ju Hachi

Hideo OhbaContinued from page 21

Eventually, despite his energyand commitment to spreadingTomiki’s Aikido across Japanand the world, age and illnessfinally caught up with HideoOhba. In 1982 he was taken illand hospitalised. Upon leavinghospital he began teachingagain, encouraging the beliefthat he had fully recovered.This was not to be and he

became ill again in 1985 andreturned to hospital. Thisconvinced him to leave Tokyoafter twenty five active yearsand retire to Yokote, his oldhome and birthplace. Manystudents came to Ueno Stationin Tokyo, to celebrate andwitness the departure of TomikiAikido’s second greatest figure,Hideo Ohba and his wife Keikoto honourable retirement.

Ohba Sensei finally diedpeacefully attended by his wifein February 1986. Fumiaki

Shishida records that it wassaid that while ill in bed he kepta picture of Tomiki by hisbedside and still hoped torecover and continue his workto promote his master’s aikido.Even at his end this spirit stillburnt bright within him.

Bibliography:

Hideo Ohba Biography 1 & 2, AikiNews,1990, Fumiaki Shishida

Tomiki Aikido: Past & Future 1988,Ah Loi Lee

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A series of articles focusing onthe coaching of young people,helping coaches to make practiceboth safe and enjoyable.

The acquisition of anddevelopment of skills in youngpeople can be difficult, especiallywith the complex nature of Aikidoitself.

The skill and communicationabilities of the coach, maturation,development of nervous system,physical maturity, prior experienceand the difficulty of the taskunderpin the development ofcontrolled movement.

The development of techniqueleading to good performance isthe ability to make adjustments toperformance as conditions orcircumstances demand. Skill isabout the development ofconsistent performance.

In early years young peopledevelop skills informally throughplay, PE in school and throughlocal sports clubs. These basicintroductions lay the foundationfor future development.

Maturation refers to changes thatoccur in the body over time withregard that young people growand mature at different rates.

Understanding the implications ofthese elements will make sportsmore rewarding and safe foryoung people. Coaches shouldadapt activities to the changingneeds of their students especiallyduring periods of rapid growth.Judge performance according toa young person’s stage ofdevelopment and not by whatothers of the same age can do.Reduce the exposure to

competition randori as long aspossible

Some key points related to growthand maturation

· Growth and maturationvary greatly in youngpeople, makingchronological age a poorindicator of developmentalstatus.

· Young people should beencouraged to participatein a wide range ofmovement development.

· Late maturers and youngpeople small for their agemay be discouraged insport and therefore maynot get a chance todevelop their talent.

· During growth spurtstraining and competitionneed to be plannedcarefully to avoid injury.

· The risk of bone fracture,growth plate injuries andsoft tissue injuriesincreases during rapidgrowth.

· Girls who under-eat whiletraining intensely run therisk of stress fracturesand, in later life,osteoporosis.

· Training and competitionschedules need to beplanned around theholistic needs of eachindividual.

· Early specializationreduces athleticism.

· Taking care of youngpeople with regard topractice and trainingschedules, is important tokeep young people inAikido for the long-termand to make sure nopotentially talented youngpeople are lost fromAikido.

The development of the nervoussystem is also key to theacquisition of skills. The system isthe body message conduit, inyounger children their ability toremember or select importantcues is reduced, making decisionmaking more difficult.

Prior experience is also crucial,young people with a range ofexperiences have already begunto develop a wide range ofmovements and related skills.They have started to build upexperiences and physicalpatterns to draw upon. Thereforevery young children may findadditional difficulties in learningAikido as their general levelmovement and skill is low.

Ultimately the role and abilities ofthe coach are key, their ability tocommunicate at an appropriatelevel, their ability to impartinformation in a variety of waysand their experience of dealingwith young people is crucial. It isimperative that the coachpresents each skill in a way thatgives the individual the greatestchance of success, allowsadequate time for practice, rotatepractice to avoid boredom andabove all is patient. The use ofgames is very good practice, aslong as the activity supports theacquisition of an Aikido relatedskill. The next issue will providean outline to a number of potentialAikido games.

Coaching Young People in

Skill Development (Part Three)

Tomiki Aikido Bob Jones

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Contact: shizentai@aikido-baa.org.uk BAA Website www.aikido-baa.org.uk

Keep up to date with the BAA Calendar in 2015

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July 2015

24-26 BAA Summer SchoolLeeds

August 2015

10 BAA National SquadLoughborough University

29-30 SAF/WSAF InternationalCompetition Gold CoastAustralia

September 2015

26-27 BAA SOTR School SouthTBC

October 2015

11 Executive CtteeNorthampton

26-27 JAA/TAIN InternationalCompetition Fleisch SwitzerlandSeptember 2015

November 2015

7-8 BAA Autumn School HerneBay, Kent

21 BAA Junior Open South HighWycombe Judo Centre