REMINISCENCE OF PASSING OF OSENSEI INNER INSIGHTS: …tenshinkai.com/pdf/AI_1992_Issue_02_S.pdf · Vol. #9 Twenty-three years ago in Apil, on the 26th day, the Founder of Aikido left

Tansh I nkol Heodquortar tlJesunlnster, Collbrnlo, U.S.R * Sprlrp 99. Vol. #9

Twenty-three years ago in Apil, onthe 26th day, the Founder of Aikidoleft this transient life forever andretumed to the No- Thingness. Eventhough Morihei Ueshiba physicallyleft this earth, he left his form of non-competitive, self transforming Budoin the heartsand minds ofal l the dis-ciples whostudy Aikidoall over theworld.

He had con-ductedpainstakingresearch andhad gonethrough dif-

ferent schoolsof the manialarts. Notuntilhe was forty-two years ofage did hethoroughlyunderstandthe unique meaning of nature. He

foundedAikkloin 1927.

During O'Sensei's developmentmany doubts occuned in his mind."What is the use of trying to defeatothers with our skills? In the prime ofyouth a person is physically strong,but strength fades away with age andtime. Inthe present one canenjoy the

by Dang Thong Phong Sensei

happiness that victories bing. How-ever, in the future, when strength andyouth fades so will victories. All vic-tories are relative. Can there be anabsolute victory? What is the effect ofvictory on an individual. In the eye ofthe univene, winning or losing in the

humanworldisvalueless. Itis no betterthan the rtseand fal l oft ide on thebeach. Is i tnot a waste oft ime todevote all ofone's life toseeking vic-tor ie s anddef e at ingothers?"

MasterMoriheiUeshiba con-centrated allhis effort tosolve his own

questions. He visited all the famoustemples and studied philosophy. Helooked for a quiet place to meditate.He was submeryed with the question:"What is MartialAn?"

After several years of training andtraveling one day, descending fromthe mountain, he went into the yard

(Continued on page 4)

REMINISCENCE OF PASSING OF OSENSEIMORTHET UESHTBA (1883 -1969)

INNER INSIGHTS:

by limWenrick

For most people who are readingthis article the word Aikido is notunknown. However, there are a fewreaders for whom theword Aikido isnew.

So, what is Aikido? Very simplystated, Aikido is a martial art whosegoal is to put an end to violence andfighting. Its aim is to promote bothinternal and external peace and har-monv.

(Continued onpage 2)

uh{# s&"*d

Morihei Ueshiba (1883-f 969)

IN THIS ISSUE......

Article Page

Reminiscence of Passing ofO'Sensei Morihei Ueshiba

Inner InsightsEditor's NoteTenshinkai Aikido Federation

Honors Morihei UeshibaThe Meaning of AikidoFort Saskatchewan Aikido

SeminarQuality Not QuantityQuestions For Master PhongA Day To RememberAikidoSensei Dang Thong Phong

has received...Aikido SeminarCongratulations to

L12

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10

1111

Shihan Masatake Fujita 11

)

Aikido Insights

EDITOR'S NOTE:

JimWenrick

A moment of time has passed sincethe last issue of Aikido Insights waspublished. Nevertheless, manyevents have occurred. The high-lights were when Master Phongvis i ted Fort Saskatchewan topresent a seminar and the BudoCrnter celebrated O'Sensei's Pass-ing. The readerwill find many excit-ing art ic les in th is issue. Oneparticular item for the newsletter is"Questions For Master Phong."Any reader is invited to send anyquestion relating to Aikido to.... Allquestions wil l be reviewed byMaster Phong, and Aikido Insightswill attempt to publish them in thefollowing issue.

Many thanks to Dang Thong PhongSensei for his time and energy in-volved in this issue, particularly forhis responses to the questions. Alsomany thanks to Tanh Van Phan,Andrew Avalos, Bruce Maclrod,Joseph Jill, Eric Womack, Tam Doand Richard Phan for submittingtheir articles.

All of us at the Budo Center hopethat you will enjoy and grow with thisnew issue of Aikido Insights.o

INNERINSIGHTS: Cont...

Where did the word Aik idooriginate? From it's founder, O'-Sensei Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969). He defined Aikido: Ai(uniting in harmony and love forallthings); ki (not fully translatablein English,however the basic ele-ments of ki are embroiled in Asianculture philosophy art, physicaltraining, the vital training energy oflife);do (tnuy).

O'Sensei developed Aikido fromother martial art forms. Some ofthese disciplines are: sumo, jujitsu,aikijutsu, bojustu, kendo,etc.

When forming/shaping Aikido,Morihei Ueshiba was not only con-cerned with the functional techni-ques of other martial disciplines. Hewas also involved with inner trans-formation of himself and his stu-dents.

For the beginning student of Aikido,the area of inner transformation,work or inner issues (ie: anger, fear,resentment, envy, selfish pride...) ismost often neglected. What inter-ests many new and novitiate stu-dents are the apparently easy,techniques which are effortlesslyand powerfully demonstrated by theSensei and other advanced students.

One of O'Sensei concerns was thatstudents seek the understanding ofAikido. This can be accomplished byreading, practicing and listening tothe various Senseis and advancedstudents talk about it. Beyond thehundreds of techniques Aikido isnot easily understood. In order tounderstand Aikido a student mustfirst desire to understand its mean-ing. If this is not done Aikido is noth-ing more than skill in performing

AIKIDO INSIGHTSFounded 1991

EDITORS:

Jim Wenrick, Editor-in-chiefDang Thong Phong, President

STAFF:

Neta WenrickTam Do

Tanh Van PhanTuan H. Nguyen

Frank TH l:urentEric Womack

Nhan HoJim Ogborn

Quang NguyenTho Le

- AIKIDO INSIGHTSis the Newsletter of the

Aikido Tenshinkai Federation.

8536 Westminster AvenueWestminster, CA92683

(714) 8e4-rOO3

@ 1992, All Rights Resenred

Published Quarterly

techniques. However, i t goeswithout saying that Aikido as O'-Sensei taught is much more thantechnique(s) and proficiency intheir execution. At the foundationof Aikido is inner transformation.The goal is internal transformation,harmony and love.

Some Resources:

Budo by Morihei Ueshiba.Aikido: The Way of Harmony by J.Stevens.The Pr inciples of Aik ido byM.Saotome.

Aikido Insights

Aikido bv O. Ratti.o

TENSHINKAI AIKII'O FEIDERATION HONORSMORTHEI UESHIBA

April 26, 1992 marked the 23rd yearof O'Sensei's passing. Dang ThongPhong Sensei of the headquartersdojo, Tenshinkai Aikido Federationinvited Gary Wellborn Sensei, a 4thdan and his NorthOrange CountyAikido Club membersto attend. Phong Sen-sei also invited FrankMcGouirk Sensei, a5th dan and his stu-dents from Aikido-Ai,Whit t ier , CA. Mc-Gouirk Sensei was togive a three hourseminar at the con-clusion of theceremony. In the truespir i t of O'Sensei 'steaching, al l threeAikido associationsgathered to honor thefounder of Aikido andhis teachings.

Phong Sensei began the ceremonyby reading the beautiful and movingwords of O'Sensei. Afterward,flowers were presented and candleslit at the newly remodeled shrine forO'Sensei . McGouirk Senseisummed up the ceremony best bysaying, "These very beautiful wordsare felt with great sadness in myheart. All of us have great reason tofeel both sad and huppy.Sad forO'Sensei's passing and happy thathe left us with this wonderful art topractice and this harmonious andpeaceful way of life; these are theteachings of O'Sensei." To concludethe ceremony, a few students of theBudo Center put on a demonstra-

tion of various Aikido techniques.

McGouirk Sensei began the adultseminar and commented on the newmat. He was very kind to tell themembers of the Budo Center that Everyone

Dang Thong Phong presented flowers to Frank McGouirk Senseithey have the best ukemi in thestate. McGouirk Sensei showedover 50students smooth and flowing

by Eric Womack

thusiasm over these newly learnedtechniques. New friendships werediscovered and the old onesrenewed.

at the seminar indicatedappreciation of Mc-Gouirk Sensei's styleand teachings. He hada way of teaching thatwas both very nice towatch and easy to un-derstand. His step bystep method was verypopular.

The day was one ofgratefulness andremembrance ofpeace, harmony,togetherness andfriendship. On behalfof Sensei Dang ThongPhong and members ofAik ido TenshinkaiFederation. thanks to

everyone who made this a very spe-cial dav..

Frank McGouirkwas teaching an Aikido technique

techniques. Hesaid thatAikidois for everyone,old and veryyoung. Al l ofthe participantsenjoyed theseminar andlearned a greatdeal. After twohours, a pot-luck lunch wasserved. Manywere reluctantto stop trainingdue to en-

Aikido Insights

REMINISCENCE (Cont. from page 1)

of a hut and poured a bucket of water over his body thenlooked at the blue slq. Suddenly, he felt himself elevated,and enlightened while tear drops rolled down his cheel<s inhis gratefulness to the universe. "Try to find, and you willsee." Ilith all his mind and body, he acknowledged a greattruth of nature. Since then he was one with the spirit ofnature. This is what is understood to be enlightenment ofheaven, a state of direct understanding of the perfect truthmentioned in ZEN.

Photo by Dang Thong Phong Sensei (1967)Master Morihei Ueshiba, recalling whatever happened thatday, always related the following story:

"When I was wandering in the yard of the hut, the earthsuddenly trembled, yellow smoke from the earth covered allmy body. Then I had the feelingmy body became a goldenbody. At the same time, my body and my mind felt very light.I could understand the singing of birds and clearly under-stood the spirit of the creator. Right at that moment Iacquired an enlightenment. The basic principle of MartialArt is to love the creator and the universe. Happy tear dropsrolled down on my cheel<s. Since then I felt the whole worldwas my home and title, fame or rtchness were meaninglessto me-"

The teaching and purpose of Morihei's Martial Art is notof defeating opponents and expecting victories. GenuineManial AnisE do not compete, but try to harmonize withthe power of the universe and to lead everything in natureto its maturity.

THE MEANING OF AIKIDO

Joe Jill, Aikido Shodan

Theword "AIKIDO" means harmony (AI), energy (KI),and method or way (DO). Aikido was developed bymaster Morihei Ueshiba. It was developed from selfdefense methods which were taken from sword fighting,Aikijitsu and other martial arts. Aikido has to dowith theHARAwhich is the center of inner energy. Everyone hasthis intrinsic energy but very few people develop it. Thecenter of the energy (HARA) is a point approximately 2inches below the naval. This is roughly the physical pointof balance of a man's body, otherwise known as the centerof gravity. Aikido places great emphasis on this balancepoint and inner energy. It is the whole basis of Aikido.

The Aikido practitioner learns to defend himself throughsmooth extension of power against one attacker or many.This is accomplished by neutralizing the opponent andhaving control over his or her actions at all times. Theattacker is neutralized without inflicting unnecessaryharm. In Aikido, one does not meet force with force;rather, he/she flows with and redirects the opponent'senergy.

Practicing Aikido will result in increased coordination,flexibility, more self confidence and mental discipline.One will see improvement in general health, stamina,mental attitude and physical fitness. The practice of ab-dominal breathing will also increase your health and wellbeing. Men, women and children of any age can par-ticipate in Aikido.

My personal experience from practicing Aikido is that Ihave more self control and relief of the tensions as-sociated with the business world. It keeps me in excellentphysicalcondition and keeps me flexible. I look forwardto learning and teaching Aikido.o

(Continued on page 5)

Aikido Insights

REMINISCENCE ... (Cont. from page 4)

"Winning is to win over the deteioration, the discordanceand jealously that divide our mind." The key to the successin practicingAikido is completely contained in that teach-ing. This is the principle which makes it dffirent from anyother MartialArt.

Thus, training in MartialArt does not mean to tryto defeat opponents, butto train to accomplish thelove of the creator amongourselves.

The Aikidoist learns topractice the Martial Artnot for competition, northe title of "champion"or to become a "hero."This results in thedivision of Martial Artcombinedwithnew crea-tions. This is AIKIDOtoduv.

The Master'smoves were verybeautiful to lookat, asif hewereper-

forming a dance,indifferent to thepresence of his op-ponent. He threwseveral strong per-sons to the groundat a time, and yethis opponents didnot see how it hap-pened. His moveswere in harmonv

When Morihei Ueshiba began teaching his Budo, onlypeople belonging to the aistocracy and high ranking of-ftcers attended his training classes. All his disciples, ofcourse, respectfully recognized his incomparable skill, butthey were also charmed by his spirit and character.

After World War II, hedeplored that morals inthe post-war period weredeteriorating and thatyouths were living invice, without any hope

for the future. MasterMorthei Ueshiba real-ized that it was time topropdgate AIKIDO tothe public, to makepeople understand thephilosophy of tkeuniverse in order forthem to regain theirhope. He gathered hisstudents and started toteach AIKIDO without

restricting it toonly the aris-tocratic class andthe high society.

In 1960, theJapanese govem-ment presentedthe Master withthe Medal ofHonor withPurple Ribbon, anhonor onlyawarded toanyonewhomadegreat contribu-tions in educa-t ion, dr t orinventions.

Now not only in Japan, but all over the world, people areleaming AIKIDO with zeal. AIKIDO expands gradually,day after day, a Martial Art admired for its non-violentphilosophy.o

rwxr*mlm or'im lf-*-*****-Trrilrle$ler w O'$EN$E| im$6r Eg't*t t Ft5rtr! { rgs;l. t:}6g} i

*Ffi}L IG,19F: Iffi{180 T[il5i{lHl{lf FEltttTl*t i

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with the rules of Dang Thong Phong Sensei was giving a speech at the Reminiscence of

nature and all the Passing of Morihei Ueshiba (April 26,1992)

strength of his opponents lunging at him was surely tumedagainst themselves.

"Nature is deep and wide," the Master said, "the more youadvance, the longer you see the road. AIKIDO is a roadwithout end."

(re67)

Aikido Insights

Fort saskatchewan Aikido serninar

The first ever Aikido Seminar at Fort Saskatchewan oc-curred on February 15h and 16th and was taught by DangThong PhongSensei. At this point, you are asking,,,Whaiand where is Fort Saskatchewan?" So let us deal withmundane matters first. Fort Saskatchewan is a small cityof about lz,M people located about 20 minutes drivefrom Edmonton, which is the capital and largest city inthe Province of Alberta. For those still in the dark, theProvince of Alberta is north of the 49th parallel in theland of ice and snow (in short, in Canada).

Fort Saskatchewan, on the banks of the North Sas-katchewan River, was one of the first settlements inAlberta and has been a center of fur trading and point ofincarceration for criminals (among other things), hencethe "Fort" in the name. During the days of capital punish-ment, more than one criminal took his last breath at,,TheFort". Now the jail is no longer used for criminals and theCity (of Fort Saskatchewan) has taken it over for recrea-tional purposes. Among the beneficiaries is the Fort Sas-katchewan Aik ido Club, which pract ices in therymnasium of "TheJail".

The FortSaskatchewan Aikido Club is the newestAikidoClub in Alberta. It was established by Van Duong, Nidanabout one year ago. It was Van's fondest wish that phongSensei would journey to the land of ice and snow in orderto officially open the Club. This wish finally came true onFriday, February 14,1992. The "Club" consists of 20 to40 members (depending on the day) who range in agefrom young children to middle age adults. There is-a

by Bruce H. MacLeod

variety of skill levels in the club, but the majority ofmembers are in the 6th and 5th Kyu.

In addition to the "local members", the seminar wasattended by a number of representatives from the othertwo largest Aikido Clubs in Alberta: the University ofAlberta Club from Edmonton and Calgary Aikikai fromCalgary. In addition, we were joined by Mr. Inaba, thePresident of the Alberta Aikido Association and Mr.

, Hilchie, the Vice-President. Since few of us had metPhong Sensei, it was with great anticipation that weawaited the arrival of his flight from I-os Angles. Firstimpressions were vety positive; Phong Sensei was warmand cordial in his greetings for all who met him, but heseemed especially pleased to see the children. There areanumber ofchildren in the Club and hiswarmthwas mostimportant to them and was greatly appreciated

After a meal at a local restaurant, a party of about 20retired to the home of a club member for the evening.Here we were treated to conversation and videos ofAikido in California. Phong Sensei appeared to be a mosthumble man. Here we had gathered to be honoured byhis presence and he seemed to be honoured by ours. Hewas much in demand as a conversationalist. Severalpeople took turns monopolizinghim. Laterin theeveningPhong Sensei allowed us to view videos of his students inCalifornia. We were impressed by the youth and skill ofthe demonstrators. The clip of the trvo little boys ,,mug-ging" the trvo little girls was priceless.

The Seminar itself began the next day (on the Saturday)at "The Jail." The first session was from 5:00 to 7:00Saturday evening. As noted earlier, the Seminar wasattended not only by representatives of our own Club butalso by members of the other two large Clubs in Alberta.There were people of all ages and skill levels on the mats.Phong Sensei managed to accommodate everybody. Forthe higher levels, he demonstrated advanced techniques.For the lower levels, he reviewed the basics. No one wasleft out and he seemed to be able to help everyone withproblems.

The Saturday session was followed by supper at anotherlocal restaurant. Phong Sensei again demonstrated hisability to make all feel welcome. Because there were

Dang Thong Phong Sensei demonstrated Aikidotechnique Ikkyo

Aikido Insights

about 40 Aikidoists at the restaurant, not all could sit withthe Sensei. He dealt with that situation by going aroundto each and every person to thank them for-coming. Thisgesture was very much appreciated.

The sunday session commenced at 9:00 AM. Attendancewas down over Saturday (the partying that went on afterdinner the previous night may have h"ad something to dowith that). we went until 1t:oo in much the same iein asthe-previous night: advanced techniques for advancedstudents, basic techniques for lower levelstudents. senseiconcluded the morning session with a lecture on theimportance of falling correctly (',... because if one isinjured, one cannot continue to practice."). This turnedout to be fortuitous for me because, in the afternoonsession I ignored his advice, fell on my shoulder, and hadto quit practicing.

The afternoon session commenced at 12:00 and wentuntil 2:00. At this point, one of our more severe winterstorms began (one that gives us the reputation of livingin the Land of Ice and Snow) and Sensei very nearly didnot make his airplane connection.

Many comments were made during and after the Semi-nar,.particularly by representatives of other clubs. Thesefell into two general areas. The first concerned the Ten_

QUALITY NOT QUANTITY

by Andrew Avalos

The Late JIM O'HARA said, ,,practice doesn,t makeperfect.. Perfect practice makes perfect.',

A former athletic coach of mine was fond of the abovequotation. He may or may not have originated the phrase,but Igive him the crpdit b""uur" I finiheard it from him.Reflecting on it constantly, I believe (hope) it can bringall of us a step closer to the successful pru"tir" of Aikido.

Because of my lack of ex_perience, my discussion re-lates, on almost a purelyphysical level; a few itemsrelated to the main ideacontained in the abovequote. As always, pleaseconsult "the experts" forthe real "meat and bones"of Aikido.

Briefly speaking, the invol_vement of the uke (theonewho falls) must be l00Vo.He/She, ideal ly, mustsupplyenough momentum(energy) for the nage (theonewho executes the tech_nique) upon which to act.In Aikido, from a certain

shinkai style which is very flowing and gentle compared

DangThongphongSm

viewpoint, we are to use our attacker,s strength (energy)to subdue him;we must generate the energy (use physilJstrength) if our partner does not wish to.

Not only must the uke (oo-kay) follow through sincerely,but should be committed to fail to the best of his/herability. I'm not saying to fall over when your partnersneezes, but on a certain levelibecome aware of the fineIine between falling. prematurely (when not properlythrown or off balance) and resfisting to.the extent that thenage cannot execute the technique. Especially during theintroduction of a new technique, resistance, I believe,should be negligible.

In terms of the nage,Iwaswarned that if Ididn,t paystrictattention to developing proper form it would Ue rrerv

group of teenager students

to the more direct style common here. Tenshinkai has aparticular beauty. The second concerned Sensei himself.He is a most humble man. While we had gathered tohonour him, he seemed to be honoured by us. He has atalent for making all feel welcome and at home. Althoughhe may be a small man in physical stature, he is a BigManin Aikido.o

Phong Sensei colrgratulateaAndrewAvalos on

his Kyu 4 promotion

Aikido Insights

(Continued on page II)

Questions For Master Phong

Dang Thong Phong S€nsei

Q Master, what does TEN-SHINKAI mean and why didyou choose this word to give tothe AIKIDO Federation youare now lead.

A (Dang Thong Phong)UTEN": Heaven"SHIN": Heart"KAI": Association.Generally speaking, Tenshinkaimeans the Associat ion ofHeaven's heart. The commoninterpretation of it is the As-sociation emanating from theheart of Heaven. The heart ofHeaven is generous and impar-tial. We are to follow Heaven'slove of life to deal with people.Heaven does not have enemies,therefore we have to followHeaven not to consider anyoneas enemies. If we don't want tohave enemies we are not to doany harm to others.

Theword TENSHINKAI is thename the Great Master MoriheiUeshiba gave to the VietnameseAikido league in the 60's. I wasdelegated by the MastersMorihei Ueshiba and Doshu

Kisshomaru Ueshiba to or-ganize and propagate AIKIDOin VIETNAM in the spirit ofLove and Peace. I think that thename given to the VietnameseAIKIDO aff i l iate was notwithout intention. At that timeVIETNAM was in an endlessinternecine war. The GreatMaster hoped that Vietnamesepeople would be able toel iminate the barr ier whichseparated themselves to livetogether in reconciliation andconcord, and for the sake ofLove, annihi late hatred andbring Peace to this sufferingcountry.

After my sett lement in theU.S.A., I decided to use thisname TENSHINKAI asain.

Q Sir,we have heard thatyou havelearned different Martial Arts.In some Martial Arts you evenobtained a higher degree than inAIKIDO. Why didn' t youdevelop it to have a betterchance to move up in yourcareer?

A Every Martial Art has its ownspecial points. If I studied otherMartial Arts, it was to acquire abroader knowledge. I don't liketo compete or to quarrel. I don'thave the idea of fightingwith theexpectation to gain victory overpeople. For th is reasonAIKIDO is the martial art thatfits me most. Aikido is a martialart that treasures peace. Love isthe guideline of all moves, thusthere is no rancor which en-genders vengeance. As I haverelated before, I chose and serve

AIKIDO because it's a perfectmartial art to develop ourselvesphysically and spiritually. It is ahigh-minded phi losophy. Ichose and serve AIKIDO tocarry out the duty GreatMasters MORIHEI UESHIBAand DOSHU KISSHOMARUUESHIBA entrusted me topropagate AIKIDO in the spiritof Love and Peace.

Q According to you, what are theminimum requirements ex-pected from anyone aspiring tobecome an AIKIDO instructor?

A AIKIDO is not merely a martiaart, It is a PhilosoPhy

and a Budo. All high rankingAIKIDO instructors are peoplewith a heart dot ted withgenerosity. Anyone entrustedwith the duty to teach AIKIDOmust have a virtuous way ofliving. He or she must not lie,cheat and must welcome what'sright and be receptive to al lcritics. He orshe must fraternizewith everybody and not regardanyone as enemy. He or shemust not dislike anyone becausethat person is not in his or hergroup.

In the end, any AIKIDO stu-dent in whatever school orwhichever instructor he or shemay study with, always comes tothe same source: the foreverrespected Great MasterMORIHEI UESHIBA. Onlywith such respect can the powerof AIKIDO be strengthened todenote the entire meaning ofthe word "Chivalrous" as "AI"in the word AIKIDO.e

Aikido Insights

head to toe warm-up exercise before demonstrating aseries of Kokyu Nage techniques involving Riote Dbriand Riokatate Dori. He then went into some control andlock techniques of the Nikkyo series. There were about25 to 30 people attending his class. Sensei phong'ssmooth, quick and circular movements seemed to beln

several times during the return trip so that Sensei phongcould try out his newvideo camcorder. Slightly exhaustedI lay down in the back seat of Jim's Blazer, trusting mylife to his driving. Luckily, his driving skill was

"*""ll"ntand he brought us back home safely.

total contrast with I do hope that our school will participate more in thethe TaiChi- in- future with otherf luenced Aik ido schools. It would bestyle of the class' interesting to be ex-

pressed. Afterabout an hour ot |'7,, ;

wrW w w-'n{ir m[U-

- r'*rffit'* | :-*i-nrent,

away

continuing practice,from our routine.

Sensei Phong tookthe class to the open

life. On a personal

GrI the occasion hasconferenceroom'| ' **- ' . ' . : . . .=.-- . ' | '1. . | ' " inro '""dmytrustwhere earlier we | , irrr,:.,!-. ' :,1' ' t:t I ^-, ,had the "Dharma

and devotion in thespirit of "AI" and

Talkt ' , to practice I i rr :1: j :- i l r : : : i1 '- :r l *r '^ '-

r _r- i r i , , ; f ,1 i , , ,+; j i | , ,KI, , of Aikido.

sword exercises. It + 'r:'r.:, ::r:r.11:::1ri1r; I n---was just afternoon, n"ng

SltY::":"'o".ltlsr tvt t lwl l ,

but even with the the Mt. Baldy Zen center (May 23, lgg2) was fresh, the

sun right above us people were friend-

the aii seemed cool- Still, some of us had our uniform delicious, and, Jim assured -.,

t *"Iirif"fntff,ff:soaked with sweat from the exercisqs. Finally, after forty- for Sensei Phong after all.... What a relief!rfive minutes, Sensei Phong finished his teaching with abrief speech expressing his appreciation for the occasionto share his Aikido techniques with such enthusiasticgroup of Aikido practitioners. Of course, there was theinevitable photo session with the whole class followed bvsome pictures with Sensei McGouirk.

With his gentle but very strong posture and his gracefulbut effective techniques, Sensei phong seemed to cap-ture the participants' enthusiasm and respect. SenseiPhong seemed to be able to project his KI to express thetrue spirit of Aikido not only during the training butthroughout the whole interaction. Sensei McGouirk thentook me aside and asked me to relate to Sensei phong hisdesire to invite Sensei Phong to his dojo for u on"duyseminar to further strengthen the already close friendshipbetrpeen his and Sensei Phong's dojos.

***

We left the Mt. Baldy Zen C_enter a short while afterbidding good-bye to Sensei McGouirk and our newfriends. The sun had begun to go down. We stopped

10 Aikido Insi

4 Dr47 70 Rt7ltt7ltgtR

The trip was planned about a month after Sensei phongreceived the invitation from Sensei Frank McGouirk toattend aZenand Aikido seminar put togetherby him andhis friends, all high level Aikido masters and 2en prac_titioners, at the Mt. Baldy Zen Center during theMemorial Day weekend. Even though Sensei phon an_nounced the invitation to all of his classes, Jim Ogbornand I were the only two students who went with him.

Sensei Phong, Jim Ogborn and I left Orange Countyaround 7:40 in the morning of May ZSth, lgg2 after apleasant breakfast at Denny's. Jim drove North onFreeway 57 before turning East onto San BernardinoFreeway. It took us about 25 minutes we passed the cityof Pomona, before we reached the foot of Mount Baldv.The weather was partially cloudy, cool and u"ry."r"n".The road was very winding and beautiful scenery quicklypassed by the car window. An hour and twenty minutesinto the trip, we reached the Mt. Baldy Zen C.enter.

by Tam Do

We were greeted by Sensei McGouirk. He was kindenough to allow us to use his bungalow to rest and storeour personal belongings. Eager to participate, however,we quickly changed and walked up the hilt to attend thefirst Aikido class, taught by a young Japanese lady. Thisclass was intended for beginners even though there wereabout 20 to 25 people attending. Most of them wore blackbelt. The highlight of this class camewhen the fiveyoungmonks who lived and worked there (as cooks, for thiiparticular weekend) asked to participate. Only one ofthem had some previous Aikido experiences but most ofthem were muscular and pretty quick with their feet. Inoticed that Sensei Phong participated with enthusiasm;he even seemed to enjoy being thrown by one of thosemonk. The class lasted about an hour and 30 minuteswith enough Kokyu to warm us up, even Sensei phong.

After about 15 minutes of recess, most of us walked upthe "boulevard" to attend the,,Dharma Talk", featuringa Zen master from Los Angeles. The talk was held in along and airy conference room specially designed for suchevent with small pillows to sit on, and a small Buddhistaltar at one end. The talk that day concentrated on thetopic of "...I\,[eet the Buddha Kill the Buddha, Meet(your) Master Kill (your) Master!,' It was interesting andvery thought provoking. "Let the intuition flow andielaxyour rational power," the Zen master advised beforeending the talk. Of the three of us, Jim seemed to enjoythe talk the most!

It was noon. We walked back to our bungalow to changeand get ready for lunch. I did not know about SenseiPhong and Jim, but I was about starving to death. It wasthen that Sensei Phong advised me to prep"." to be his

_U_ke, In the morning, Sensei phong had accepted SenseiMcGouirk's unexpected request to conduci the after-noon Aikid-o class. The vegetarian style lasagna and thevegetable prepared by the monks were so good that Icould not resist to serve myself trvice before I was able toexert some self-control with the thought of being an Uke,thrown around with a full stomach, in less than half anhour! Suddenly I wish that Hai, Chien, or euang-Anh,with their graceful rolls, were around to take the part ofthe Uke. Why an old guy like me?

sensei Phong began the class with our schoo|s traditional

ON HIS 8TH

Masatake Fujita, General Secretary of HoT,nu ni;{and Dang Thong Phong Sensei, president of Ten- i'

shinkai Aikido Federation in Tokyo (ltllTlgt\ I'

Aiido Insights

... A FORMER STUDENT

Sensei Dang Thong Phong has received a letter from one of his former students,Mr. Patrick Dimayuga. Mr. Dimayuga studied Aikido first with Sensei DangThong Tri and then with Sensei Phong from 1964 to 1966. After that Mr.Dimayuga returned to France to live with his family. He is currently the Editorin chief of SESERAGI, the official Newsletter of AIKIDO FEDERATIONFRANCAISE D'AIKIDO et de BUDO (AIKIKAI DE FRANCE). It has beenmore than 26 years since they last met. With this renewed contact with Mr.Patrick Dimayuga, Sensei Phong hopes to establish close relationship betweenTenshinkai Aikido Federation and Aikido Federation Francaise.

Mr. PatrickDimayuga

AIKIDO SEMINAR

AUGUST 1,1992

Aikido-Ai will host a one-day seminar with FrankMcGouirk Sensei and Dang Thong Phong Sensei. Theclass will begin at 9:30 a.m. and end at 4:30 p.m. onAugust 1,1992. The fee is $30.00.

For more information, write to Aikido-Ai dojo at6727S. Milton Ave., Whittier, CA 90601 or call FrankMcGouirk Sensei at (213) 696-1838.

Masatake Fujita, General Secretary of Hombu Dojoand Dang Thong Phong Sensei, President ofTen-

shinkai Aikido Federation in Tokyo (lul7l91)

Aikido Insights has just received the great new thatSensei Masatake Fujita, General Secretary of theHombu Dojo, Aikido World Headquarters, has beenpromoted to 8th Dan since January 72, 1992. SenseiMasatake Fujita and Sensei Dang Thong Phong havemet and known each other since L967 when SenseiPhong went to Japan for the privilege to study Aikidounder the direct guidance of O'Sensei Morihei Ueshibaand Doshu Kisshomaru Ueshiba. They met again lastNovember when Tenshinkai Aikido Federation'sdelegation,led by Sensei Phong, went to Japan for theoccasion of the 50th Anniversary of Aikikai Founda-tion and the 60th Anniversary of Hombu Dojo. Onbehalf of all members of our Federation, Sensei Phonghas sent a letter to congratulate Sensei Fujita as soonas he received this belated news.

CONGRATULATIONS TO SHIHAN MASATAKE FUJITAON HIS 8TH DAN PROMOTIONS

QUALITY NCt{f ... (Cont. from page 7)

difficult to correct my technique later. Even as a beginner, Iam still "working on it" and feel it is almost impossible torealize what I am doing incorrectly, let alone convince mybody to make the necessary adjustments.

Instead of refining the basic movements, I have practiced mymistakes over and over. Impatience and lack of concentra-tion have slowed my progress and clouded my ability to seewhat is directly in front of me (the true lesson of the day).

(Continued onpage 12)

11Aikido Insights

QUALITY NOT... (Cont. frompage 1I)

During practice, I feel frustration by my side. He and Ipractice the art of taking short cuts (ie., trading speed forform and muscular strength over true coordination.) Ifthe technique does not continue smoothly, most of theblame is directed toward the uke.

"You are too stiff... too tense!""Too heavy!""Nonsense!"

Sendus this form for your subscriptionName:Address:Dojo name:I have enclosed: for mySubscription to Aikido Insighte at $10.00 foreach year (4 issues).

Send form to:Aikido Insights8536 Westminster Ave.Westminster, CA 92683

wrw* TwN

The fear of injury makes the uke tense. This is due partlyto falling techniques not being completely absorbed intonatural reaction. The body completes a rigid set of mo-tions until these become refined to the point that one justfalls (rolls), utterly relaxed.

In addition, the displacement of aggression (the actualintent to inflict damage) interrupts the unison betweenuke and nage. This aggression as originating from ourexperiences outside the dojo (iob dissatisfaction, maritalstress, other problems) may make us throw our partneror twist his/her wrist a little harder. The uke not only fearsstriking the mat abruptly, but also fears an over- zealouspartner.

Looking back, waving my arms around during the warm'up period hasn't been very beneficial. Once the applica-tion has been introduced, I have had to relearn certainmovements (sayu undo and tenkan). I believe a fewcorrectly performed movements are far more productivethan a thousand poorly executed techniques. Hence,quality not quantity. In fact, only when I engage thisprocess and repeat to myself... "Practice doesn't makeperfect... Perfect practice makes perfect."

Can I work through frustration.

{"k{3;td} &;Mrwffi

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Ai Ki E{i TEHEHil HFA| FEEEfrfrTi{iHAffifioted wllh Aikido worfd Freodquorten Tokyo - rlon

Chief InstructorDANG TIIONG PHONG

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