All Japan 2017 Aikido Demonstration Day Report
This was my fourth time to attend the All Japan Aikido Demonstration Day.
It’s always a pleasant reminder to see so many people of all ages and walks
of life, gathering to participate in this aikido event.
The exciting thing is that I never know which aikido friends from around
Japan and even from abroad, I am going to run into, so there were numerous
unexpected reunions.
It’s also fun to see how many different interpretations of aikido there are.
The most surprising was the demonstration by Wagou Aikido Shuuren Dojo, in
which the teacher made short punching movements into the air and the ‘uke’
fell down around him!
Two of the most outstanding demonstrations were by Doshu and Endo Sensei.
While making it look effortless, they both gave strong and impressive
performances.
Doshu moved fast and with a very smooth flow. His ‘uke’ used numerous
methods of attack and Doshu clearly had a wide array of moves at his
fingertips to respond to anything. He even made ‘suwariwaza’ and attacks
with weapons look smooth and easy. It was great to watch Suzuki Sensei as
one of Doshu’s amazing ‘uke’.
Endo Sensei displayed his strong core and barely needed to touch his ‘uke’
for them to be thrown down powerfully. Endo Sensei’s soft, but powerful
moves were particularly clear when he had multiple attackers. As usual he
made it look so easy.
This event was an inspiration to encourage me to continue trying to improve
my own aikido.
I hope that I will be able to attend the All Japan Aikido Demonstration Day
again in 2018!
Thank you!