05th Jun 2008
Reflections on the National Instructors Seminar by Brandon Nimz
While my dojo has hosted several seminars, the instructors’ seminar at Tenshinkan in Chicago was the first one I had attended elsewhere. I was more than a little nervous—especially since I had only recently earned my 3rd kyu rank (the minimum necessary for the seminar). I also had no idea what to expect.
My experience began a little earlier than some of the other attendees because Toyoda Sensei (thankfully) allowed me to sleep at Tenshinkan in a guest room upstairs. Upon my arrival, I was surprised by how friendly and casual everyone was, and I was also able to meet some of the instructors before we began the training sessions.
The first day we covered a pretty broad spectrum of things—from Kihon-waza to more advanced technique and weapons work. I was pretty overwhelmed. There were a lot of variations on what I had learned, and while some of them may have been extremely small (like throwing a shomenuchi strike from the back foot while stepping), the sum total of all the small variations added up to the point that I was attempting to keep up with only the technical aspects of the techniques and had no real fluidity or flow. Also, pending on how much the technique differed from what I had learned (or if it was entirely new), I was only able to minimally focus on how to TEACH the technique, which was the point of the seminar. At the end of the day, I figured I’d just be trying to survive the next two.
Thankfully, after some prayer and mental adjusting the second morning started off much better—singing in front of everyone may have also helped loosen me up (long story). It seemed I had absorbed many of the variations from the previous day and retained them well enough that I could focus more on fluidity, center, extension, and other elements of the techniques beyond merely ‘what hand goes where’. I was also able to devote a lot of energy to learning how the different instructors taught. Each instructor had their own feel and flavor of Aikido, and all of them added a little bit more to the mix. I began to get some idea of what my own style of instruction would be like for the first time, and I worked on using the different instructors as models to improve it. Overall, the second day was extremely enjoyable—both in terms of the technique and in terms of the general interactions we shared before and after sessions and at meal-times or during the evening. I learned that most of the instructors were very approachable, helpful, and friendly. I also found that staying at the dojo and helping with things greatly improved my ability to meet and know all of the different attendees, which was a tremendous blessing.
The third day continued to go smoothly, and after we took our photos and handed out certificates, I had to head off to catch my plane. I was sad that it had ended so soon—I’d made several new friends and had a wonderful learning experience. Some of the sessions, demonstrations, and interactions I had will stick with me from a long time-things from cleaning the windows with good company and nice late-night talks to watching a yondan test and having Matsuda Sensei correct my technique in front of the all the attendees (which was a very good experience) among many other equally noteworthy memories… I can’t even name all of the instructors that contributed something to what I took away from the seminar.
Suffice it to say that while I may have had no idea to expect, what I ultimately experienced was an excellent time of instruction and interaction with a wide variety of Aikidoka from all around the country. The different methods of instruction, the personal interaction with extremely high-caliber instructors, and the new techniques and perspectives I learned will stick with me and shape my Aikido for a long time. I certainly hope I get a chance to attend another teaching seminar in the near future to show what I’ve learned and push myself further. As I close, I want to wish my sincerest thanks to all of the instructors who helped me out, all of the people who helped put the seminar on, and to Toyoda Sensei and the Tenshinkan dojo for allowing me to stay the nights there and for making me feel at home.
Brandon Nimz is a 3rd kyu student with Fort Hays State University Aikido.
