TanshInkol Heodquortar tlJesunlnster,Collbrnlo, U.S.R * Sprlrp99. Vol. #9

REMINISCENCE OF PASSINGOF OSENSEI INNER INSIGHTS: MORTHETUESHTBA (1883 -1969) by limWenrick by Dang Thong PhongSensei Twenty-threeyears ago in Apil, on happinessthat victoriesbing. How- For most people who are reading the 26th day, the Founder of ever,in thefuture, whenstrength and this article the word Aikido is not left this transient life forever and youth fades so will victories.All vic- unknown.However, there are a few retumed to the No- Thingness.Even tories are relative.Can there be an readersfor whom theword Aikido is though Morihei Ueshibaphysically absolutevictory? What is the effectof new. left this earth, he left his form of non- victoryon an individual. In the eyeof competitive,self transforming Budo the univene, winning or losing in the So, what is Aikido? Very simply in the hearts humanworld stated,Aikido is a martial art whose and minds of isvalueless.It goal is to put an end to violenceand all the dis- is no better fighting. Its aim is to promote both ciples who uh than the rtse internal andexternal peace and har- study Aikido and fall of monv. all over the {# s& tide on the world. beach.Is it (Continuedonpage 2) not a wasteof He had con- "*d time to ducted devote all of IN THIS ISSUE...... painstaking one's life to researchand seeking vic- Article Page had gone tories and through dif- def eating Reminiscenceof Passingof ferent schools others?" O'SenseiMorihei Ueshiba L of the manial Inner Insights 1 arts.Notuntil Master Editor'sNote 2 he was forty- Morihei TenshinkaiAikido Federation two years of Ueshibacon- Honors 3 age did he centrated all The Meaning of Aikido 4 thoroughly his effort to Fort SaskatchewanAikido Morihei Ueshiba(1883-f 969) understand solvehis own Seminar 6 the unique meaning of nature. He questions.He visitedall the famous QualityNot Quantity 7 foundedAikkloin 1927. templesand studiedphilosophy. He QuestionsFor Master Phong 8 lookedfor a quietplace to meditate. A Day To Remember 9 During O'Sensei'sdevelopment He wassubmeryed with thequestion: Aikido 10 many doubts occuned in his mind. "Whatis MartialAn?" SenseiDang Thong Phong "What is the use of trying to defeat hasreceived... 11 otherswith our skills? In theprime of After severalyears of and Aikido Seminar 11 youth a person is physically strong, traveling one day, descendingfrom Congratulationsto but strengthfades away with ageand the mountain,he wentinto the yard ShihanMasatake Fujita 11 time.Inthe presentone canenjoy the (Continuedon page4)

Aikido Insights

) EDITOR'S NOTE: AIKIDO INSIGHTS INNERINSIGHTS: Cont... Founded 1991

Where did the word Aikido EDITORS: originate? From it's founder, O'- Jim Wenrick, Editor-in-chief SenseiMorihei Ueshiba(1883- Dang Thong Phong,President 1969). He defined Aikido: Ai (uniting in harmonyand for STAFF: allthings);ki (not fully translatable in English,howeverthe basic ele- Neta Wenrick ments of ki are embroiledin Asian Tam Do culture philosophyart, physical Tanh Van Phan Tuan H. Nguyen training,the vital training energyof Frank TH l:urent life);do (tnuy). Eric Womack Nhan Ho O'Senseideveloped Aikido from Jim Ogborn JimWenrick other martial art forms. Some of Quang Nguyen these disciplinesare: ,jujitsu, Tho Le A momentof time has passedsince aikijutsu,bojustu, ,etc. the last issueof Aikido Insightswas - AIKIDO INSIGHTS published. Nevertheless,many When forming/shapingAikido, is the Newsletterof the events have occurred. The high- Morihei Ueshibawas not only con- Aikido Tenshinkai Federation. lights were when Master Phong cerned with the functional techni- visited Fort Saskatchewanto 8536 WestminsterAvenue quesof other martialdisciplines. He present a seminar and the Budo Westminster,CA92683 was also involvedwith inner trans- (714) 8e4-rOO3 Crnter celebrated O'Sensei'sPass- formation of himself and his stu- ing. The readerwill find manyexcit- dents. @ 1992,All Rights Resenred ing articles in this issue. One particular Published item for the newsletteris For the beginningstudent of Aikido, Quarterly "Questions For Master Phong." the area of inner transformation, Any reader is invited to send any work or inner issues(ie: anger,fear, questionrelating to Aikido to....All resentment,envy, selfish pride...) is questions will be reviewed by most often neglected.What inter- Master Phong, and Aikido Insights techniques. However, it goes ests many new and novitiate stu- without saying that Aikido as O'- will attempt to publishthem in the dents are the apparentlyeasy, following issue. Senseitaught is much more than techniqueswhich are effortlessly technique(s) and proficiency in and powerfullydemonstrated by the Many thanksto Dang Thong Phong their execution.At the foundation Senseiand other advancedstudents. Senseifor his time and energy in- of Aikido is inner transformation. The goal is internal transformation, volved in this issue,particularly for One of O'Senseiconcerns was that harmonyand love. his responsesto the questions.Also studentsseek the understandingof many thanks to Tanh Van Phan, Aikido. This canbe accomplishedby SomeResources: Andrew Avalos, Bruce Maclrod, reading,practicing and listening to JosephJill, Eric Womack, Tam Do the various Senseisand advanced Budo by and Richard Phan for submitting Morihei Ueshiba. studentstalk about it. Beyond the Aikido: The Way of Harmony by J. their articles. hundredsof techniquesAikido is Stevens. not easily understood.In order to All of us at the Budo Center The Principles of Aikido by understandAikido a student must that you will enjoyand grow with this M.Saotome. first desire to understandits mean- new issueof Aikido Insights.o Aikido bv O. Ratti.o ing. If thisis not doneAikido is noth- ing more than skill in performing

Aikido Insights TENSHINKAI AIKII'O FEIDERATION HONORS MORTHEI UESHIBA

by Eric Womack

April 26, 1992marked the 23rdyear tion of variousAikido techniques. thusiasmover thesenewly learned of O'Sensei'spassing. Dang Thong techniques.New friendshipswere Phong Senseiof the headquarters McGouirk Senseibegan the adult discovered and the old ones dojo, TenshinkaiAikido Federation seminarand commented on the new renewed. invitedGary WellbornSensei, a 4th mat. He was very kind to tell the and his North membersof the Budo Center that Everyoneat the seminarindicated Orange County appreciation of Mc- Aikido Club members Gouirk Sensei'sstyle to attend.Phong Sen- and teachings.He had sei also invited Frank a way of teachingthat McGouirk Sensei,a was both very nice to 5th dan and his stu- watch and easyto un- dentsfrom Aikido-Ai, derstand.His step by Whittier, CA. Mc- step method was very Gouirk Senseiwas to popular. give a three hour seminar at the con- The day was one of clusion of the gratefulness and ceremony.In the true remembrance of of O'Sensei's peace, harmony, teaching, all three togetherness and Aikido associations friendship.On behalf gatheredto honor the of SenseiDang Thong founderof Aikido and Phongand members of his teachings. DangThong Phong presented flowers to Frank McGouirk Sensei Aikido Tenshinkai they have the best ukemi in the Federation.thanks to state. McGouirk Senseishowed everyonewho madethis a veryspe- Phong Senseibegan the ceremony over50students smooth and flowing cialdav.. by readingthe beautifuland moving techniques.He words of O'Sensei.Afterward, saidthatAikido flowerswere presentedand candles is for everyone, lit at the newlyremodeled shrine for old and very O'Sensei. McGouirk Sensei young. All of summedup the ceremonybest by theparticipants saying,"These very beautifulwords enjoyed the are felt with great sadnessin my seminar and heart.All of us havegreat reason to learneda great feel both sad and huppy.Sadfor deal. After two O'Sensei'spassing and happy that hours, a pot- he left us with this wonderful art to luck lunch was practice and this harmoniousand served.Many peacefulway of life; theseare the were reluctant teachingsof O'Sensei."To conclude to stop training the ceremony,a few studentsof the due to en- Budo Center put on a demonstra- Frank McGouirkwasteaching an Aikido technique

Aikido Insights REMINISCENCE (Cont.from page1) THE MEANING OF AIKIDO of a hut and poured a bucketof waterover his bodythen lookedat the blue slq. Suddenly,he felt himselfelevated, JoeJill, Aikido Shodan and enlightenedwhile teardrops rolled down his cheel

The Aikido practitionerlearns to defendhimself through smoothextension of poweragainst one attackeror many. This is accomplishedby neutralizingthe opponentand havingcontrol over his or her actionsat all times.The attacker is neutralizedwithout inflicting unnecessary harm. In Aikido, one does not meet force with force; rather, he/sheflows with and redirectsthe opponent's energy.

PracticingAikido will result in increasedcoordination, flexibility,more self confidenceand mental discipline. Photoby DangThong Phong Sensei (1967) One will see improvementin general health,stamina, MasterMorihei Ueshiba,recalling whatever happened that mentalattitude and physicalfitness. The practiceof ab- day, alwaysrelated thefollowing story: dominalbreathing will alsoincrease your healthand well being.Men, women and children of any age can par- "WhenI was wanderingin the yard of the hut, the earth ticipatein Aikido. suddenlytrembled, yellow smoke from theearth covered all my body.Then I had thefeelingmy bodybecame a golden My personalexperience from practicingAikido is that I body.At the sametime, my bodyand my mind felt verylight. have more self control and relief of the tensionsas- I could understandthe singingof birds and clearly under- sociatedwith the businessworld. It keepsme in excellent stood the spirit of the creator. Right at that moment I physicalconditionand keepsme flexible.I look forward acquiredan enlightenment.The basic principle of Martial to learningand teaching Aikido.o Art is to love the creatorand the universe.Happy tear drops rolled down on my cheel

The teachingand purposeof Morihei's Martial Art is not of defeating opponentsand expectingvictories. Genuine Manial AnisE do not compete,but try to harmonizewith thepower of the universeand to lead everythingin nature to its maturity.

(Continuedon page5)

Aikido Insights REMINISCENCE ... (Cont.from page4) When Morihei Ueshibabegan teaching his Budo, only "Winningis to win overthe deteioration, the discordance people belongingto the aistocracy and high ranking of- andjealously that divide our mind." Thekey to thesuccess ftcers attendedhis training classes.All his disciples,of in practicingAikido is completelycontained in that teach- course,respectfully recognized his incomparableskill, but ing. This is theprinciple whichmakes it dffirent any from theywere also charmed by his spirit and character. otherMartialArt.

After World War II, he Thus,training in Martial deplored that morals in Art doesnot mean to try thepost-war period were to defeatopponents, but deteriorating and that to train to accomplishthe youths were living in loveof thecreator among vice, without any hope ourselves. for the future. Master Morthei Ueshiba real- The Aikidoist learns to ized that it was time to practice the Martial Art propdgate AIKIDO to not competition, nor for the public, to make the title of "champion" people understand the or to becomea "hero." philosophy of tke This results in the universe in order division of Martial Art for them to regain their combinedwithnewcrea- hope. He gathered his tions. This is AIKIDO students and started to toduv. (re67) teach AIKIDO without restricting it to only the aris- The Master's tocratic class and moves were very the high society. beautiful to look rwxr*mlmor'im lf-*-*****-T In 1960, the at,asif hewereper- rrilrle$lerw O'$EN$E| i m$6r Eg't*tt Ft5rtr!{ rgs;l. t:}6g} Japanesegovem- a dance, i forming *Ffi}LIG,19F: I ment presented indifferent to the ffi{180T[il5i{lHl{lf FEltttTl*t i the Master with presenceof his op- the Medal of ponent. He threw t Honor with severalstrong per- PurpleRibbon, an sons to the ground honor only at a time, and yet awarded to his opponents did anyonewhomade not seehow it hap- great contribu- pened. His moves tions in educa- were in harmonv tion, drt or with the rules of Dang Thong Phong Senseiwas giving a speechat the Reminiscenceof inventions. nature and all the Passing of Morihei Ueshiba (April 26,1992) strength of his opponents lunging at him was surely tumed against themselves. Now not only in ,but all overthe world,people are leamingAIKIDO with zeal.AIKIDO expandsgradually, "Nature is deep and wide," the Master said, "the more you day after day, a Martial Art admired its non-violent you road for advance, the longer see the road. AIKIDO is a philosophy.o without end."

Aikido Insights Fort saskatchewan Aikido serninar

byBruce H. MacLeod The first ever Aikido Seminarat Fort Saskatchewanoc- variety of skill levels in the club, but the majority of curred on February15h and 16th and was taught by Dang membersare in the 6th and5th Kyu. ThongPhongSensei. At thispoint, you are asking,,,Whai and where is Fort Saskatchewan?"So let us deal with In addition to the "local members", the seminar was mundane mattersfirst. Fort Saskatchewanis a smallcity attendedby a number of representativesfrom the other of about lz,M people locatedabout 20 minutesdrive two largestAikido Clubs in Alberta: the University of from Edmonton, which is the capitaland largestcity in Alberta Club from Edmonton and CalgaryAikikai from the Province of Alberta. For those still in the dark, the Calgary.In addition, we were joined by Mr. Inaba, the Provinceof parallel Alberta is north of the 49th in the President of the Alberta Aikido Association and Mr. landof ice andsnow (in short,in Canada). , Hilchie, the Vice-President.Since few of us had met Phong Sensei,it was with great anticipation that we Fort Saskatchewan,on the banks of the North Sas- awaited the arrival of his flight from I-os Angles. First katchewan River, was one of the first settlementsin impressionswere vety positive;Phong Senseiwas warm Alberta and hasbeen a center of fur tradingand point of and cordial in his greetingsfor all who met him, but he incarcerationfor criminals (amongother things),hence seemedespecially pleased to see the children.There are the "Fort" in the name. During the daysof capitalpunish- anumberofchildren in the Club andhiswarmthwas most ment, morethan one criminal took hislast breath at,,The important to them and wasgreatly appreciated Fort". Now the jail is no longer usedfor criminalsand the City (of Fort Saskatchewan)has taken it over for recrea- After a meal at a local restaurant,a party of about 20 tional purposes. Among the beneficiariesis the Fort Sas- retired to the home of a club member for the evening. katchewan Aikido Club, which practicesin the Here we were treated to conversation and videos of rymnasiumof "TheJail". Aikido in California.Phong Sensei appeared to be a most humble man. Here we had gathered to be honouredby his presenceand he seemedto be honouredby ours.He was much in demand as a conversationalist.Several peopletook turnsmonopolizinghim. Laterin theevening PhongSensei allowed us to view videosof his studentsin California.We were impressedby the youth and skill of the demonstrators.The clip of the trvo little boys,,mug- ging" the trvolittle girls waspriceless.

The Seminaritself beganthe next day (on the Saturday) at "The Jail." The first sessionwas from 5:00 to 7:00 Saturday evening. As noted earlier, the Seminar was attended Dang Thong Phong Senseidemonstrated Aikido not only by representativesof our own Club but techniqueIkkyo alsoby membersof the other two large Clubsin Alberta. There werepeople of all agesand skill levelson the mats. The FortSaskatchewanAikido Club is the newestAikido PhongSensei managed to accommodateeverybody. For Club in Alberta. It wasestablished by Van Duong,Nidan the higherlevels, he demonstratedadvanced techniques. aboutone year ago. It wasVan's fondest wish that phong For the lower levels,he reviewedthe basics.No one was Senseiwould journey to the land of ice andsnow in order left out and he seemedto be able to help everyonewith to officially open the Club. This wish finally cametrue on problems. Friday,February 14,1992.The "Club" consistsof 20 to 40 members(depending on the day) who range in age The Saturdaysession was followed by supperat another from young children to middle age adults. There is-a local restaurant.Phong Senseiagain demonstrated his ability to make all feel welcome. Becausethere were

Aikido Insights about 40Aikidoists at the restaurant,not all couldsit with the Sensei. He dealtwith that situationby goingaround QUALITY NOT QUANTITY to each and everyperson to thank them for-coming.This gesture wasvery muchappreciated. byAndrew Avalos The The Late ,,practice sundaysession commenced at 9:00AM. Attendance JIM O'HARA said, doesn,tmake wasdown perfect..Perfect practice over Saturday(the partyingthat went on after makesperfect.', dinner the previous night mayhave h"ad something to do with that). A former athletic coach we went until 1t:ooin muchthe sameiein as of mine was fond of the above the-previous quotation.He night: advancedtechniques for advanced mayor maynot haveoriginated the phrase, students, but Igive him the crpdit basictechniques for lowerlevelstudents. sensei b""uur" I finiheard it from him. concluded Reflectingon it constantly, the morning sessionwith a lecture on the I believe(hope) it canbring importance all of usa stepcloser of falling correctly (',... becauseif one is to the successfulpru"tir" of Aikido. injured, one cannotcontinue to practice.").This turned out Becauseof my lack to be fortuitous for me because,in the afternoon of ex_ sessionI ignored perience,my discussion re- his advice,fell on my shoulder,and had to quit practicing. lates,on almosta purely physicallevel; a few items The afternoon related to the main sessioncommenced at 12:00and went idea until 2:00. containedin the At this point, one of our more severewinter above stormsbegan quote. As always, (one that givesus the reputationof living please in the Land consult "the experts" of Ice and Snow)and Senseivery nearlydid for not makehis airplaneconnection. the real "meatand bones" of Aikido. Many comments were madeduring and after the Semi- nar,.particularly Brieflyspeaking, the by representativesof otherclubs. These invol_ fell into two vementof the (theone generalareas. The first concernedthe Ten_ shinkai who falls) style which is very flowing and gentle compared must be l00Vo. He/She, ideally, must supplyenoughmomentum (energy)for the nage(the Phong onewhoexecutes the tech_ Senseicolrgratulatea AndrewAvalos nique) upon which to act. on his Kyu 4 promotion In Aikido, from a certain viewpoint, we are to useour attacker,sstrength (energy) to subdue him;wemust generate the energy (use physilJ strength)if our partnerdoes not wish to. Not only must the uke (oo-kay)follow throughsincerely, but should be committed to fail to the best of his/her ability. I'm not saying DangThongphongSm to fall over when your partner sneezes,but on a certain levelibecomeaware of the fine group of teenagerstudents Iine between falling. prematurely (when not properly thrown to the more direct or off balance)and resfistingto.the extent style commonhere. Tenshinkaihas a that the particular nagecannot execute the technique. beauty.The secondconcerned Sensei himself. Especiallyduring the introductionof a new He is a most humble man. While technique,resistance, I believe, we had gathered to should honour him, he be negligible. seemedto be honouredby us.He has a talent for makingall feel welcomeand at home. Although In termsof thenage,Iwaswarned he maybe a smallman in physical that if Ididn,t paystrict stature,he is a BigMan attention in Aikido.o to developingproper form it would Uerrerv

(Continuedon page II)

Aikido Insights Questions For Master Phong

KisshomaruUeshiba to or- AIKIDO becauseit's a perfect ganizeand propagateAIKIDO martialart to developourselves in VIETNAM in the spirit of physicallyand spiritually.It is a Love andPeace. I think that the high-minded philosophy. I namegiven to the Vietnamese chose and serve AIKIDO to AIKIDO affiliate was not carry out the duty Great withoutintention. At that time MastersMORIHEI UESHIBA VIETNAM was in an endless and DOSHU KISSHOMARU internecinewar. The Great UESHIBA entrustedme to Masterhoped that Vietnamese propagateAIKIDO in the spirit people would be able to of Love and Peace. eliminatethe barrier which separatedthemselves to live DangThong PhongS€nsei Q Accordingto you, what are the together in reconciliationand minimum requirementsex- concord,and for the sake of pectedfrom anyoneaspiring to Love, annihilatehatred and Q Master, what does TEN- becomean AIKIDO instructor? SHINKAI mean and why did bring Peaceto this suffering country. you choosethis word to give to A AIKIDO isnot merelya martia the AIKIDO Federationyou art, It is a After my settlementin the PhilosoPhy are now lead. and a Budo. All high ranking U.S.A.,I decidedto use this AIKIDO instructorsare people nameTENSHINKAI asain. A (DangThong Phong) with a heart dotted with UTEN":Heaven generosity.Anyone entrusted "SHIN": Heart Q Sir,wehave heard thatyou have with the dutyto teachAIKIDO "KAI": Association. learneddifferent Martial Arts. must have a virtuousway of Generallyspeaking, Tenshinkai In someMartial Arts you even living.He or she must not lie, means the Association of obtaineda higherdegree than in cheatand must welcome what's Heaven's heart. The common AIKIDO. Why didn't you right and be receptiveto all interpretationof it is the As- develop it to have a better critics.He orshemust fraternize sociationemanating from the chanceto move up in your with everybodyand not regard heart of Heaven.The heart of career? anyoneas enemy.He or she Heavenis generousand impar- mustnot dislike anyone because tial. We are to follow Heaven's A Every Martial Art has its own that personis not in his or her love of life to deal with people. specialpoints. If I studiedother group. Heavendoes not haveenemies, Martial Arts, it wasto acquirea therefore we have to follow broaderknowledge. I don't like In the end, any AIKIDO stu- Heavennot to consideranyone to competeor to quarrel.I don't dent in whatever schoolor as enemies.If we don't want to havethe idea of fightingwiththe whicheverinstructor he or she haveenemies we are not to do expectationto gainvictory over maystudy with, alwayscomes to anyharm to others. people. For this reason the same source:the forever AIKIDO is the martialart that respected Great Master Theword TENSHINKAI is the fits me most.Aikido is a martial MORIHEI UESHIBA. Only namethe GreatMaster Morihei art that treasurespeace. Love is with suchrespect can the power Ueshibagave to the Vietnamese the guidelineof all moves,thus of AIKIDO be strengthenedto Aikido leaguein the 60's.I was there is no rancor which en- denote the entire meaningof delegated by the Masters gendersvengeance. As I have the word "Chivalrous"as "AI" Morihei Ueshibaand Doshu relatedbefore, I choseand serve in the word AIKIDO.e

Aikido Insights head to toe warm-up before demonstratinga severaltimes during the return trip so that Senseiphong seriesof Kokyu Nage techniques involving Riote Dbri couldtry out hisnewvideo camcorder. Slightly exhausted andRiokatate Dori. He then went into some control and I lay down in the back seat of Jim's Blazer,trusting my lock techniquesof the Nikkyo series.There were about life to his driving. Luckily, his driving skill was 25 to 30 people phong's attending his class.Sensei and he brought us back home safely. "*""ll"nt smooth,quick and circularmovements seemed to beln total contrast with I do hope that our schoolwill participatemore in the the TaiChi-in- future with other fluenced Aikido schools.It would be style of the class' interestingto be ex-

pressed. After wrW w w-'n{ir - r'*rffit'* away about an hour ot |'7,, ; m[U- | :-*i-nrent, from our routine. continuing practice, Sensei Phong took life. On a personal the classto the open GrI the occasionhas conferenceroom'|'**-'.'.:...=.--.'|'1..|'"inro'""dmytrust where earlier we | ,irrr,:.,!-.':,1''t:tI and^-, devotion, in the had the " rr:1:j:-ilr:::i1'-:rl spirit*r'^'- of "AI" and Talkt', to practice I i_r- iri,,;f,1i,,,+;ji ,,KI,, r 'r:'r.:, ::r:r.11:::1ri1r;| of Aikido. + I . It n"ng n--- wasjust afternoon,sr tvt tlwll, SltY::":"'o".ltl the Mt. Baldy was fresh, the but even with the Zen center (May 23, lgg2) people were friend- sun right above us the aii seemedcool- Still, some of ushad our uniform delicious,and, Jim assured t *"Iirif"fntff,ff: soakedwith sweat from the exercisqs.Finally, after forty- for SenseiPhong after all....-.,What a relief!r five minutes,Sensei Phong finished his teachingwith a brief speechexpressing his appreciationfor the occasion to share his Aikido techniqueswith such enthusiastic group of Aikido practitioners.Of course,there was the inevitablephoto sessionwith the whole classfollowed bv somepictures with SenseiMcGouirk.

With his gentle but very strong postureand his graceful but effective techniques,Sensei phong seemedto cap- ture the participants'enthusiasm and respect.Sensei Phongseemed to be able to project his KI to expressthe true spirit of Aikido not only during the training but throughoutthe whole interaction.Sensei McGouirk then took me asideand askedme to relate to Senseiphong his desire to invite SenseiPhong to his dojo for u on"duy seminarto further strengthenthe alreadyclose friendship betrpeenhis and SenseiPhong's dojos.

***

We left the Mt. Baldy Zen C_entera short while after bidding good-bye to SenseiMcGouirk and our new friends. The sun had begun to go down. We stopped

10 Aikido Insi 4 Dr47 70 Rt7ltt7ltgtR

by Tam Do The trip wasplanned about a month after phong Sensei We were greeted by SenseiMcGouirk. He was kind receivedthe invitationfrom SenseiFrank McGouirk to enoughto allow us to use his bungalowto rest and store attendaZenand Aikido seminar put togetherby himand our personalbelongings. Eager to participate,however, his friends,all high level Aikido masters and2en prac_ we quicklychanged and walkedup the hilt to attendthe titioners, at the Mt. Baldy Zen Center during the first Aikido class,taught by a youngJapanese lady. This MemorialDay weekend.Even though phon Sensei an_ classwas intended for beginnerseven thoughthere were nouncedthe invitation to all of his classes, Jim Ogborn about20 to 25people attending. Most of themwore black andI were the only two studentswho wentwith him. belt.The highlightof thisclass camewhen the fiveyoung monks who lived and worked there (as cooks, for thii SenseiPhong, Jim Ogborn and I left Orange County particularweekend) asked to participate.Only one of around 7:40 in the morning of May ZSth, lgg2 after a them had someprevious Aikido experiencesbut mostof pleasantbreakfast at Denny's.Jim drove North on them were muscularand pretty quick with their feet. I Freeway57 before turning East onto San Bernardino noticedthat SenseiPhong participated with enthusiasm; Freeway.It took us about25 minuteswe passedthe city he even seemedto enjoy being thrown by one of those of Pomona,before we reachedthe foot of Baldv. monk. The classlasted about an hour and 30 minutes The weatherwas partially cloudy, cool and u"ry."r"n". with enoughKokyu to warm us up, evenSensei phong. The roadwas very winding and beautiful scenery quickly passedby the car window.An hour and twenty minutes After about 15 minutesof recess,most of us walkedup into the trip, we reachedthe Mt. Baldy Zen C.enter. the "boulevard"to attendthe,,Dharma Talk", featuring a Zen masterfrom Los Angeles.The talk was held in a longand airy conferenceroom specially designed for such eventwith smallpillows to sit on, and a smallBuddhist altar at one end.The talk that day concentratedon the topic of "...I\,[eetthe Buddha Kill the Buddha,Meet ON HIS 8TH (your)Master Kill (your)Master!,' It wasinteresting and very thoughtprovoking. "Let the flow andielax your rational power," the Zen master advised before endingthe talk. Of the three of us,Jim seemedto enjoy the talk the most!

It wasnoon. We walked back to our bungalowto change and get ready for lunch. I did not know about Sensei Phongand Jim, but I wasabout starving to death.It was then that SenseiPhong advised me to prep"." to be his In phong _U_ke, the morning,Sensei had acceptedSensei McGouirk's unexpectedrequest to conduci the after- noon Aikid-oclass. The vegetarianstyle lasagnaand the vegetableprepared by the monks were so good that I could not resistto servemyself trvice before I wasable to exertsome self-control with the thoughtof beingan Uke, thrown aroundwith a full stomach,in lessthan half an hour! SuddenlyI wish that Hai, Chien,or euang-Anh, MasatakeFujita, GeneralSecretary of HoT,nuni;{ with their gracefulrolls, were aroundto take the part of and Dang Thong Phong Sensei,president of Ten- the Uke. Why an old guy like me? I'i' shinkai Aikido Federationin (ltllTlgt\ senseiPhong began the classwith our schoo|straditional

Aiido Insights ... A FORMER STUDENT

SenseiDang Thong Phong has received a letterfrom oneof hisformer students, Mr. Patrick Dimayuga.Mr. Dimayugastudied Aikido first with SenseiDang Thong Tri and then with SenseiPhong from 1964to 1966.After that Mr. Dimayugareturned to Franceto live with his family. He is currently the Editor in chief of SESERAGI, the official Newsletter of AIKIDO FEDERATION FRANCAISE D'AIKIDO et de BUDO ( DE ). It hasbeen more than 26 years since they last met. With this renewedcontact with Mr. PatrickDimayuga, Sensei Phong to establishclose relationship between Mr. PatrickDimayuga TenshinkaiAikido Federationand Aikido FederationFrancaise.

... (Cont. page 7) AIKIDO SEMINAR QUALITY NCt{f from difficult to correctmy techniquelater. Even as a beginner,I AUGUST 1,1992 am still "working on it" and feel it is almost impossibleto realizewhat I am doing incorrectly,let alone convincemy Aikido-Ai will host a one-day seminar with Frank body to makethe necessaryadjustments. McGouirk Senseiand Dang Thong Phong Sensei. The classwill begin at 9:30 a.m.and end at 4:30p.m. on Insteadof refining the basicmovements, I havepracticed my August1,1992. The fee is $30.00. mistakesover and over. Impatienceand lack of concentra- tion haveslowed my progressand cloudedmy ability to see For more information,write to Aikido-Ai dojoat6727 what is directly in front of me (the true lessonof the day). S. Milton Ave., Whittier, CA 90601or call Frank McGouirk Senseiat (213) 696-1838. (Continuedonpage 12)

CONGRATULATIONSTO SHIHAN MASATAKE FUJITA ON HIS 8TH DAN PROMOTIONS

Aikido Insights has just received the great new that Sensei Masatake Fujita, General Secretary of the Hombu Dojo, Aikido World Headquarters,has been promoted to 8th Dan since January 72, 1992.Sensei MasatakeFujita and SenseiDang Thong Phong have met and known each other since L967when Sensei Phongwent to Japanfor the privilege to study Aikido underthe directguidance of O'SenseiMorihei Ueshiba and Doshu KisshomaruUeshiba. They met againlast November when Tenshinkai Aikido Federation's delegation,ledby SenseiPhong, went to Japanfor the occasionof the 50th Anniversary of Aikikai Founda- tion and the 60th Anniversary of Hombu Dojo. On behalfof all membersof our Federation,Sensei Phong Masatake Fujita, General Secretaryof Hombu Dojo hassent a letter to congratulateSensei Fujita as soon and Dang Thong Phong Sensei,President ofTen- as he receivedthis belated news. shinkai Aikido Federationin Tokyo (lul7l91)

Aikido Insights 11 The QUALITY NOT... (Cont.frompage 1I) fearof injury makesthe uke tense.This is duepartly to fallingtechniques not beingcompletely absorbed into During practice,I feel frustrationby my side.He and I naturalreaction. The bodycompletes a rigid set of mo- practicethe art of takingshort cuts (ie., trading speed for tionsuntil thesebecome refined to the point thatone just form and muscularstrength over true coordination.)If falls(rolls), utterly relaxed. the techniquedoes not continuesmoothly, most of the blameis directedtoward the uke. In addition,the displacementof aggression(the actual intent to inflict damage)interrupts the unisonbetween "You are too stiff...too tense!" uke and nage.This aggressionas originatingfrom our "Too heavy!" experiencesoutside the dojo (iob dissatisfaction,marital "Nonsense!" stress,other problems)may make us our partner or twisthis/her wrist a little harder.The uke not onlyfears strikingthe mat abruptly,but alsofears an over-zealous Sendus this form for your subscription partner. Name: Lookingback, waving my armsaround during the warm Address: 'up Dojoname: periodhasn't been very beneficial.Once the applica- tion hasbeen introduced, I havehad to relearncertain I haveenclosed: for my movements(sayu undo and ). I believe a few Subscriptionto Aikido Insighteat $10.00for correctlyperformed movements are far more productive each year (4 issues). than a thousand poorly executed techniques.Hence, quality not quantity.In fact, only when I engagethis Sendform to: processand repeat to myself..."Practice doesn't make perfect... Aikido Insights Perfectpractice makes perfect." 8536Westminster Ave. Can I work through frustration. Westminster, CA 92683 AiKi E{i TEHEHilHFA| FEEEfrfrTi{iH Affifiotedwllh Aikido worfd Freodquorten Tokyo - rlon txfit0rmililE t8ffirult Chief Instructor Monday thr. Friday DANGTIIONG PHONG 8 - 9:30AM Adults Self Defense training 5 - 6:30PM Juniors Mind & Body coordindtion 6:30- 8PM Adults Saturday 8536 westminster Ave., westminster, g26s3 & Sunday cA LO-12 NOON Mixed (cornerof westminsterAae. & Neuland,,rrert to staterBros Marhct) All level

wrw* TwN Mrwffi {"k{3;td} &;

'.'*tr"r. A t2 Aikido Insights