Vol. 1, Issue 3 September 11, 2017 TOMIKIQUARTERLY UPDATES FROM THENEWS TAA TEAM USA 2017! Wade Current, Bob King, Bob Dziubla and Greg Linden served as o"cials at the WSAF games. Report From the Games! The 1st WSAF World Championship kicked off in London on Friday, August 18, and was comprised of youth, junior, cadet and adult competitions. On Saturday, the games continued with the senior competitions and in the evening the youth, junior and cadet award ceremonies. Finally, Sunday completed the adult competitions and concluded with the award ceremonies. Over one hundred children and nearly two hundred adult aikidoka participated in the games. Beside our own team from the United States, nations represented included: the United Kingdom, Brazil, Switzerland, Australia, Japan, Spain and Russia. A group photo of the first WSAF Bob Dziubla Shihan, Robert King Sensei, Greg Linden Sensei and World Championship. Wade Current Sensei represented the TAA as judges during the games, working alongside an international team of officials to ensure fair and Also in this issue: safe competition. 2 - WSAF Final Standings Overall, it was the United Kingdom that took home the most medals, 3 - Chairman’s Corner with Japan in second. Although Team USA did not medal in any of the 4 - Context in Evaluating Martial Arts events, they competed hard in all of the adult events: individual and 6 - Yudansha Exam Essays team tanto randori, embu and the kongo dantaisen mixed event. Team 11 - Losing is Better than Winning captains Will Ball and Tiffany Doan led a group of American competitors 10 - Professor Tomiki’s Radical Notion comprised of Gabe Adalem, Justin Chang, Ian King, Taira MacNeill, 12 - Upcoming Events Andy MacNeill, Shannon Meyers, Alec Niccum, Ruth Reinicke, Curtis 13 - On Jujutsu and Its Modernization Roberts, Michael Shaw, Caroline Spence, and Kalynn Voorhies. 20 - Moving Up! (Promotions) TOMIKI AIKIDO OF THE AMERICAS !1 September 11, 2017 ! All of this was made possible through the hard of the games with efficiency and class. Thanks to work of David Fielding Sensei and Vanda Fairchild them and countless other volunteers this 1st World Sensei, who coordinated the hosting and conduct Championship was a tremendous success! Youth, junior & cadet players from Ireland Some of the top players from the United Kingdom WSAF 2017 Open Championship Final Senior Standings SENIORS Women Men Gold Silver Bronze Gold Silver Bronze Individual Randori L. Anderson (UK) F. Yamasaki (SW) Y. Takaya (JP) P. Carr (UK) S. Komori (JP) F. Kamara (UK) Shingo Ikeda, Team Randori Andrew Rigby, Paul Carr, Daniel Rory Daniels, Louise Saul, Christopher Yuki Takaya, Eri Laura Anderson, White, Scott Kazuma Okura, Gemma Leslie, White, Max Kurosaki, Naomi Morgan Murphy, Pearce, Fred Shuhei Komori, Rachel Johnson Ladbrooke, Paul Uemura (JP) Ellie Gander (UK) Kamara, James Takayuki (UK) Myhill, Daniel Bird (UK) Namekawa, Joe Ramsden (UK) Adams (JP) Combined Gold Silver Bronze Randori no Kata (kyu) K. Kasammeongkol/K. Mabuch (JP) A. Van Kamfen/D. Zeciri (SW) M. Flores/G. Bueno (SP) Randori no Kata (dan) J. Adams/S. Ikeda (JP) I. Solonitsyn/D. Olkhov (RU) S Pearce/A. Rigby, (UK) Jiyu Enbu P. Carr/D. White (UK) F. Gomez/S. Peretti (SW) K. Yotsutsuji/K. Shutani (JP) Goshin no Kata S Pearce/A. Rigby, (UK) F. Yamasaki/L. Thorimbert (SW) N. Roberts/S. Middleton (JP/UK) Kongo Dan Taisen Andrew Rigby, Scott Pearce, Paul Carr, Frederique Gomez, Sebastien Peretti, Nilifer Roberts, Taishu Takizawa, Joe Daniel White, Laura Anderson, Fred Fumika Yamasaki, Adrian Van Kamfen, Adams, Shingo Ikeda, Nao Mitani, Kamara, James Bird (UK) Loris Thorimbert (SW) Takayuki Namekawa, Shuei Komori (JP) Youth, Junior and Cadet Results were not available at the time of publication. TOMIKI AIKIDO OF THE AMERICAS !2 Vol. 1, Issue 3 September 11, 2017 Chairman’s Corner Robert Dziubla, Shihan (8º Dan) The WSAF2017 World Aikido Championship in ability to function well and cohesively, so please do London was fabulously hosted by our friends at the consider how you can help the organizing committee. British Aikido Association, in a great facility (University On a separate note, I am delighted to say that our of East London), with a record-breading turn-out. Over long-serving Treasurer, Antonio Gonzalez (3rd dan, 100 children in the under 18 tournament, and almost Orange County, Californai), is a father for the third time 200 in the adults’ tournament. (a son to complement his two young daughters), and We had players from Russia, Spain, Switzerland, has unsurprisingly asked to retire, which we have Japan, USA, Ireland, Ukraine, England, Scotland and accepted with reluctance and great thanks. Greg Brazil. We owe a big thank you to the BAA, who now Linden (4th dan, Baltimore), who was one of the looks to the USA to live up to their standard as we founding directors of the TAA in 1990, has graciously host the 2019 World Aikido Championship in San agreed to rejoin the Board, replacing Antonio as Diego (either the last weekend in July or the first Treasurer. weekend in August, depending on venue availability – For the first time, the TAA instituted a formal so mark your calendars). organization for Team USA and its entry into the World The WSAF Executive Committee made great Championship. We appointed the winners of the Gold progress on addressing key issues: Medal at the last US Nationals in 2016 at UNC (or the Silver Medalist if the Gold Medalist was unable to 1. We have revised the elements of the kongo attend) as the Captains of Team USA. A big thanks to dantaisen event by eliminating women’s tanto Will Ball and Tiffany Gonzalez for assuming that role taisabaki and men’s toshu randori. In their and obligation. Bob King, our Technical Director, place, we have installed kyu rank tanto served as the coach of Team USA, and provided much taisabaki and women’s tanto randori. I support in London when he wasn’t busy on the mats personally thought these changes were long as a judge. Sean Flynn was the Manager of Team USA overdue. The kongo dantaisen will be a and helped to coordinate the logistics for the “festival” type of event to encourage interaction tournament. and international friendship rather than a pure competition event. Accordingly, the names of I am pleased to say that the TAA fielded a team of all players will be tossed into a hat, and the four judges in London to help fulfill the WSAF goal of various teams will be constituted at random by having fair and independent judges from each country drawing the names out of a hat. We have been participating. TAA judges were: Bob Dziubla, Bob King, doing this in the USA for several years with Wade Current and Greg Linden. Deep thanks to each great success (thanks in large part to Tiffany’s of them for judging, as several of them would have organizing ability!), and the WSAF Executive much preferred to be competing on the mats. Please Committee thought it was a great idea. remember that without the judges and referees, we cannot have tournaments where you have the chance 2. We have established a Rules Sub-committee to to impress the World with your ability and win a medal. revamp, revise and improve the rules of Once your days as a competitor have concluded, competition, with an explicit request to however, then your duty to the younger generations is implement a “shido reduction zone.” [Smile.] to become a judge and ref. This Sub-committee will do its work over the n e x t t w o y e a r s a n d s u b m i t t h e i r Finally, the TAA spent over $7,000 providing recommendations to the Congress of the WSAF subsidies and financial support to many members of at the 2019 World Championship to be held in Team USA who competed in London. We look forward San Diego. The final competition rules to be to all of those recipients sharing their new-found approved by the Congress in 2019 will then be knowledge, commitment and experience with all of the implemented at the 2021 World Championship. TAA for many years ahead. 3. The 2021 World Championship is tentatively In aikido friendship, scheduled for Brazil. Bob Dziubla, Chairman We have much work to do here in the USA, and I Shihan & 8th dan appreciate all the help and support of all our members. The 2019 World Championship will be a real test of our TOMIKI AIKIDO OF THE AMERICAS !3 September 11, 2017 ! Shodokan Hombu Workshop The day before the WSAF games, Sussex Aikido During the workshop, the Shodokan instructors and Paul Bonnett Sensei organized a workshop taught a number of forms from the Goshin Ho no with several Shodokan Hombu instructors Kata, which is required for Yondan through including Tetsuro Nariyama Shihan, Sekio Endo Rokudan; and they worked on some intermediate Sensei, Ryuichi Omori Sensei and Shinnosuke and advanced principles in the more familiar forms. Sakai Sensei. The Shodokan instructors also conducted Originally, the workshop was going to be held at yudansha grading. Yondan candidates were Sussex Aikido’s facility, but there was tremendous Diarmuid Buckley, Justin Gallagher and Rob interest. The WSAF organizers therefore opened Milliner. Godan candidates were Erik Dopp and their venue to the event, which filled even that Matthew Houlton. Paul Bonett graded for rokudan. larger venue to capacity. While independent of the Since all of these gradings include the Goshin Ho WSAF events, this workshop was attended mostly no Kata, the videos available on the Tanseikan by participants in the WSAF games. For many, it Aikido Club’s Youtube channel is an excellent was a unique opportunity to work with instructors resources for these materials.