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Dear students and friends, Welcome back from Summer vacation! I bid a warm welcome to new students as well. As we begin another school year, we journey once again through the golden season of Fall. Watching our family, our friends, our children, and our siblings, we realise we are all one year older as we reminisce before Thanksgiving. We remember first walks, first smiles, first words and see it in the mists of memory that may or may not fade with time. Just like my own children, I watch my students develop and grow with pride and joy. Each student brings precious gifts of learning and experience, changing our lives forever. Walking the martial way is difficult to fathom, but exhilirating in its experience. I appreciate all the participants of the recent summer warrior camps held for children between 8 and 13, and youth between 14 and 16. Once again, I express a big thank you to the participants, and their parents, for spending one full week of Aikido practice with me. I look forward to another excellent term this Fall, and wish those going for their grading all the best! Ganbatte kudasai! May your journey in Aikido be a joyous and fulfilling one. In harmony, Rafael Oei Sensei. Ueshiba Aikido (Victoria)

in this issue A New Adult Class on Tuesdays Classes at Gordon Head School Grading Tests Bokken and Jo are Available Year-end Get-Together Tenkan Ho... Quick Links: Ueshiba Aikido Website The Glossary Page Back Issues Books Grading Structure   Founder of Aikido     Morihei Ueshiba O Sensei

A New Adult Class on Tuesdays

Adults now have an option if you are unable to attend Thursday classes.

A new class for adults began this September at the Gordon Head Recreation Centre.

Tuesday classes are from 6pm to 7pm.

Please register with the Gordon Head Recreation Centre, Tel: 475-7100,
or register online http://www.saanich.ca (RecOnline) and quote the ID number.

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Classes at Gordon Head School

Classes will begin on Tuesday 13 September, once again from 12:15pm, in the school gym.

This will be an exciting year of transition for Gordon Head School.

As we begin classes at Gordon Head Elementary School, we are mindful that it will be the last year that we will have Aikido classes at the first and only elementary public school to offer Aikido. From next year, Gordon Head Middle School will probably be the first public middle school to offer Aikido; perhaps in the province.

Grateful thanks to Mr Brent Kelly who first gave his approval for Aikido classes to begin in March 2004. Since then, the first batch of students have matured and are slowly emerging to be able leaders themselves.

We are proud to be part of the rich heritage of Gordon Head School. We wish Mr Kelly and all the staff of Gordon Head a very happy anniversary as they prepare for their anniversary celebrations next year.

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Grading Tests will now be conducted three times a year, in October, February and June.

Students who are ready and eligible for grading will be invited to sit for the test.

The next grading will be:

Children:
Beginners: Friday 14 October 2005 during the 4pm class.

Intermediate: Friday 14 October 2005 during the 5pm class.

Adults:
All levels: Thursday 20 October 2005 during the 5:15 class.

No video recording or photography will be allowed during Grading Tests.

For the syllabus, click the Grading Structure link above.

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Bokken and Jo are Available

Periodic bokken and jo practice will be included in classes. These will mostly be held on the last class for each programme cycle.

Regular weapons classes will commence once we have enough students at the 5th Kyu level.

We do have bokken and jo for sale if you wish to purchase them. You will then be able to bring your own jo or bokken to class when required for practice.

It is NOT compulsory that you buy the weapons.

We are only informing you of their availability as we have had requests for them.

The prices are as follows:

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Year-end Get-together

This year, we are planning to have a little get together before we break for Christmas vacation.

The programme will include a short demonstration by our students before settling down to a potluck feast.

This would be a great opportunity for everyone to mingle and celebrate a year of Aikido practice. Besides tasting and savouring each other's food, it is also a good opportunity for parents to see their children in action, if they have not seen them yet.

Details will be announced later.

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Tenkan Ho...

Seasons, like the tide, remind us of the ebb and flow of life. Disasters over the last few months have brought the impact of life's fragility to many. Sometimes we forget, and often we do not want to remember that along with life is the certainty of death. No amount of denial or ignorance changes the inevitable. There are no reasons, no explanations and no blame. We would not know darkness if it weren't for the light; nor wrong without the correct. Even O Sensei has often said that Aikido has the power for love and good, although all Aikido techniques have the power to either preserve or destroy life. To embrace life is to embrace both the truth of living and dying - not one or the other. Like conflict, meeting it head-on in resistance is fruitless. The results are heartache, pain and regret. Meeting the flow of life is similar to receiving the force of a blow. The lesson in the movement "tenkan ho" is to turn and blend with the flow of the force, facing the direction in which the force is headed - without resistance.

Living harmoniously and purposefully while caring, sharing, loving and striving to fulfill one's full potential dutifully has been the way of bushido, the way of the martial artist/warrior. The samurai lived in constant awareness that each day may be his last. Living in this way made him mindful of his behaviour (that it was always proper), and ensuring that all his affairs are in order - especially for his family. This will always be a recurring theme as we journey on a path like Aikido.

As a wise man says: "When we change the way we see things, the things we see change" (Dr Wayne Dyer).

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Let Me Tell You About My Aikido Class is a simple introduction to Aikido that I wrote for early readers. Colourfully illustrated, children are introduced to some of the basic movements and techniques in Aikido. The book is available at Bolen Books (Hillside Mall) and Kata Trading (Herald Street). Back to Contents^

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