musubi template 1107 - british birankainars since september last year, all of which have been well...

introspective attitude in training, with amore serious eye to self-examination.This is a matter of the quality withinone’s training.To recognize the imbalance, dishar-

mony, or disorder within one’s system,sensed within the body, as well asbetween the body and consciousness,is a starting point for one’s growth.This is where a conversation or dialogbegins to happen between the bodyand consciousness. As the dialogdevelops, awareness becomes moreclear, and one begins to recognizea natural power or potential abilitywhich has, until then, been hidden.Instead of adding an external

element to the body, one needs tosee what is already within. Moreimportantly, consciousness itself (theway one perceives things), begins tochange along with the discovery of the

Anyone whothinks thatputting more

hours into trainingwill necessarilyresult in greaterachievement inthe art is think-ing like a child. Fundamentally, it isa materialistic attitude and doesn’tlead anywhere but to an unsolvableproblem. We can’t avoid moving, dayby day, closer to the grave.Many people think that through

training they can make their bodiesresponsive and controllable; thatthey’ll be able to move them as theywish. I don’t deny that this is an impor-tant part of learning. However, it isonly part of it. A part that is onlyrelative to a greater factor which oneshould be more aware of. This, I think,is more important: to develop an

CONTENTS

BIRANKAI EUROPE NEWSLETTERBIRANKAI EUROPE NEWSLETTER

MM UU SS UU BB IIMM UU SS UU BB IIIssue 5Issue 5 July 2012July 2012

continued on page 3

3 Visit to St Petersburg

12 Antidote to Greeceʼstroubled times

4 Training at Ichikukai Dojo

7 Psychological stages in Keiko

6 Opportunity for rebirthin Greek crisis

14 Jenny Curran replies

14 Book Review

Chiba Sensei

Chiba Sensei shows howConsciousness reveals itself withclose self-examination

11 Pictorial Report

15 Notice-board

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Chiba Sensei, BNA summer camp 2012, Bronxville, NY

2 Editorial

1 Conscious training

Closing date forsubmissions 1 Dec 2012for Jan 2013 issue

�� BEBE MUSUBIMUSUBI July 2012 July 2012

BIRANKAI EUROPE

Technical DirectorShihan TK Chiba 8th Dan

European Birankai ShihankaiNorberto Chiesa 6th Dan, Birankai France

Gabriel Valibouze 6th Dan, BirankaiFrance

MIke Flynn 6th Dan, BritishBirankai

Chris Mooney 6th Dan, BritishBirankai

Dee Chen 6th Dan, British BirankaiDaniel Brunner 6th Dan, Birankai Switzerland

Patrick Barthélémy 6th Dan, Birankai France

Member CountriesBirankai AustriaBirankai FranceBirankai GermanyHellenic Birankai Birankai IsraelBirankai PolandBirankai PortugalBirankai SwitzerlandBritish Birankai

BE Musubi is published twicea year in January and July.English edition available onwww.britishbirankai.com andthe French edition onwww.birankai.eu/shiun_fr.html

Individual article reflects theauthor’s own views. All submis-sions may be edited due to spaceconstraints and should be sent tothe Editor or Assistant Editor orSub Editor.

Editor: Dee [email protected] Editor: Didier [email protected] Editor: Chris Howlin [email protected] Consultant: Franco Chen

© Copyright 2012All rights reserved. Reproduction is prohibited without expresswritten permission.

Editorial

As the date of the second BE summer school, 21-27 July 2012 atthe University of Worcester, UK approaches, I am pleased toreport that, at the time of writing over 130 participants have so far

registered. Chiba Sensei 8th Dan together with Miyamoto Sensei 7thDan from Hombu Dojo, Tokyo will be assisted by the three BE Shihans -Mike Flynn 6th Dan, UK, Chris Mooney 6th Dan, UK, Daniel Brunner 6thDan, Switzerland and Birankai Senior National Teachers. Planning thesummer school a week earlier than usual was fortuituous as the openingceremony for the London Olympics 2012 takes place on 27 July the lastday of our summer school.

I am happy to report that Shihan Didier Boyet has graciously steppedin to take over the role of Assistant Editor - one of his main responsibili-ties will be in charge of the French translation. I enjoyed working withSuzanne Brunner and shall miss her meticulous approach to the role.I wish her all the best as she is now able to devote all her energies intothe publication of her own work.

Edward Burke a former student of London Aikikai decided to enrol asone of the last uchideshi at San Diego Aikikai just before Chiba Sensei’sretirement. He has written an absorbing account of his stay and practicewhich gives an insight into the rigours of the training. A must read forthose who have missed the chance to undertake such training, ShihanMooney has written a review of his book ‘The Swordsmaster’sApprentice’ (page 14).

In our next newsletter in January 2013 we will include a section underthe Notice-board heading for announcements of any important Aikidorelated changes/development within each BE organization together withthe Dan promotions. We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Please let me know you if you any suggestions or comments abouthow you would like to see our newsletter develop. Photographs witharticles and of major courses are always welcome. ☯

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true body (as opposed to the body thatone changes according to will).The important and unique thing that

makes Aikido what it is, is thatprogress moves in proportion to thediscovery of a natural power which isalready within each individual, togetherwith an organic, dynamic core, whichhelps the body function in harmonyand as a whole.It is the kind of path where one pro-

gressively encounters the true self withwonder and joy. The ‘estranged self’,hidden with its inexhaustible potential,lies undiscovered by many people whodie without knowing that it even exists.In many ways, rightly or wrongly, our

bodies are the product of our con-sciousness. In order to discover whatthat is requires close self-examinationwithin our training. It isn’t a path whereone adds more and more information,details, power, etc, externally and

July 2012 July 2012 BE MUSUBI BE MUSUBI 3333

endlessly, to the ‘too much’ that isalready there.Touching upon this subject in a

profound way, according to DogenZenji, the founder of Soto Zen:“Buddhist practice through the body ismore difficult than practice through themind. Intellectual comprehension inlearning through the mind must beunited to practice through our body.This unity is called SHINJITSUNINTAI,the real body of man. It is the percep-tion of everyday mind, through thephenomenal world. If we harmonizethe practice of enlightenment with ourbody, the entire world will be seen inits true form.”Finally, the discovery of the true

body of man, with its value and beau-ty, is beyond comparison with competi-tive values, but rather stands on itsown within each individual. Thus, theonly conclusion is for Aikido to be non-

competitive. I’d like to add another zenmaster’s words in this regard - amaster from Vietnam whose lecture(given at Smith College in NewHampshire, Massachusetts) I wasfortunate enough to attend. Duringa question and answer period, awoman stood up and asked him whathe thought of the meditation systempractised by the Quakers. Heanswered, “How can you compare thebeauty of a cherry flower with that ofa rose?” ☯

Shihan TK Chiba 8th DanBirankai FounderSan DiegoThis article was originally published inSansho, April 1987

Conscious training. . .continued from page 1

KimusubiAikidoSchool in

St Petersburg isthe first in Russiato be affiliated toBirankai. AndreyGunyashov estab-lished the dojo in 2008 and it has sincegrown steadily and moved to newpremises this summer. Approximately15 students currently train under hisinstruction.

Mike Flynn Shihan and I have visitedon three occasions to conduct semi-nars since September last year, all ofwhich have been well attended. Thelatest of these was held at the dojofrom 15-17 June 2012 and was attend-ed by approximately 16 students.Aikidoka from Moscow, Ukraine,Siberia and Kazakhstan have attendedone or more of the seminars to showtheir support for the new dojo. Allstudents are developing a firm under-standing of taisabaki and basic

techniques, are whole-hearted in theirpractice and their commitment to thedojo, and certainly make visitors feelvery welcome. ☯

Paul Goatman 5th DanThistle Aikikai, ScotlandBritish Birankai

St Petersburg Aikikai marks move to new premises withcommitment and hospitality. Paul Goatman reports

Paul Goatman

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Shihan Mike Flynn with Andrey Gunyashov (left) and Paul Goatman (right), 2012

4444 BE MUSUBIBE MUSUBI July 2012 July 2012

The dojo itself is a beautiful building.It is a solid concrete structure thatappears formidable and almostfortress-like from the outside. Inside,it contains a traditional and functionallayout of training halls and living quar-ters. The second floor is a zendo,where zazen is conducted and sesshinis held once a month. Downstairs isthe misogi training hall, a large kitchenand rooms where the members eat,sleep, rest and work. Uchideshi quar-ters are in a block separate from themain building and candidates forshogaku shugyo sleep in anotherseparate room adjacent to the mainmisogi training hall during their stay.They hand over their valuables andmobile phones upon entering the dojoon Thursday night and receive themagain when they have finishedshogaku on Sunday. The dojo feels as if it is plugged into

an elemental, root energy. WhenI attended shogaku shugyo to assist(tsudoi), I would usually arrive late onThursday night after work, when every-one else was already asleep. Becauseof the calmness and rooted energy in

the dojo I always had a great night’ssleep and awoke refreshed. Thestrength and sincerity of the membersis immediately impressive, as is theirkindness and openness. At thefarewell party following our shogaku,one of the senior members stood up tomake a speech and addressed thenew initiates in English, saying:“Please come back to Ichikukai, thereis much to learn here.” Fortunately asI lived in Tokyo I was able to comeback to assist initiates, attend sesshinand work at the dojo. When fewer thanthree people sign up for shogaku, it iscancelled and the members conductharai on Sunday – each ringing a bell(tzuzu) and chanting for a set period oftime. Occasionally I attended morningpractice – a short harai and zazen.I enjoyed working in the dojo and thecompany of the members, who, asCarl describes, seem to be the embod-iment of their years of hard training. Once members have completed

shogaku, the form of much of theirtraining is to ring the tsuzu whilechanting. Although little formal training

Carl Baldinihas writtenabout mis-

ogi at Ichikukaidojo in Japan. Hisarticle can befound here(http://www.brooklynaikikai.com/training/misogiArticle.html), on the BrooklynAikikai website and gives a clear andevocative account of the training andspirit at the dojo. As Carl describes,during shogaku shugyo initiates under-take four days of training in which theysit in seiza and chant eight syllables –‘To Ho Ka Mi E Mi Ta Me’ with all theirstrength, encouraged by senior mem-bers. At the beginning and end of eachsession breathing exercises areconducted. To sustain this practicestudents eat three meals a day of arice and barley mixture, with miso, anumeboshi plum and takuan pickles,and drink warm water. Many Aikidokahave trained at Ichikukai, and althoughimproving our Aikido practice is defini-tively not the object of the training,I believe it can be of enormous benefitto us on our Aikido path.

Paul Goatman

There is more to Ichikukai than chanting and ringingbells in time. Paul Goatman finds out

Chiba Sensei with Paul Goatman (left), BB Weapons course, Coventry, Oct 2008

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is given in this, senior members didoffer advice and they helped me agreat deal. On one occasion, althoughhe spoke little English and myJapanese was poor, one senior madeit clear to me that all my energy had tobe exerted on the downward cut, tomake the five ball-bearings in thetzuzu ring as one, making a loud‘bang’; my arm then rose again natu-rally. All effort going into the downwardcut, coordinated with chanting andbreathing, forces us to exert ourselvesmore. The training can be uncomfort-able, but through it our bodies becomeincreasingly harmonized with ourbreath and we can locate the sourceof our breath deep in the hara, belowthe naval. During harai, our haras andbodies fill with kokyu and the traininghall fills with energy. Whenever Iattended harai, members jumped up toslide back shoji screens, allowing theenergy to fill the whole dojo and passout into the neighbourhood. AtIchikukai I was always struck that mis-ogi breathing and breathing in Aikido,and indeed in zazen, is the same andthat this breathing is essential to theproper execution of Aikido technique. I was also struck that Ichikukai is a

disciplined place. The Japanese wordthat often passed through my mind,whether I was participating in harai,working, eating or sitting, was kibishi.Simply translated it means severe orstrict, but has a larger meaning of notsparing oneself. I will try and illustratemy experience of this at Ichikukai byusing a few examples. The trainingcan be arduous; it is designed to facili-tate complete exertion. The seniormembers and their example is alwaysa source of strength. As we become

tired, we need to follow their examplemore closely. When we ring the bell,we keep time with seniors sitting infront of the kamiza, in each corner ofthe training hall. Ossa, on the left-hand side of the kamiza, keeps thepace and two members on the righthand side take their timing from him orher. It is imperative that everyone elsekeeps this timing and does not simplyring the bell with abandon, no matterhow tired they become. Many times,as we rang the bell together, I felt thatin a way the participants were takingukemi, following the senior members’example and timing. During shogaku,senior members keep a watchful eyeon the assistants encouraging the newinitiates. Everything, whether strikinginitiates on the back or shouting wordsof encouragement, is done to allowthem to exert themselves more com-pletely, and continue the practice. There is a form to almost all the

work done in the dojo. From the

moment members wake up, they dosimple tasks in a way that appears tohave been done for years. Sweeping,washing dishes, putting away zabuton,cooking or making tea all seemed tobe done in the same manner eachtime. But this is not restrictive. Nobodyis forced to do anything and everyoneenters into all work in a generousspirit. I think this is partly becauseall the work is being done for thecommunity, but also because a spon-taneous virtue can flower throughdisciplined work and repeated form.I was occasionally rebuked mildly – forlaying the table incorrectly or using toomuch water when washing cups, forexample – but I was simply beingshown the form, in the same way thatseniors would alter my behaviour dur-ing tsudoi, keep my timing right, orshow me how to ring the bell correctlyin the training hall.In February this year Chiba Sensei

conducted a seminar for Birankaiteachers in San Diego. There, hedescribed Aikido technique as a spon-taneous manifestation of virtue, thespontaneous expression of a life livedvirtuously. I must say this struck mequite forcefully and I realised: “Yes,this is what we are doing”, althoughI was amazed that I had not beenable to come to this realization sooner.It seems to me that Ichikukai is a placeof enormous value, where throughhard training we can cultivate bothour Aikido bodies and virtue in ourown lives. ☯

Paul Goatman 5th DanThistle Aikikai, Scotland British Birankai


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Iam going totake myShodan test in

the city of Athens,capital of Greece,in a period ofeconomical crisiswhen everythingfalls apart. This is an issue that willinvolve the replacement of the politicaland ethical structures with new ones.In other words we are living througha real crisis which will lead us in apsychological, mental and structuralrebirth. In these terms, I look at myselfsometimes and I feel very lucky thatI have taken the path of Aikido.Aikido is a martial art which teaches

you the life of a warrior and preparesyou for the fight. This is not the physi-cal fight, but the one you have to givein everyday life, with the people thatyou have to live with, and yourself. Inthis fight you need the body more thananything; the spirit and the soul readyfor war. The body is the vehicle. It willgo where the mind tells it to go. Thedirection that it will take, the quality ofthe path that it will follow will dependon the quality of the ideas, the depthof the emotions.The body, though, carries more than

the three ingredients: the body, thespirit and the soul. It also carries thefear which is the reflexive reaction. Itis harder for the body to overcome thefear and to control its reactions. Whenthe body is ready take the right ukemi,you have made a considerable step inthe right direction in order to face thefacts of life. As Don Juan in CarlosCastaneda’s Magical Passes says:

“Only the thought to look at theunknown – to get in depth intoit – demands courage of steeland a body that will have thestrength to conserve such acourage. What would be thepoint if you had the strengthand the mental readiness, ifyou didn’t have enough physi-cal and muscular power?’

“The patient spirit lifts the mostheavy burden like the camel whichruns in the desert; the spirit runs on itsown desert” as Nietzsche says. Aikido,with Zazen and Iaido helps the human

being to tell the difference betweenthese burdens that one carries andthat many times one doesn’t knowwhich they are. The constant training makes the

person grow older by helping him tolive through his everyday problemsand situations with a different feeling,to make the mind out of steel againstthe pain and to construct the thoughtin order to be able to face the facts oflife. Aikido prepares the mind for thefight against the obstacles of life.Most of all, Aikido prepares you for

the big fight: the fight with yourself, thefight of Saint George with the dragon,with ‘oneself’. When we focus on thestrength of consciousness in the pres-ent through our senses, we awakenthe awareness and the feeling, wecontrol our wishes, and we comeagainst the resistance of our ego thatwe have to fight with. Our ego makesus blind so that we cannot see the realstrength of the opponent, whether he

is a fellow human being or it is a situa-tion we have to face. Aikido teachesmodesty and through modesty onelearns to see life with clarity. Personally, I feel that the path of

Aikido offers me a balanced soul,a clear mind in a healthy body. Withthese supplements you manage to usethe negative power which comes atyou and use it as a means to becomestronger. Finally, the main thing is that the

crisis in Greece is an opportunity ofrebirth. Everyone who will be able torealize that, he or she will come out ofthis crisis and start from scratch. Thisis the point of view that Aikido hasgiven to me. ☯

George Heliotis 1st KyuAthens AikidoHellenic Birankai(Essay submitted for Shodan test inMay 2012)

George Heliotis prepares his body, spirit and soulThe Greek crisis - an opportunity for rebirth

George Heliotis

George Heliotis, Polish summer camp, Wroclaw, Aug 2009

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not only to defend me, but also todefine me, to stand firm and strong inmaelstrom of life, defining my bound-aries and my space. Is it not primal? Isit not analogous to the urge of a chickto break forth from its egg? “I shall notbe defined by this egg! I shall breakforth from it and be self-defined! I shallpunch it through!” Self-defense andself-definition are two very similarurges. If we refuse to defend ourselveswe risk being defined, molded andmanipulated by others. The first ‘self-defense’ is the saying “NO!” that everytoddler enjoys when it first realizes it isdistinct, separate from its mother. Theurge to defend and define one’s selfis indeed as primal as life itself. It issurely the primal springboard to free-dom and eventual self-actualization –the true realization “I am me! I haveimpact! I create my life! I have choiceregarding who I am, and who I chooseto be!” As this fundamental urge is down-

stepped through the layers of our innerneurological programmings, it takesmany different forms within differentpeople, and also combines with otherurges: the varieties of consciousreasons people take up budo keiko.Perhaps we always dreamed of beinga samurai or wanted to enjoy anextended form of playing ‘cowboysand Indians’. Perhaps we always feltphysically inadequate and want to gettougher – to get revenge on those whobullied us in the past. Perhaps we aredrawn to oriental culture and would liketo practise something we consider rareand exotic. Perhaps we already havean idea of a spiritual path, and aredrawn to a discipline which integratesspirituality with physicality. Perhaps weare trying to please our father, or areseeking a new father-figure in the formof the sensei. Perhaps we are seekinga friendly community. Perhaps we sim-ply have an occupation in which weare likely to need to physically defendourselves: working in the army, or thepolice, or working on the doors.Perhaps we just want to get fit.Perhaps we just want to have fun.Perhaps we just ‘stumbled upon it’.There are any number of consciousmotivations for starting training. At this


Introduction

In this article Idescribe sevenpsychological

stages that I’vewatched myselfgo through inbudo keiko. Thelast two stages (‘Integration’ and‘Wisdom’) I’ve only slightly touchedbase with, but I know they are therebecause I can sense them. Havingbeen involved in budo keiko for nearly40 years now, I can also report thatI’ve watched many colleagues andfellow students go through what lookto be similar stages, hence this article.However, I cannot hand-on-heart saythat everyone goes through thesestages, nor that everyone needs to.But I think they are quite common.These stages are psychologicalstages, that is to say, they are stagesin the development of one’s relation-ship with keiko, with the teacher, withone’s self, and ultimately with God (orthe Goddess, or Great Nature or theAll-That-Is, whatever one likes to callIt). They are, to a certain extent irre-spective of the development of techni-cal skill and ability in budo practice.Because these stages are really about

Andrew Stones

one’s relationship with God, I imaginethat analogous stages could occur inmany contexts, for example within anyloving relationship, any apprenticeship,any friendship, and any spiritual prac-tice. I would group the seven stagesas follows:

Stages 1 & 2: Falling in love withthe practiceStage 3: Falling in love with theteacherStages 4 & 5: Separating from the teacher in order to learn tolove one’s Self and GodStages 6 & 7: Learning to love one’s self, the teacher, the prac-tice and God all at the same time.

1) The UrgeWhere does the urge to engage in

martial arts training originate? Theurge to move clearly and effectively;the urge to carve out the space aroundus, define boundaries; harness timingwith affectivity and power; have domin-ion over space and time; define ourspace and our time: “this is my space– you shall not enter here” “this is mybody – you shall not hurt it nor attack it– if you attempt to, I shall overpowerand immobilize you”. The urge for me

Psychological stages in keiko by Andrew Stones

Chiba Sensei with Manolo San Miguel (uke), BNA summer camp 2012, Bronxville, NY

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stage we are either just exploring, oralready having an idea of what wewant, are seeking to pursue it. Weseek the gratification of our desires forself-actualization, either exploratorily oralready-concretized, in whatever per-sonal way they are manifesting withinour consciousness. We seek the dojo.

2) GratificationThis is the stage in which training

seems to provide some gratification –some fulfillment of our desire. Weenjoy feeling fitter, more skilled, havingfun. We feel we are getting what wewant. Training is good, and seems tobe giving us what we want, so wecontinue. Some people spend theirwhole keiko careers at this stage, andI would argue that there is nothingnecessarily wrong with this. Buddha’steaching not-with-standing, I have nopersonal problem with the fulfillment ofdesires. I think it’s a good thing! (Aslong as it doesn’t hurt other people.)I think it’s great to get fit, to learn todefend one’s self, to enjoy being partof a spiritual community, and to masteran aesthetically-pleasing discipline.These are all great things that canhelp and enhance our lives tremen-dously. We can become better citizensthrough this training: more energized

individuals; more sensitive to ourselvesand others, and we can also becomemore physically and emotionally coura-geous and forthcoming. In the dojo weenjoy not only developing our selvesbut helping others, learning to besensitive to others’ needs as we mustlearn to adjust our role as uke as wepartner up with dan grades and begin-ners, strong men and gentle childrenalike. In this way we learn to fostercommunity, and this feels good. If ourtraining stays eternally at this stage,I say all well and good. Already we aredoing a good thing. But sometimes, forsome people, something else happenstoo, which propels us into anotherphase – that of devotion.

3) DevotionThis is the stage where we, on an

emotional level find ourself literally‘falling in love’ with the teacher and theteaching, and feeling utterly devoted tothem. What is ‘falling in love’? It iswhen we see God in a person. Wesuddenly realize, that through theirspiritual perseverance and dedicationthis teacher is actually in contact withand manifesting levels of spirituality,levels of being, levels of intensity,levels of compassion, levels of love,that we had not previously evenconceived of. When we realize this, ittakes our breath away, and we feela devotion to this teacher, and a

commitment to practice that may evensurprise ourselves. We find ourselvesin love with the path of keiko itself, andthe teachings of this teacher in particu-lar, and there is often a sense now ofwanting to devote our whole lives tothe practice. We practise with a newintensity, a new vigor, and may evenbe a little ‘blinded by love’ and becomesomewhat evangelical and even arro-gant when we consider the ‘poor fools’who do not practise. Keiko feels likea rare jewel that we have stumbledupon, and our teacher a bright shininglight in the wilderness. We do all wecan to emulate our teacher – we mayeven copy their personal traits andmannerisms, their taste in music andfood, and any of their other personalpeccadilloes. Family and friends maythink we’ve become a little weird! Wewant nothing more than the smile ofthe teacher, or at least the acceptance.We want nothing more than for theteacher to say “Yes, this is my student,and he/she is a good student, withwhom I am well pleased.” Whether ornot the teacher ever says this, is ofcourse variable, yet it is always ourmost heartfelt desire at this stage. Interms of keiko, we seek to copy ourteacher’s every move, with absoluteaccuracy. This devotional stage maylast for many years, and may indeedentail the majority of some keikonin’s

Psychological stages...continued from page 7

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lives. At this stage we are no longera student, we are a true ‘disciple’ inthe fullest meaning of that word. Weare happy to cook and clean for ourteacher, to be an ‘uchideshi’ if theopportunity arises, and to similarlycare for the dojo community which welove with all our heart. Yet the falling-in-love or discipleship stage of rela-tionship will always give way, at somestage, to the next phase…

4) The SeveringLove, (which after all, is what the

great teachers have said Keiko is allabout), waxes and wanes, it ebbs andflows. It is continuous, but not contin-ual; that is to say it changes its quali-ty as we grow and change ourselves.The breathless devotional love of theyoung keikonin is not the same as theseasoned mature keiko love of the oldmaster. One is not better than theother. They are just different types oflove. Often however, we seek, as inromantic love, to perpetually adhere tobreathless devotion. If this is the case(and it often is), the universe willalways present us, at a certain stageof our keiko-lives with what I call ‘thesevering’. The severing is like birth,and like birth it can be traumatic. It canalso feel like death. At a certain timethe universe will demand that it is timefor us to stand on our own spiritual‘two feet’, and no longer seek to per-petually ride on the coat tails of themaster. This may happen in any num-ber of ways: firstly, it may occur natu-rally in an organic way, with an innermaturing of the student through thepath of life itself – as the studentmatures as a person, they naturallyrealize they are in fact ‘their own man’,‘their own woman’, and naturally amore mature, less child-parent type ofrelationship with the teacher candevelop. This is not all that commonhowever. Some teachers may not beparticularly emotionally mature them-selves, and may seek to hold on toa type of parental authority over astudent, which can be very damaging.Also, in the oriental traditions, it seemsto me that the devotional stage isexalted as the highest type of student-teacher relationship. One is not neces-sarily encouraged to go beyond it. ButI believe that it is healthy to go beyondit, and whether or not the teacher orthe tradition encourages it, eventually

the universe itself will force the studentto move on. No one is allowed to staya child forever. We must grow up. Inmy observations, these are some ofthe ways the universe can ‘force’ theissue:i) The teacher may die. This is the

clearest type of ‘severing’. After theteacher dies, we must find a way tofend for ourselves and be our ownmaster.

ii) The teacher may tell the student toleave, for example to go and teachin another country. Or the teacher himself (or herself) leaves the country. Suddenly we find ourself reliant utterly on our own resources.

iii) The teacher may ‘fall from grace’ and reveal personal character flaws which appall the student, andmay indeed be utterly appalling. The teacher may betray the studentin some way, and break trust.

iv) The student may fall from grace, behave badly, and be expelled by the teacher.

In these and many other ways, thesevering can occur, and be verypainful. There is often a sense of loss,disappointment, and grieving. Keiko isno longer the garden-of-Eden that itonce seemed. We are thrown backonto our own resources and have tore-think things. In my opinion, whetheror not the severing can be a relativelygentle natural-maturing, or a painfulagonizing trauma, is very much linkedto how much the student has, for-want-of-a-better-term, healed theirinner child. If I am still seeking aperfect father or mother to make mywounded inner child feel at ease, the

prospect of severing from the teacher(who will often have taken thatparental role) may seem nightmarish.Indeed, some students may justabsolutely refuse to ‘grow up’, andeven years after a teacher has diedmay devote themselves to his or hermemory, still as children devoted to aparent, never maturing. It must also besaid that just as a student may try andrefuse to grow up, to refuse to sever,similarly a student may try to sever toomuch or too soon – like a child toodesperate to grow up – throwing thebaby out with the bath water in a des-perate bid for independence. This canbe equally traumatic and traumatizingfor their progress at this stage.As an aside, I would say that Britain

and Japan are possibly two of themost emotionally-repressed nations inthe world. This means that on the onehand we can perhaps understand eachother well – the British stiff-upper-lipand the Japanese spirit of forbearanceand endurance. On the other hand itmay not bode particularly well formature emotional relationships, whichis what ‘growing up’ as a student canbe so much about. Certainly in my ownpath I did not negotiate the severancestage at all well. For many years I didnot understand it. The essence of theseverance stage, I now release, is arealization that what I was really seek-ing was friendship – mature adultfriendship with the teacher. And lovingfriendship involves expression – evenof the difficult stuff – the ‘warts-and-all’of a relationship. Seeking to maintain aperfectionist idealized “perfect discipleor nothing” type of relationship with a


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teacher, eventually becomes a recipefor disaster, in my opinion, and experi-ence. We are not perfect. Life ismessy. Can we still love each otherthrough the mess? For me this is partof what growing up as a keikonin (andas a human being) is about.

5) WildernessWhether the severance has gone

smoothly or been problematic, itseems to be always followed, toa greater or lesser extent, by whatI would call the ‘wilderness years’.These are years in which the studenttries to integrate what they havelearned, and at the same time come toterms with and understand the sever-ing that has occurred. These yearsseem to be often characterized byfeelings of loneliness, lost-ness andisolation, and often a sense of longingfor the ‘good old days’ of being withteacher, even if those ‘good old days’were painful and in many ways notthat good. Often a student may giveup keiko at this phase, just as manymarriages flounder after the initialromantic infatuation has diminished orcompletely gone. Others persevere,sensing that even though things havechanged – all is not the same, andthey will never relate to the sensei inthe way they previously did - at thesame time there is still a path to betrod, and the keiko and the student’sown ‘Original Nature’ (their HigherSelf) can lead the way. The wildernessyears are like that stage in the arche-typal ‘Hero’s Journey’ in which thehero must leave the safety of the com-munity and set out alone into the literalwilderness to seek the true treasure –deepening relationship with HigherSelf, our Original Nature.

6) Integration and ReturnThe wilderness phase can last many

years. It can be the longest of thephases. If we are successful in forginga deeper relationship with our TruerSelf during these years, we may beable to do two things: firstly, we maybe able to return to the teacher on anew basis of equality – not necessarilyin skill, but certainly in terms of dignityand True-Self-ness, if we so desire –now more as friend than disciple. Thismay or may not be appropriate,

depending on the emotional maturityof the teacher (some are not thatmature!). And secondly, as our HigherSelf is now, in a sense, our teacher,we can now access many more levelsof authenticity and truly originalcreativity, with which we can returnand gift our community, the dojo, orindeed, create our own dojo. At thisstage we are ready to approach trueconfidence in our keiko, knowing thatit is ours and ours alone, and in thatsense, it is unassailable.

7) WisdomThe Wisdom phase flickers in and

out throughout our lives. It’s likeenlightenment. On the one hand itincreases gradually with experience,but on the other hand it arises likea kind of strobe effect – flickering inand out, initially just now-and-again,gradually becoming more and morecontinuous as we learn to reside withinand abide with its intense light. It isresiding-within and manifesting andemanating of the love of our HigherSelves, our Original Natures. It is theintegration of all the other previousstages. Within wisdom we appreciateand savor the continuing urge for self-actualization – self definition and selfre-definition, for as Buddha said,everything is always changing. Wehave a Self, but it is continually grow-ing, changing, re-defining, becomingmore, just as God/Goddess/All That Is,is continually growing, changing,re-defining, becoming more. This issurely a delightful process, as wewitness and enjoy desire and newdesire, gratification and new-gratifica-tion endlessly tumbling upon eachother. A bit like being a gardener ofa garden in which we can not onlyplant new exciting bulbs each year, butalso witnesses the miracles of natureas new delightful plants and flowersemerge over time that we never evenrealized we planted! And some that wedefinitely didn’t plant! (maybe a giftfrom Great Nature!) At the same timenew fallings-in-love, now with life itself,and with our spouse or sensei onceagain in a new way. We ‘fall in love’with our children, not in a romanticway of course, but in a heartfelt way,as they are just so delightful in theirgrowth and exploration; and if leadinga dojo our ‘children’ are all our stu-dents. And the severing now experi-enced, not as a terrifying trauma, but

as a majestic deepening and cooling –a process of great gravitas – asstudents leave and find their own path.Whilst the ‘in love’ stage is like theheat of molten lava, the ‘severing’ nowcan be likened to the cooling of thatlava into discrete majestic statues ofgreat beauty and individuality, as weand our students mature and separate,still appreciative of each other, butnow mature and distinct. And theintegration and return as when two oldstatues come together to laugh andlove and remember the old times, andappreciate each other, and the deepmagnificence of the whole process.And as each new keikonin enters thedojo the whole processes starting upagain in a new way, with love blos-soming anew in each and every springtime. And old statues melt once againand become as lava, and even two oldstatues melting with each other andexperiencing new depths of love witheach other once again. And this end-less cycle of melting, melding, trans-forming in love, and then separatingand solidifying anew, only to re-meltand transform again, is the path wetake in our continual dance with God,in our dance as part of God. For trulyas God is really God/Goddess/All-That-Is, we are a part of that; we arepart of the glorious dance of All ThatIs, as Self defines Self, melts and re-defines New Self, melts again and re-defines yet newer deeper truer Self,and on and on and on into the glory,into the Light, of Love. And as thejourney is inwards, toward the heartof Love and the heart of God, so theemanation is also outwards…for asever more human beings find theirtrue heart, their true humanity, whichis One with the heart of God, soHeaven increasingly manifests onearth, and the dreams of the ancientones, of Morihei Ueshiba, ofOnisaburo Deguchi and of HirouykiAoki, are fulfilled… ☯

Andrew StonesFormer student of the lateShihan Mick Holloway

Psychological stages...continued from page 9


Pictorial ReportBirankai Europe Teachers’ Seminar 2-4 March 2012

with Birankai Europe Shihankaiin Edenkoben, GermanyOrganized by Alexander BrollGen Ei Kan, LandauBirankai Deutschland

Photos on this page: Viktor Nickel


My first con-tact withAikido was

during my child-hood years. Aswith many kids atmy age I wasalways looking foraction and martial arts movies thatduring the 80s and early 90s were attheir high peak. This was when I cameacross my first glimpse of O-Senseiand his art. I was so overwhelmed withwhat I saw that, throughout the rest ofthe day, I kept thinking of O-Senseiand the dojos in Japan. I knew at thatpoint, even as a kid, that if I ever wasto embark into a martial arts way, itwould be through Aikido. And that’show it happened. I remember likeyesterday, 15 May 2006 (6 years tothe date) when I first went on the tata-mi in Athens Aikikai, Halandri dojo andI embarked at a journey that broughtme to this point of writing down mythoughts. When I started training I remember it

was a year after the Olympic Games inAthens, I had just found my first job,following almost a year and a half ofsearching, and Greece was still enjoy-ing the laurels of making a successfulOlympic Games and was anticipatinga future full of promises and opportuni-ties. Little did most of the people knowof the storm that was building,although the first clouds were alreadybeginning to form. Only few could fore-see that far. In those conditions, myown trip to martial arts began and mytraining continued through the follow-ing years, with the situation in mycountry gradually deteriorating yearafter year, until the terms, crisis,default, IMF etc, started to take theirplace in our everyday vocabulary. Ourlives started to change day after day,and the effects were visible, peoplebecame stressed, anxious, uncertainabout their future, or even the nextday. Many people lost their jobs andbecame socially isolated anddepressed.Through my daily interaction with

people from my close environment,family, friends and coworkers, I couldsee all this in effect, to a smaller or

larger scale. As the time passed,I became aware and noticed mystance and reactions to the above.I will analyze my thoughts and experi-ences and try to describe the effectthat Aikido has in my daily life espe-cially in the current social andeconomic conditions that we live in.From the first ukemi rolls and train-

ing days, given that I never had martialarts experience before, it was evidentto me that Aikido practice would behard, demanding both physically andmentally, and would require seriouscommitment from my side to be ableto cope and progress. Through theAikido training approach of ChibaSensei’s teaching, Body Arts - Iaido –Zazen, and thus the approach of theBirankai dojos, the Aikido trainee‘aikidoist’ has to deal with physical(body arts) and mental (Zazen) chal-lenges as well as to work with concen-tration and detail awareness (Iaido).Body arts (either as an uke or nage)

require good physic, buildup of ‘total’body strength and elasticity throughrolls and pins. At the beginning mostukes look like they are just trying to‘survive’ nage’s technique. Slowly,through daily practice and condition-ing, uke should reach a point that he iscapable of maintaining his awareness,and control of his centre, up to the lastinstant of the technique and only relaxhis contact to the pin. This approach to study and physical

training also creates a mentalapproach to life hardships. An aikidoisthas a constant state of mind to judgeevery moment in any situation for anopportunity (an opening), to adjust hisposition (his centre), to improve hisstatus, and do the ‘ukemi’, (as a resultof an action or a situation in real life)as controllable and up to his measureas possible. In the current social andeconomic situation, people that trainare, for me, fortunate to have thisability to clearly judge and adapt to theconditions they are facing. The veryessence of Aikido training dictates thatone should not oppose the oncomingforce or energy, but take advantage ofthe momentum and change it to one’sbenefit. Not only is the student accus-tomed to physical hardships, but is

actually embracing them to improve.In times like the ones we are living,people need more and more thestrength and the correct approach toovercome everyday difficulties thatlately are increasing.One of the first things that is learned

in Aikido is to get up as soon as onefalls, either through the ukemi roll orthrough the commitment in the trainingsequence – a quality that is imprintedalso in one’s character through physi-cal training. An aikidoist may acceptlife’s hardships and obstacles but isbound to get up and continue, a reac-tion that becomes a natural instinctthrough training. As mentioned aboveit is clear that body and mind do inter-act and work together. Physical train-ing needs mental health and viceversa. It is a known ancient Greekproverb translated freely, ‘healthy mindin a healthy body’. You cannot havethe one without the other.Nowadays more and more people

are becoming mentally stressed. Theyhave to cope with everyday pressurefrom work and family, as well as socialand consumerism stereotypes. Thecurrent economic situation and uncer-tainty for the future, creates enormousmental stresses and pressure to indi-viduals that either cannot cope with it,or choose wrong ways to deal with it.Through Zazen one is given the oppor-tunity to clear one’s mind and combinephysical posture with mental challengein a way that enables the practitionerto concentrate and ‘reset’ one’s mind. With the concentration on breathing

from Zazen practice, gradually onelearns to maintain one’s state of mindand relax. One becomes aware ofone’s environment in a broad manner,enabling one to control one’s sur-roundings. Slow and controlled breath-ing increases the oxygen and strengthcapacity of the body and in times ofstress and anxiety, this ability helps tomaintain composure. In this Zazenstate of ‘thinking without thinking’I have many times found myself visual-izing solutions or answers to thingsthat during the day have bothered me.Furthermore the relaxed state thatfollows Zazen practice is I believe

Zazen and Aikido prove an antidote to Greeceʼs troubled timesJohn Ioannou discovers

John Ioannou

continued on page 13


a great gift especially in the years weare living and the crisis we are facing. The above is, without any doubt,

increased by the Iaido training.Controlled, with specific timing ‘move-ments’ and precise ‘cuts’, in a power-ful, centre oriented and delicate way, itis a study where the mind is trained torecognize the motions for the mosteffective actions. In the current socio-economic conditions that change daily,it is a great advantage to be able toadopt and recognize instantly anyopportunities, and moreover the mosteffective actions towards the desiredend result. The above is completelyreflected and summarized in the Iaidoproverb that I have come upon, ‘OneBreath, One Cut, One Victory’. Anapproach that when applied in real life,it saves time and effort in all applicablesituations although in interpersonalrelationships, it may be perceived asaggressive and may require moredelicate approaches.Interpersonal relationships are in fact

built up in a very particular way inAikido. I have experienced andencountered many types of people

through my training days. People thattrain together daily, create a specialbond through the physical contact, thetraining rhythm and the act of providingone’s body for the other to train. Aspecial trust is built up and peopletend to each other. Dojo members asfar as I have experienced (always withthe given exceptions) graduallybecome a team and in the depth oftime they form a closer family-likebond. Aikido as point of interest,interaction or even discussion createsa special common ground that to myexperience cannot be easily foundin other type of activities. This bondand the friendships created in Aikidocreate, in a more broad view, anAikido community that I feel hasthe dynamic to become a point ofreference in the difficult years we areleaving.As it can be seen, Aikido affects

one’s life in specific ways but encapsu-lates all aspects of human nature. Themore you get involved in the martialway (do), the more strengths andqualities become visible, throughfacing and dealing with your own

weaknesses first. We are able to trainour body and mind to face andapproach difficulties in a martial way.Even training itself, is a stress andmental relief and in many casesthrough body challenge comes purifi-cation of the mind, as it is intended, inthe long term training or in a moreshort and ‘special’ case, that of misogipractices through constant repetition.There is no doubt to me that all theabove benefits of Aikido as I perceivethem are a result of the martial waythat O-Sensei introduced and ChibaSensei transferred to us. I feel thankful that I am still able to

practise even in harsh times like theones that Greece (and not onlyGreece) is going through. ☯

John Ioannou 1st KyuAthens AikikaiHellenic Birankai(Essay submitted for Shodan test inMay 2012)

Birankai North America summer camp 2012, Bronxville, New York

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: Olga

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Jenny Curran reflects on her videography days

To the Members of British Birankai

Iwould like to take this opportunity to thank you most sincerelyfor the beautiful crystal O-Sensei gift that was presented to

me at the end of 2011 Summer School.As most of you are aware I have been the videographer at

the British Birankai National Courses. I started taking record-ings of BA/BB events initially from 1996/7 until the present. Iwas a complete beginner as a camera operator and it took mesometime to get the hang of things. The role of photographerwas at times a bit challenging, dodging the odd flailing bokkenand the occasional ukemi from a student. This certainly sharp-ened my awareness skills. While videoing the action I felt thatsomehow I was a part of the group and not just an appendageof an elderly Shidoin, who shall remain nameless!!Now that I have retired from this role I reflect on all the good times and the really nice people I have met during this

period. I have shared in some wonderful social events (the formal dinners) and sketches at our social evenings. Thereare certainly an incredible amount of talented people both at home and abroad in Birankai.I wish all of you in Birankai continued success in your life and in your Aikido study. I would hope that we will meet

again some time in the future.

Warmest regards

Jenny

Edward Burke’s journey into mar-tial arts in ‘The Swordmaster’sApprentice’ gives a rare insight

into a tradition of the flame that hasbeen burning and transmitted fromgeneration to generation. Edward’sbrief encounter with Chiba Senseiclearly highlights the demands on therigorous training required both physi-cally and mentally for anyone who isserious about the Path. To apprenticeoneself under a master such as ChibaSensei requires courage, determina-tion and humility, virtues required foranyone on the martial path. I enjoyedreading about Edward’s observation of

the uchideshi which showed the mostnatural camaraderie and tensions thatappear when being forged in the fire.An enjoyable read.

Shihan Chris Mooney 6th DanEi Mei Kan, Central AikikaiBritish Birankai

Book Review: The Swordmasterʼs Apprentice“... ‘DON’T COLLAPSE!’He shakes me like a rag doll, up and down, backwards and forwards, never letting me regain mybalance. It is all I can do to keep my feet under me as I dance around the floor like a marionette. I lethim take my upper body, dropping my center of gravity and trying to stay connected through my coreto my toes. My back and stomach muscles burn and my heart rate is soaring, but I barely notice thestrain; I’m focused on survival… “ Edward Burke

Edward Burke


Notice-boardNotice-board

Farewell and WelcomeWe are happy

to acknowl-edge the work ofSuzanne Brunnerwho has been theAssistant Editorsince our inceptionin July 2010.Suzanne has beenof tremendoussupport as sheused her expertiseof two years’ editorship of Shiun to help in developingour newsletter. Unfortunately she has had to resign to fully concen-

trate on writing, illustrating and publishing her ownchildren’s books. We wish her all the best. ☯

Shihan DidierBoyet 6th has

decided to take upthe mantle as thenew AssistantEditor. A familiarface at BirankaiNorth Americaand BirankaiEurope coursesand summerschools, ShihanBoyet resides in Tokyo, Japan and is also the Hombu-Birankai International Liaison Officer. ☯

Shihan Didier BoyetSuzanne Brunner

Phil joined the Dojo (Ei Mei Kan, Central Aikikai) some 15 years ago andbecame a loyal and devoted member to both myself and the communityat large. In the mid-90s he hosted and supported spring and autumn

courses at St Philip’s College with Chiba Sensei. At summer school many ofyou will remember Phil for his great singing performance during our socialevening.Phil was my student, my teacher, my friend. Thanks Phil for old times we

shared, lighting fires, drinking beer and singing songs. Thanks for your energy,passion and resolve, you could always fix it, you could always do it. I respectyour courage, which always burned bright in adversity

you have now entered the gateless gateSo, sing your death poem and return home like a hero. ☯

Shihan Mooney remembers

Shihan Chris Mooney 6th DanEi Mei Kan, Central AikikaiBritish Birankai

In Memorium Phil Savage

5 Feb 1949 - 17 Jun 2012

musubi template 1107 - british birankainars since september last year, all of which have been well...

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