straight & round

Sensei and Noah were with Doshu, preparing for the weekend seminar, reportedly his last in the US, so the evening class was taught by Lewis Sensei. On the mat were white belts Helena and Allan, probably 9 and 15 respectively, along with Nicholas who trained in France, and senseis Stefan from Ontario, Jerke from Germany,… Continue reading

nidan

This morning after adult class we had one of our periodic dojo cleanups, as usual in the days before a seminar. In addition to about a dozen adult members, there were several children and even a parent or two. Teenage James was climbing like a monkey in the rafters, while others, including some of our… Continue reading

lihue

Behind the Hongwanji Buddhist Temple in Lihue, Kauai, is the dojo for the Lihui Aiki Kai. I showed up without a dogi and after a short conversation was offered a clean used one for that night’s training. The class, attended by eight mudansha at all levels of experience, was taught by the daisempai and focused… Continue reading