Tayori Issue 22 (June 2003)

Selected Articles from Issue 22

June 2003

KICK OFF THE SUMMER !

The first weekend in June is a big one for Hilo Seishikan Aikido.  Coming to Hilo to share his vast knowledge of aikido with us is Donald Moriyama-sensei of Pearl City Aikido Club.  We are very fortunate that Moriyama-sensei has been coming over to Hilo to teach and help us in our training.  He was here earlier this year and is returning to help us again.  

Moriyama-sensei has trained with most of the premier sensei in aikido.  He has lived and trained and taught aikido in Japan.  While there he met and started training with Saito-sensei at the Iwama Dojo.  Saito-sensei trained many years with aikido founder Ueshiba O-sensei.  He maintained O-sensei’s original style of aikido.  Moriyama-sensei is a practitioner of Iwama-ryu Aikido.  He is one of only a couple of aikido sensei in all of America certified as an instructor of Iwama-ryu aikido bokken and jo methods.

Moriyama-sensei is in demand for instructing aikido throughout the United States.  He just recently returned from instructing on the mainland.  We are really fortunate to have come to Hilo to help us.  Please make every effort to attend his classes here.  What a great way to start the summer!!  The following is a schedule of his classes:

SPRING 2003 RANK PROMOTIONS

Hilo Seishikan Aikido held its annual Spring Rank Examinations in May, 2003.  The Youth Class held its testing on Wednesday, May 7, and the Open Aikido Classes held their testing on Monday, May 12.  The rank testing board composed of the instructors in our club, was very much pleased and impressed with the performance of the various students in the testing.  Board members felt that it was the best aikido arts testing that they had observed in many years!  It was felt that the students as a whole displayed much improvement over past performances.  Hilo Seishikan Aikido is pleased to announce the following rank promotions and to congratulate the students.  Congratulations also go to the instructors.

  • 10B   Arden Costales Jr., Melanie Isa, Taryn Isa, Brandee Konanui.
  • 10A   Sara Lim, Stacie Lim, Kevin Oshiro
  •  9C    Jaymie Masuda
  •  9B    Megan Escalona, Taylor Escalona, Tristan Yoshida.
  •  9A    Royce Dela Cruz, Reyn T. Nishioka, Dustin Soriano, Daniel Tavares.
  •  8C    Catelyn S. Hakoda
  •  7C    August Kubo Jr.
  •  6C    Anson Almeida, Francis Blas III, Jonathan Maesato.
  •  6B    Aisha Tanaka, Kenji Tulman, Andrew Yoshimoto, James Yoshimoto.
  •  5C    Brev Blas, Kolaka Kapihe, Colby Miyose, Kerri Nakatsu, Ryo Tulman.
  •  5A    Kawehioka’iulani Hanohano, Bryson Miyose.
  •  4A    Oaka Ruddle-Miyamoto
  •  3C    Steven Maesato
  •  3A    Kristi Masuhara
  •  2C    Simon Kaliko Trapp
  •  2B    David Cadaoas
  •  1C    Nelson Nakatsu

SHIN BUDO KAI AIKIDO SEMINAR

On the weekend of May 16-18, nine of our club black belts and two of our students (Kaliko and ʻOaka) traveled out to Kamuela to participate in Shin Budo Kai’s Aikido Seminar held at the Hawaii Preparatory Academy.  Shin Budo Kai is an aikido organization headquartered in New York City and with branch dojos in various locations around the mainland United States.  One of their branches is in Kamuela. The seminar was held in conjunction with their fifteenth anniversary as an organization and also as a fifth anniversary of the forming of the Kamuela branch.  

The founder of the Shin Budo Kai is Shizuo Imaizumi-sensei.  Imaizumi-sensei was among the last generation of students of the founder of aikido, Morihei Ueshiba O-sensei.  He also trained extensively with Tohei-sensei.  Imaizumni-sensei first instructed in America in 1972.  He came to America permanently in 1975.  He was sent to New York to teach aikido there.  He served as Chief Instructor of the Ki Society aikido in the United States from 1976 to 1988, when he resigned from the Ki Society.  He later founded the Shin Budo Kai Aikido.

Imaizumi-sensei had come to Hilo and instructed aikido here on two occasions.  Some of us had met him and practiced with him then, and had become friends with him.  We had heard and read of his coming to the Big Island to hold a seminar.  We received a phone call inviting us to participate in his seminar.  We were very happy to learn that he wanted us to participate.  

Those of us who were able to go to Kamuela and participate in the seminar were very pleased that we had gone.  We learned a lot and really enjoyed it.  We had a great time training with Imaizumi-sensei again.  There were aikido students from around the mainland—New York, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, Washington.  There were students from Kohala, Kamuela, Hilo, and us.  It was good to participate along with students from elsewhere.  Imaizumi-sensei was personally enjoyable too.  Yes, it was a great weekend!