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Shizentai 5The British Aikido Association journal December 2014/January 2015

Konaka Senseiat the BAA Summer School

BAA Spring SchoolSouth Of The RiverBAA Autumn SchoolShishida Sensei’s visitOhba biographyDBS & Coaching JuniorsJunior reports

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Editor’s page Contents

Editor: Paul Wildish all correspondence andcontributions to shizentai@aikido-baa.org.ukPublished by the British Aikido Associationwebsite www.aikido-baa.org.uk

Reports

3 BAA Spring School - Winchester5 BAA Summer School - Konaka Sensei visit8 Shishida visits the Jugokan9 Bill Lawrence10 Kenshi Uno obituary12 South of the River School13 Women’s Randori Training Day15 WSAF Statement

Articles

16 Hideo Ohba: part 3 Paul Wildish25 Coaching Young People in Tomiki Aikido - part 2 Bob Jones

Juniors & Youth

20 BAA Junior & Youth Development Days20 BAA Junior & Youth Competition ‘South’22 Second Junior & Youth Tomiki Aikido European Championship

BAA Executive27 DBS Checks28 Calender/Events

First we are sorry that due to anumber of circumstancesShizentai 5 is out far latter thanoriginally intended. We hope toback on a regular schedule withthree issues a year coming out inspring, late summer and lateautumn in 2015

The BAA has had anothersuccessful year. We have seenBAA club teams competesuccessfully on the Europeanstage. Tanseikan gave a stormingperformance at the EuropeanChampionships in Antwerp withScott Pearce and Natuley Smallewinning individual randori Silvermedals. Tanseikan won TeamTanto Randori Gold and moreGold medals for embu events(see Shizentai 4).

Our juniors have also had a greatyear with well attended andenjoyable home competitions andmajor successes for Huddersfieldand the Yorkshire Team at therecent European Tomiki AikidoJunior and Youth Competitionheld in Moscow.

2014 also saw visits from FumiakiShishida Sensei and Yuki, Keikoand Junji Konaka Sensei of theJAA(NPO). Shishida Senseivisited the Spring School andtaught at Thanet Judokwai(Aikido) in Margate and atJugokan in London, where hisaikido was well received.Elements of new thinking andtechnical re-evaluation within theJAA were evident in both ofShishida Sensei’s seminars. Thiswas effectively complemented byKonaka Sensei’s teaching at the

BAA Summer School. Which wasenthusiastically received for itseffective randori orientated contentby all who attended. We hope tosee him back in the UK in the nearfuture.

All the BAA Schools producedgreat content for developing kataand randori this year and deservegreater support. The stalwarts arealways there but we still need tosee more members attending. Youwill come back from these eventsinspired, with a greaterunderstanding of how you candevelop your skills and enjoy youraikido all the more as a result.

Next year looks set to a busy andinteresting year for the BAA andparticularly for those who arecompetition minded. The BAA willbe sending its Squad both to theShodokan Aikido Federation WorldChampionships in Brisbane andthe JAA(NPO) sponsored EleventhTAIN International Festival &Tournament in Fiesch,Switzerland.

Attending both the internationalcompetitions will obviously put astrain upon the BAA’s resources,so we urge to pay yourmemberships fees on time. Yourfees are our only real income andto mount schools and adult, juniorand youth competitions we needyour support. Speedy payment ofmembership fees are vital to theBAA’s ability to support you withthe high quality events we stageevery year. Let’s hope 2015 willcontinue to see the growth of astronger and more united BAAthan ever before.

Happy New Year!

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BAA Spring School SouthWinchester 26/27 April 2014 Francis Burgess

The Annual BAA Spring schoolruns on the late May bank holidayweekend in Winchester, this yearthe dates were Saturday 24 –Monday 26th May.The school was open by the BAATraditional instructor Tony Daviswho led the class in various freestyle techniques using the Jo. Thiswas well received as the majorityof Aikidoka only handle the Jo forKoryu Kata and not in a free stylesituation.Lindsay Comens took the secondsession on the Saturday. Lindsaywas the BAA’s guest instructor

from a local Traditional Daito Ryuclub. Lindsay brought a smallclass of his pupils who were ableto help the class with theunfamiliar Daito Ryu techniques.Aikido has its origins in Daito Ryuand the links could quite easily beseen in the techniques that werebeing demonstrated andpracticed.The school were very honoured atthis point to be joined by ShihanFumiaki Shishida, 8th Dan TomikiAikido JAA who had come with akeen interest to see LesleyHepden teach the Koryu DaiRoku.

Lesley taught 3 sessions onvarious sections of the Koryu DaiRoku which is a very precisecoordinated kata requiringabsolute concentration andcollaboration between Tori andUke. Shishida was veryimpressed with the precise,accurate coordinated way theKata was delivered and practiced.Paul Wildish ended the timetabledpart of the day with an intenseGoshin – Ho training session. Thiswas delivered with under thewatchful eye of Shishida who was

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pleased to see that kata wasbeing passed on so well.Running in parallel with the mattime sessions a number ofAikidoka were undergoing formalcoaching training and at the endof the timetabled mat sessionsthey were let loose on a group of“volunteers” to show off theirteaching styles and skills.

During the day in another Dojo thejuniors had a variety of instructors– Ewan Craig took them through ageneral Kata session, Tony Davisentertained with Jo work andRosalind Burgess run themragged with freeplay. The juniorswere also very fortunate to beinstructed by Sarah Fletcher whohas just taken over running juniorcompetitions.

As the first day drew to a close theinstructors and organisersentertained Shishida at a localJapanese Fusion restaurant.

The highlight of the Sundaysessions were when the juniorsjoined the seniors on the seniormat . Under Nicole Anson’swatchful eye the juniors were putin to a competitive situation withthe seniors taking on the role ofjudging and refereeing. There wasa lot of flag waving and armsmoving up and down, witheveryone having a good time.Sunday also brought Bob Joneson to the mat teaching bothjuniors and seniors freeplaytechniques and telling stories ofAikido in the dark days of History.Francis Burgess took his life inhand and let the juniors loose withbokkens - there were no injuriesbut a few of the bokkens hadnotices put in them from the lowbeams!As Sunday practice drew to aclose all who wanted to joined aBBQ hosted at the local IBMHursley site. Where a fewwondered off to see the Koi Carpsand the surrounding woodland.

Monday – Grading day.The nerves were showing on thejuniors as they were first to be putunder the scrutiny of theexaminers, Paul Holding, TomHoughton and Rosalind Burgess .

To make thing especially difficultthere was one senior grading withthe juniors so 3 differentsyllabuses were required.

The senior Dan Grading started at1:30 under the watchful eyes ofBob Jones, Lesley Hepden, PaulWildish, Andrian Tyndale andPaul Holding.By 4:30 PM it was all over - the3rd year at the Winchester venue.Special tanks go to Tricia Munnsand Marion Widdop who werealways on hand with food anddrink no matter what the time ofday.

Lesley Hepden 7 Dan teaching Koryu Dai Roku kata

Shishida Sensei 8 Dan demonstrating somefiner points of the Dai Roku to Paul Wildish

6 Dan

The grading panel deliberates

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BAA Summer School NorthSt Mary’s School, Ilkley 2014 Pamela Dempsey

The two days of aikido thatchanged my life…I was unfortunate enough to missthe first days training on theFriday, last time I leave Keith McClean to book flights for an Aikidoweekend.As what most have come toexpect from Summer school andimpressive line up: Bob Jones 7th

Dan, Junji Konaka 5th Dan, VandaFairchild 5th Dan and Tony Davis5th Dan ( Traditional )

And they were impressive! With adays training missed, I was now ina race against time to absorb asmuch as possible in the two shortdays we had. It’s not everyweekend that aikidoka from theUK, Ireland and Europe have theopportunity to train with JunjiKonaka. With reports from manythat he is one of the mostimpressive randori players they’veever seen, he certainly lived up tothe billing. His demonstration andinstruction on the Junanahon and

it’s randori applications brought anew depth of understanding andnew way of looking at the kata. Hefocused on the finer points ofkuzushi. His sessions brought anew dimension to the Junanahonwith some variations just leavingmost speechless…..includingsome of the ukes. Most were leftwith the feeling of being anabsolute beginner. It was asthough I’d seen the techniques forthe first time, that wonderfulfeeling only aikido can bring and

Yuki, Keiko and Junji Konaka

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the excitement of getting to trainafterwards.A tough act to follow Sensei BobJones never fails to be informativeand captivating in his lessons inaikido. More than heavy traininggiving some a well needed rest,he followed on from his lesson onFriday of speed vs agility andstrength vs power lesson and asusual had the crowd invested inhis lesson.Next up Vanda Fairchild, I’ve hadthe pleasure and good luck totrain with Sensei Fairchild on afew occasions previously and Ialways look forward to the upbeatactive sessions that are put on.Focusing once again on the socialside of aikido and how it’s distinctfrom other martial arts, anintelligent social martial art andfocusing on that and not justtechnique after technique but toreally focus on what you’re tryingto achieve.Tony Davis was to follow withsome excellent weaponsdemonstrations. This is the firsttime I’d gotten to train with Tonyand the level of knowledge hebrought from a traditional aikidopoint of view gave a greaterunderstanding of the differenceand similarity in traditional aikidoweapons work and that of thetomiki syllabus.That evening it was time for somefood and socialising in the Joneshouse. But this time it wasDanielle hosting, with Lee on grillit was a fantastic eveningsurrounded by great people with ashared love… free food. Withsome wonderful weather andcompany, as with all these eventstime flies and before long it was

time to bid our very gracious hostsadieu.Sunday, as luck would have it wasjust as exciting as Saturdaycontinuing on from where he leftoff Konaka completed theJunanahon with his randorivariations (can’t go into too muchdetail about it, that’s what theDVD is for ) It was clear from allthose present that the ideas andadaptations were both highly

skilled and executed to nearperfection with gasps ofexcitement and anticipation of atechnique and the inevitableukemi. What was mostimpressive is to see a kata that alllearn from the beginning,something, I’m certain that mostthere would think they have apretty decent grasp of and yet withnew eyes looking upon it as newwith childlike enthusiasm. I wasawestruck at how simple and yethow complicated the techniquesare. Many refer to this as thebasic kata. Basic they are not. If

any thought them to be they werecertainly corrected after aweekend of training with JunjiKonaka, Keiko Konaka and YukiMotosaka. I think everyone therecan agree it’s how we would allwish to start our day.Vanda continued with the themeof her sessions active, lively andworking on Kuzushi and followedby some light free play practicejust to make sure we were alert

and heart rate up. Excellentinstruction as usual ensuringeveryone had equal opportunity totrain with someone with moreexperience and then getting totrain with those on the same level.We played with combinations andvariations in preparation for thosegrading later. But before we knewit, time was up and this was it.Time to demonstrate theknowledge and skill you’veacquired and see if it’s enough forthe grade.I had the privilege to grade atsummer school under an

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impressive panel of Bob Jones 7Dan, Mick Pratt 4 Dan, PaulHolding 5 Dan, Vanda Fairchild 5Dan, Mark Aldridge 5 Danheading up the adult gradingpanel. Congratulations to thesuccessful candidates. But for allthose present successful on theday or not we can all take away agreat weekend of training someworld class instruction and someexcellent feedback from anesteemed panel of aikidoka.I’ve had the good fortune to be atthe schools previously covered byShizentai and I think that thewriters all covered the theme ofthe weekends and managed tocapture even just a snippet of theatmosphere we manage to create

at these events. I don’t think anygreat writer would manage toaccurately describe theatmosphere that weekend, tolearn from some of the best inworld to train with them and get aninsight into their aikido and yours,to be surrounded by those excitedand enthused by new instructionand knowledge. To share themats with friends, new and old.I’m already counting down thedays to the next one.

Pamela Dempsey

Action shots from Konaka Sensei’ssessions at the BAA Summer School

Three technique combination from Konaka Sensei 5 Dan (above)shomen-ate, aigamae-ate, ushiro-ate

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Shishida Sensei visitsthe Jugokan

This took place at Jugokan,London SW17 (Ernest BevinSchool Dojo) courtesy KenBroome, Gary & Steve Hogg.

In attendance was the legendaryJudo Master, Tony Sweeney.

The course focussed on aspectsof tegatana and how to maintainthe correct distance. Firstexercises in tegatana awase andshotei, then applications of thesewhen applied using sweeps andturns.

In tegatana awase regular postureShishida Shihan emphasised theimportance of keeping the armrelaxed whilst maintaining thesame length. The footwork mustbe used correctly and as studiedin unsoku exercises, legs shouldnot cross. When moving clockwisewith the right arm leading the footshould be turned so that the toeslead the direction of movement.Moving anticlockwise, in a sensethe heel leads, which is easier.

The focus of the hand-bladeshould be as if spiraling towardseach other's centre of face.Exaggerated sideways or lateralmovement of the arm should beavoided. It is not a fight but amethod of connecting with yourpartner.

In shotei exercises the footwook isusually in the opposite posture tothe arms. The focus is towards theshoulder and the arms are keptstraight but not locked. Thepurpose of Uke is to maintain areasonable resistance to bepushed but without "breaking thegame".  Tori can then practice

over coming this force by relaxingslightly and then by a smallrotation and stiffening of the handblade, momentarily regain theinitiative. Once again it is about apartnership for improving the skillof each other not a fight.

We used aiki age (to bring up) -aiki sage (to bring down) to regainthe distance once the wrist wasgrasped and then studied how todeal with this with a non-compliantuke. We used Shishida Shihan'sidea of ‘opposing vectors’ toimplement this.

In aiki age when the wrist is

Aikido Seminar with Shishida Sensei - Friday 27th June 2014

Adrian Tyndale

Fumiaki Shishida Shihan, 8 Dan JAA teaching at the Jugokan, Ernest Bevin School Dojo

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grasped if tori moves back with arelaxed arm, the arm of uke willnaturally rise. This must never beforced by using the shoulder jointor associated muscles. Using thestudy of shotei, tori's hand bladecan be swiftly rotated upwardswhich will lock the arm of uke.Various applications of this ideaensue if the hand blade is rotateddown or to the left or to the right.Once the arm(s) of uke is/arelocked tori can control balanceand throw.  Shishida Shihan usesthe term "vector" to describe this.In this case the vectors of the twooutstretched arms are directlyopposing each other.

If now uke changes their thinkingand grasps the wrist and alwaysmaintains a slight downwardforce, the principle of aiki age isbroken!  Tori, therefore, has tosink to the vector line, which isnow directed towards gedan levelof tori. By softening at the elbowwhilst rotating the hand blade anddropping the body, Uke's vectorcan be met and opposed. This willonce again lock the arm of uke.This is a two dimensionalexplanation, in reality each vectorcomprises three components. Ineffect tori manipulates the

shoulder of uke from the graspedwrist, uke's arm then  "belongs" totori. The connection at the wrist oftori is maintained by uke'sinitiative and tori focuses on"disconnecting" uke's shoulderfrom their body. When doneeffectively it  becomesmomentarily difficult for uke torelease their grip on the wrist,which reinforces the overalleffectiveness for tori. Like mostaikido action it is difficult toexplain in words what is

happening precisely, it has to befelt.

The importance of positivekuzushi at the start of thetechnique was practised inrelation to the tegatana conceptsstudied. This was applied to someof the standing section of KoryuDai San.  Some stimulating andinteresting thinking on familiartechniques! :-)

To close we practised Tegatanago Dosa / Tandoku Undo.Shishida Shihan emphasised thatthis was the basic practice forhand blade movements.Performing this with a weaponbecomes an application.

The session was very reminiscentof those run by the late YamadaSensei.

For those of us with energy leftsome randori.

Last a ‘sayonara meal’ and drinkat the Castle Pub, Tooting; thiswas well received after a goodaikido session.

A great evening, thank youShishida Shihan, Ken, Gary &Steve.

Shishida Shihan with Adrian Tyndale

Bill Lawrence8 Dan BAA

It is with great sadness that theBAA Executive reports the deathof Bill Lawrence Sensei, 8 Dan.Bill died peacefully at the age of95 at his care home in Wisbech,

Cambridgeshire on the 3 July,2014.

Bill a former Chairman andPresident of the BAA, began histraining in aikido with SentaYamada in 1959. After YamadaSensei returned home hecontinued his studies with RikiKogure, Tsunemitsu Naito,Takeshi Inoue and Hideo Ohba.

He was a stalwart member of theRenzu Kwai Aikido andmaintained a close associationand friendship with leadinginstructors of the JAA. Bill washost to Hideo Ohba during his

three month visit to the UK in1976.

Bill as everyone who knew himwill testify was always a‘gentleman’, strong of opinion butalways courteous and generous inhis dealings with fellow aikidoka.Bill had a profound influence forthe good in the development ofthe BAA which will beremembered fondly with respectby all who trained with him.

It is our intention to publish amore complete biography of Bill tocelebrate his contribution to aikidoand the BAA in a forthcomingissue of Shizentai. Editor

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In memory of Kenshi Uno Shihan8th Dan Aikido, 3rd Dan Kendo &JAA Vice-Chairman who diedpeacefully at the age of 72

It is with deep sadness that Iannounce the passing of KenshiUno.

In a recent email from him heseemed positive about hisrehabilitation after his recentoperation for colon cancer, so thisnews came as a surprise.

Kenshi Uno first started Aikido atWaseda University and wasgraded 1st Dan by ProfessorTomiki at the age of 20. Hestudied under him forapproximately 20 years. Duringthat time he also studied Kendoand attained 3rd Dan at the age of33.

He was the Vice President of theJAA and Principle teacher andfounder member of JAAS, theShikoku Hombu.

Uno Sensei was the first JAAteacher to publish a book aboutTomiki Aikido in three languages,Japanese, English and Russian.The book also included a DVD oftechniques.

He had many students worldwideand particularly in Russia. InImabari, Japan there are fourbranches and his students’worldwide totalled approximately1000. They all form part of JapanAikido Association Shikoku.

Kenshi Uno was very close to hiswife, Sumiko and her passing inJanuary 2013 came as a shock tohim.

I met and trained with Uno Shihanon three occasions and have keptin touch over the years by emailand phone. He referred to himselfas the “Third Man”, whenconversation moved in a politicaldirection.

Later this month he would havecelebrated his 73rd Birthdaywhen, as usual, we would havemade contact.

He was passionate about thedirection of Tomiki Aikido and wasthe key player in a distinct‘Waseda’ brand of Tomiki Aikidoin counterpoint to technicalinnovations introduced largelyafter the death of Tomiki andOhba.

http://www.aikido-aid.com/etaf/kenshi_uno_shihan.htm

Kenshi Uno Vice-Chairman JAA 8th Dan Aikido, 3rd Dan Kendo

Kenshi Uno22nd November, 1941- 4th October, 2014

Adrian Tyndale

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A message from Mrs MasakoTomiki

Dear Colleagues,

It is with great sadness that theJAA has to announce that KenshiUno, JAA vice-chairman, passedaway peacefully on Saturday, 4October 2014. He was 72 yearsold and a great Shihan assupporter of Aikido. Our thoughtsand condolences go to all hisfamily and friends.

Regards,

Masako Tomiki

JAA Chairperson

Gone but notforgotten: some ofKenshi Uno'sfavourite aphorisms

Monkey see, monkey do!

Life without emotion is vacant!

Peace in mind, pleasure in life!

Be rapid like a strong wind!

Be quiet like a wood!

Be aggressive like a fire!

Be motionless like a mountain!

Three Let’s

Let's try to make Tomiki aikidobeautiful

Let's try to make your lifeenjoyable

Let's try to make your mindpeaceful

The most beautiful is cherryblossoms; the most commandingis expert warriors!

Flower called Youth will soon fall,young days never come twice,you youngsters, do not hesitate todevote your life to all!

Peace in mind, Pleasure in life!

Song of Youth

1 Keep the natural style both infigures and mind (natural posture)

2 Watch your opponent's eyesas if you were watching the distantmountains (way of watching)

3 Move as smoothly as possibleas if your feet were alwaystouching tatami (movement offoot)

4 Keep your hands on yourcentre line when you dotechniques (movement of hands)

5 Breathe out at the lastmoment when you do techniques(way of breathing)*

* All the five principles have to bedone at the same time

Uno Sensei’sFive Principles

Uno Sensei’s book

All the action pictures on this pageare screen shots from the DVDaccompanying Kenshi Uno’s book:‘Competitive Aikido’

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South of the River (SOTR)

Bob Jones 7 Dan, Ken Broome 7 Dan, Shaun Hoddy 6 Dan,, SimonFraser 3 Dan and John Burn 4 Dan taught at this year’s South ofthe River School, Hawkinge, Kent.

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2nd Women’s Randori Training Day(South) September 2014 Sarah Fletcher

We had a fantastic turn out for the2nd Women’s Randori training day inSeptember. Women from the Northand South of England, Dublin andBelgum joined together to focus onRandori practice. Instructor’s LauraBeardsmore, Natuley Smalle, GitteWalputt and Sarah Fletcher joinedtogether to teach and share theircompetitive experiences with womenaged from 13+. This was a fantasticopportunity for all who took part, totrain with the current bronze,(Natuley), silver, (Gitte) and gold,(Laura) individual randori medalists.Natuley, Laura and Sarah along withDanielle Jones are also the currentwomen’s randori team Gold medalistsfrom the 2013 Kawasaki AikidoInternational Championships.

Participant comments on the Randoritraining session.

" The women's randori training dayheld at Chingford in Essex/Londonwas a great success. With 15 femalestraining together and 4 superbinstructors, there was lots ofenthusiasm and energy beingdisplayed on the mat. Aikidoka hadtravelled from Belgium, Ireland,Yorkshire and South London to takepart in the training session. Each

instructor covered different elementsof randori, developing our skills andunderstanding of taisabaki, effectivekuzushi and waza. It was inspiring tosee so many dynamic female aikidoall on one mat. I'm looking forward tothe next one". Vanda Fairchild.Tanseikan.

In this randori course, I enjoyed themany things that we participated in. Igained experience by taking part inthe 'randori' with senior grades. Itgave an experience of what it wouldactually be like in an actual bout.Furthermore, before we did that we

had learn’t different moves, whichhelped me in the bout. Also, when wewent up against our own grade itgave a better experience on how itwould actually be in a competition. Inaddition, the day as a whole wasinteresting and fun. It gave a chanceto meet new people as well. - BillieWilson. Tanseikan.

During the Women's Randori course Ilearned more techniques that hadextra moves added onto a simpleroutine to make a more advancetechnique. However what I enjoyedmost was learning how to stand-Shiko-stand because I hadn't seen itdone before and it was effective atbreaking balance. As well as learningnew techniques and tips, a newpointer was revealed to me by Gita, itwas about once having brokenbalance, which technique would bebetter to do and she said that youcould tell by which way Uke's hipswere facing. I remember this pointerwell and it made doing sometechniques a lot easier as I wasn'tstruggling to pull the Uke down asmuch, because I was going in theirdirection instead of against whichrequired me to use a lot more powerand force. -A'mani. Tanseikan.

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I found the workshop very insightful.We were taught by many sensei'sfrom varying places. Before that day,I had never come to grips with howthe same technique can be taught insuch varying ways. It is reallyinteresting to learn and see atechnique so familiar transformed intosomething I have never seen before.For instance I think Gita (An aikdokasensei from Belgium who taught us)had a very unique style. The thingthat stood out for me in her teachingwas a sudden drop on the knee whichresults in the uki falling. I aim to dothis technique to the best of my abilityand use it in my own aikido Randoriand maybe even future competitions.Overall, I got a lot out of this trainingday and will definitely be applying thethings i learnt in my aikido. - SkylerKing Tanseikan.

The journey down was a long yet funone, though we were still glad whenwe at last arrived. We walked in tosee others from across the country aswell as a group of young women whohad come all the way from Belgiumaccompanied by one of our excellent

coaches for the day, Gitte Wolput. Intotal there were around 20 of us.

The day started with a session byNatuley Smalle in which we did a lotof Tanto Taisabaki, working on ouravoidance and positioning and alsoin making sure that we made clearstrikes that would score in a bout.During this hour we worked with lotsof different people, many with whomwe wouldn't often get the chance towork and also some with whom we'dnever worked before at all.

This session was followed by onetaken by Gitte. She introduced us tosome of her favourite techniquecombinations to use in Randoribouts: this included beginning todraw Waki Gatame and thenchanging it to Ude Gaeshi if theopponent reacted by pulling back upand also Mae Otoshi to either OtoshiTaoshi or Sumi Otoshi depending ontheir reaction. Once again we had thechance to try these out on severalpeople and see how they would eachreact to them.

After a well-earned half hour lunchbreak the session was resumed, thistime taught by Sarah Fletcher. Duringthis, she showed us some goodtechniques to try using during bouts,including Shomen Ate and UshiroAte; while practising these we gotuseful feedback from both ourpartners and our coaches to help usimprove them.

The final session of the day wastaken by Laura Beardsmore whotaught us some of the rules inRandori, in particular about throwingwhen you're the one with the Tanto.Then we got on with more practiceafter she had shown us somevariations of techniques suitable forusing in Randori, and like Sarah,building on the use of Shomen andUshiro Ate.

Then, after a much needed cool-down, we finally finished. Though wewere all pretty tired and ready for arest, the experience was a great oneand I hope to be able to go again nextyear and hopefully see everybodyelse there again too!Heather Rowe Yon Ju Hachi

Sarah, Laura and Natuley hope to runtwo Women’s Randori trainingsession’s per year. The next one willbe held in Yorkshire at Holtpark

leisure Centre, HoltdaleApproach  Leeds  LS16 7RX,Sunday 8th February 2015, 10 amuntil 2pm. Fee £10 (for BAA and non

BAA members) Please contact SarahFletcher, Youth development officerfor more details - Youth@aikido-baa.org.uk

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The British AikidoAssociation (BAA) isworking alongside TomikiAikido of the Americas(TAA) to jointly develop theproposals and constitutionfor the establishment ofthe World Sports AikidoFederation (WSAF) and isin full support of its aimsand objectives.

The BAA is fully committedto the successfulintroduction anddevelopment of the WSAFas the single WorldGoverning Body forInternational CompetitiveAikido.

Without the WSAF as thesingle focus the future of

Statement by theBritish Aikido Association

with regard to theWorld Sports Aikido Federation

global competitive Aikido isin danger of continuousfracturing. The estimatednumber of worldwide“Sport” Aikido practitionersis between 5,000 and6,000 participants, dividedinto at least four or fivegroups. This figure alsoincludes a number ofpractitioners within groupswho do not enter orcondone competition.

To be divided in this way isnot profitable in any way,the division of sport Aikidoworldwide prohibits trueand formal national andinternational recognition ofthe sport, impeding itsdevelopment andpreventing national

organisations from gainingvital sponsorship.

The BAA remains open toall approaches in thecoaching of Aikido and willcontinue to bring a rangeof instructors from abroadto engage and develop itsmembership.

The BAA undertakes towork with the TAA andother signatories, toprovide appropriate moral,logistical and financialsupport to establish theWSAF as a legal andadministrative centre forglobal sport Aikido.

Bob JonesChairman British AikidoAssociationCo-Founder WSAF.

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Hideo Ohbathe aikido of ‘quiet taste’ part 3Paul Wildish

In this issue we take up Ohba’sstory in the concluding years ofthe Second World War and thedramatic turn this was to take inhis life and that of his mentor KenjiTomiki.

The end of the war in Manchuria

While Kenji Tomiki Sensei and hisclose student and assistant HideoOhba continued to work teachingjudo and aikido in the Japaneseprotectorate of Manchukuo(modern day Manchuria), the warin China and the Pacific began togo badly for Imperial Japan. Withthe advantage of historicalhindsight it was clear that by 1943Japan had neither the economic,technological or military resourcesto maintain its far flung GreaterAsian and Pacific Empire. TheAmericans were on the moveeliminating Japanese outposts onthe string of Pacific islandsleading back to Japan itself.Although the Japanese army andnavy fought back fiercely, eachisland and territory takencontinued to bleed Japan dry ofmoney, men and material. ForTomiki and Ohba in Manchuria,life was still insulated from theseferocious struggles and providedby comparison an ideal haven ofpeace for their teaching and studyof budo.

Tomiki and Ohba maintained arigorous routine of practice,beginning at 5:30 am at theShimbuden, a large dojo close totheir respective homes. Afterpractice, around 8:00 am, theywould walk back together to enjoya breakfast prepared for them byFusae, Tomiki Sensei’s wife, nodoubt enjoying earnest discussion

about practice and planning theirteaching for the day ahead.Breakfast completed and enjoyedthey would walk together oncemore to Kengoku Universitywhere Tomiki held aprofessorship, teaching aikido inthe curriculum with Ohba

assisting. This peaceful yetpurposeful budo idyll could notlast and by 1945 it was clear to allbut the most diehard in theJapanese government that Japanwas on its way to defeat. TheAllies had brought the SovietUnion into the war against Japan

Hideo Ohba Shihan

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and that August the Americanswere to drop the first atomicbombs on Hiroshima andNagasaki. Nevertheless in July1945 amidst the chaos of a fallingregime, Tomiki found himselfconscripted to face the Russiansadvancing on the Manchurianborder.

While Tomiki was mobilised forthe front, his wife Fusae and theirfour children joined the families ofnon-commissioned officers of theKenpei Kyoshutai (a military policetraining detachment) in adesperate evacuation in the faceof the Russian advance. Theirevacuation did not go well andFusae and the children had toleave the train they had embarkedupon at Tong-Hua and taketemporary shelter in anelementary school. The conditionswere severe and many of thefamilies sheltered there weretraumatised and contemplatingsuicide rather than facing captureby the Red Army. Somehow,Ohba ever faithful and concernedfor his sensei’s family managed tofind Fusae and the children.Abandoning his own escape planhe journeyed to Tong-Hua andjoined Fusae in order to rescuethem. After many mishaps anddiversions he managed to getthem all to Phuong-yang whereanother blow was strike them.Ohba was arrested by elements ofthe Korean army and delivered tothe Russians at a large militaryairbase on the Soviet border.

Despite this setback Fusaemanaged amidst great hardship tofinally get back to Japan but in theprocess suffered the tragic loss oftwo of her children. It is notpossible to easily contemplatewhat this loss was to meanemotionally and spiritually forFusae and Kenji Tomikithroughout the rest of their livestogether.

Hideo Ohba, found himself aprisoner and forced to work for theRussians at maintenance shop onthe airbase. In the circumstances

although the conditions weresevere and the regime harsh, hehad survived and held theprospect of eventual release. Aftera year he was finally released andgranted permission to return toJapan. Once again however, fatedealt another bitter blow in theshape of a bout of Typhus fevercontracted on his journey home.But for the compassionate nursingintervention of a young man in hisparty of fellow evacuees he maywell have died and his life storynever been told. Fortunately hesurvived and finally made it hometo Japan.

Meanwhile, Kenji Tomiki had notbeen so fortunate. He was

captured by the Soviet Army andspent three and a half years as aprisoner of war at a detentioncamp near Lake Balkash in SovietSiberia. In harsh icy winters andsweltering summers amidstswarms of biting midges he waitedout his imprisonment. To keep hisbody and mind active throughouthis exile he devised the solotegatana exercises that were toform an important foundationelement of what was to becomeCompetitive or Tomiki Aikido.

Repatriation and renewal

Ohba returned to Japan in theOctober of 1945 and spent thenext year recuperating from

Kenji Tomiki and Hideo Ohba demonstrate the practical self defence nature of aikido ineveryday clothes, often employed by Tomiki to emphasise ‘reality’ in training.

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typhus in the tender care of hiswife in his home town of Yokote.His health recovered he embarkedon a strenuous effort to revitaliseand restore his beloved judo andthe budo culture of Japan. Initially,the Allied Powers occupationunder the direction of GeneralMacArthur (Supreme CommanderAllied Powers) had prohibited thepractice of judo and all martial artsbecause of its associations withJapanese militarism and the wareffort. Later, with anencouragement that all budo betransformed into specifically sportrelated forms SCAP relented andlicensed judo and other martialarts as cultural activities. Judowas one of the first martial ‘ways’to benefit from the lifting of theban. There is no doubt that thisban and the conditions for itslifting played an important part inthe continuing development of the‘sportification’ of budo. Theadaptations and changes madeduring this post war period toJapanese budo drove forward thedevelopment of the modern sportorientated forms that have spreadacross the world. Tomiki was tobe an intellectual force ofimportance in this development.

Ohba was himself to play animportant part in the judo revival in

his region of Japan becomingvice-president of the Hirakabranch of the Japan JudoFederation in June 1949. InJanuary of the followia greaterprivilege than he deserved, andthat he was very gratefulng yearhe gained part-time employmentas a judo instructor for his localpolice force in Yokote and saw hisefforts rewarded with promotion to6 dan Kodokan Judo and by 1952he had become an adviser to theOgachi-Yuzawa Judo Federation.

Ohba Sensei also receivedacknowledgement of his characterand teaching skills from theKodokan itself and was invited toteach in the Tokyo HQ four timesbetween 1950 and 1953. This waspartly prompted by the return ofTomiki Sensei to Japan and theprominent role he took in thereformation of Kodokan Judo,becoming head of the Kodokanoffice in 1951. He soon askedOhba to assist him in the teachingof rikaku taisei (techniquesagainst an attack from a distance)judo that was to form the basis ofTomiki’s Aikido Kyogi, or‘Competitive’ Aikido.

Tomiki also became part of aselect group of prominent judoteachers who had been invited bythe US Air Force to teach judo toa cadre of its physical educationinstructors, having seen its

relevance for developing thefitness and character of itsairmen. In 1953 Sumiyaki Kotani8 dan, Tomiki and a number ofother leading judoka and karatekaleft Japan at the invitation ofUSAF to tour 15 US bases,teaching judo and karate toairmen. While Tomiki was on tour,Ohba stepped into his role andtaught a group of 30 Americanservicemen at the Kodokantogether with Kin'ichi Shibata.

Shibata was nine years youngerthan Ohba and became a closefriend and supporter helpingthrough his contacts to promoteOhba’s career, particularly ingaining employment with variouspolice departments. Shibata hadbeen captain of the Akita MiddleSchool judo club and upon hisown return had played a leadingrole in forming the new improvedJudo Ogachi-Yuwaza JudoFederation mentioned above.They enjoyed a trusting and closerelationship and trained togetherregularly from 1950 or 51 until themiddle of 1954. The breadth ofOhba’s knowledge of budo wasexemplified in that their practiceextended from judo to aikido,kendo, naginata-do and iaido.During this time Shibataenthusiastically lobbied to getOhba Sensei employment withthe Akita Prefectural PoliceDepartment. In May 1951 his

Arm twist - Ude hineri - breakingbalance forwards

Arm turn - Ude gaeshi - breakingbalance backwards

Ohba Sensei playing his belovedshakahuchi

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lobbying was successful andOhba took up a post as one ofthree technical chiefs in whatbecame the educational section ofthe Akita Prefectural PoliceDepartment’s headquarters.

Teaching the police

Through books such as RobertTwigger’s ‘Angry White Pyjamas’chronicling his experience on theYoshinkan ‘instructor’s course,many in the West have come tothink of police instruction as verymuch the prerogative ofYoshinkan Aikido. This gruellingprogramme teaches a group ofcivilian ‘instructors’ from beginnerto black belt alongside anequivalent group from the TokyoRiot Police. However, despite itshigh profile Yoshinkan has neverbeen able to claim a monopoly ofpolice training in aikido and TomikiAikido has played a considerablepart in this process.

Ohba Sensei took up a post in theNational Rural Police, soon tomerge with the municipal police tobecome the Akita PrefecturalPolice Department on the 1 May1954. At that time he wasresponsible for the teaching ofjudo and police tactics (arrest andcompliance techniques), no doubtbased on his aikido training withTomiki.

His time at the Akita Policedepartment was characterised bythe qualities that he is so muchremembered for, his patience as ateacher, his concern to give praiseand encouragement and his ‘quiet’strength of spirit. He shared judoinstruction at that time with NatsuiShokichi. Natsui Shokichi becamethe first judo world champion in1956 and won the All-Japan JudoChampionship the following year.His period at the Akita PoliceDepartment is remembered as agolden age when he led, withOhba’s enthusiasticencouragement, the Akita Policejudo team to many victories.Natsui testifies to Ohba’spresence during his period at

Akita in this remembrancerecorded by Fumiaki ShishidaSensei.“Ohba Sensei always did his best totake care of me as well as thedepartment teams. He was verypleased when we won, too. Senseiwas a very serious person who wouldnever do anything outside of the rulebook, and he never claimed credit forhimself for anything, nor ever tried toappear in the limelight. Since it tookhim fully an hour and a half to get tothe Police Department from Yokote, Ithink it was really hard for him whenhe went home after the eveningpractice. However, he had a verystrong will and never said he wastired even if we had had a very hardpractice.During our relaxation time, he wouldplay his shakuhachi (Japanesebamboo flute) for us. We would alsodrink sake or play go together.Sensei was the type of a person whoalways tried to search for the "Way"(michi) in judo as well as in aikido. Isuppose that this was because hewas greatly influenced by TomikiSensei. He taught us the judo kata ingreat detail. It was all thanks to OhbaSensei that we have achieved whatwe have now.”

Ohba was also famous forteaching by embracing the role ofuke and allowing himself to bethrown by his opponents.Ryosuke Togashi describedOhba’s teaching methodology thisway:"Sensei used to let himself be thrownby his students. He was also aperson who always tried to praise hisstudents' good points whenever hefound them. He would praise them somuch that they would feelembarrassed."

This quality of ‘giving’ and goingout of his way to encourage anddevelop his students was a pre-eminent quality that our ownLesley Hepden, a much laterstudent of Ohba Sensei readilyendorses.Ohba, as we have noted was notonly an exponent of judo andaikido but very much aconsummate all round budopractitioner and participated in thepolice department’s kendomatches, often facing his

opponents in unorthodox fashion.In one match with a rival team hechose to face his opponent withtwo smaller ‘shoto’ versions ofshinai and in another noteworthybout with his naginata. We canspeculate that this broadknowledge of budo helped informthe development of his koryu katain his later life.This interesting, independent andrewarding career however, wassoon come to a sudden andunexpected close. In theSeptember of 1959 Ohbaresigned his position at the AkitaPolice Department in order to goto Tokyo at the request of KenjiTomiki, his teacher and mentor.We can imagine the importancethat Ohba attached to Tomiki’soffer, necessitating the disruptionof family life and career a move toTokyo entailed. Yet it offered newprospects and a new challenge,the opportunity to once againengage in their shared project, thecreation of modern, randori basedaikido that would complement andmatch the performance of judo.Not only was this challenge onoffer, but also the prospectthrough Tomiki sensei’s patronagethe post of an aikido and judoinstructor in the PE department ofWaseda University. A position atWaseda, one Japan’s premierprivate universities, was asituation of great prestige whichOhba was later to speak of as “agreater privilege than hedeserved” and one that he was“very grateful” for.

In the next issue we look at OhbaSensei’s close collaboration withKenji Tomiki in the formation ofCompetitive Aikido or TomikiAikido, his endeavors to spreadTomiki’s aikido across the worldand in particular his two visits tothe UK.

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AiKIDo Juniors& Youth

Sarah Fletcher BAA Youth Development Officer

BAA Junior/ Youth Development DaysJunior/ Youth developmentsessions are an opportunity forjuniors/youths aged 4-18 year’s totrain on the same mat with avariety of different clubs andinstructors from around the UKand Ireland. We are running 4junior/youth developmentsessions in 2015. Juniordevelopment days do counttowards the Youth and JuniorAward Scheme.

The first will be hosted atKingfisher Aikido Club, WoodfieldAcademy, Studley Road,Redditch, B98 7HH.Sunday 18th January 2015Time 10:00am – 1:00pmTraining fee - £8.Coaches: -PHIL BIRD 6th Dan (KingfisherAikido)MARK ALDRIDGE 4th Dan

(Wharfedale Tomiki Aikido)SARAH FLETCHER 2nd Dan(Leeds Central Aikido)

Future sessions

26th April 2015 BAA Junior / Youthdevelopment session, ShogunAikido Kai, Herne Bay, Kent

11th July 2015 BAA Junior / Youthdevelopment session, GreenhillsTomiki Aikido, Dublin

4th October 2015 BAA Junior /Youth development session,Leeds Central Aikido, Leeds

For more information pleasecontactSarah Fletcher - Youth@aikido-baa.org.uk

BAA Junior Open South CompetitionOn Saturday 22nd November2014 eighty-five of the BAA’sjunior and youth competitorsturned out for the Junior OpenSouth championships in HighWycombe. It was an extremelysuccessful day with allcompetitors demonstrating somegreat Aikido and excellentsportsmanship.

Congratulations to all those whotook part, and thank you to all thereferees and assistants whohelped the day to run smoothly.We hope to see you at the BAAJunior competitions in 2015:

BAA Junior Open North - 14th

March 2015 – Bradford

BAA Junior National – 27th June2015 – Bradford

BAA Junior Open South – 21st

November 2015- High Wycombe.

Junior competitions count towardsthe Youth and Junior AwardScheme.

For more information pleasecontactSarah Fletcher - Youth@aikido-baa.org.uk

UNDER 8’s

Randori No KataBronze –GRUNDY +OOSTERVICH (YJH)Silver- RYAN + LING (GTA)Gold – WALON + CARTER (HUD)

KakarigeikoBronze – CARTER + WALON(HUD)Silver – PARKER + COX (LCA)Gold – OOSTERVICH +GRUNDY(YJH)

Ninin DoriBronze – KANE, LING + RYAN(GTA)Silver – WALON, CARTER +GRUNDY (HUD/YJH)Gold – FOX, PARKER + COX(SHE/LDS)

Best individualLING (TGA)

UNDER 10’s

Randori No KataBronze – COMPSTON + COX(LDS)Silver - BISHOP +MASTERFEANO (YJH)Gold – HARTSHORNE +KELLETT (YJH)

Junior Open SouthCompetition Results

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BAA Junior Open South Competition Results continued

AiKIDo

KakarigeikoBronze – SIMPSON + VINT (EAS)Silver – FLETCHER +COMPSTON (LDS)Gold – KELLETT +HARTSHORNE (HUD)

Ninin DoriBronze –COMPSTON,FLETCHER + BAREHAM(LDS/WHA)Silver – BISHOP,MASTERFEANO + GRUNDY(YJH)Gold – HARTSHORNE, KELEM +OOSTERVICH (YJH)

Best individualBAREHAM (WHA)

UNDER 12’s

Randori No KataBronze – CAIRNES +KEYWORTH (YJH)Silver- RYAN + ROONEY (GTA)Gold – GOODALL + PILLING(LDS)

KakarigeikoBronze – PEARCE + NEILD(LDS/SAK)Silver – RYAN + CONROY (GTA)Gold – GOODALL + PILLING(LDS)

Ninin DoriBronze – HEATH, NEILD +CHILLINGWORTH (SAK)Silver – CONROY, RYAN +ROONEY (GTA)Gold – GOODALL, PILLING +LAKE (LDS)

Tanto TaisabakiBronze – PEARCE (LDS)

Silver – HEATH (SAK)Gold – KELLY (GTA)

Best individualCAIRNES (YJH)

UNDER 14’s

Randori No KataBronze – BARNBY + WALKER(YJH)Silver - FIRTH + YOUNG (HUD)Gold – HARRISON + PULLAN(HUD)

KakarigeikoBronze – FIELDING + WONG(TAN)Silver – GALIEV + FIRTH (HUD)Gold – HARRISON + YOUNG(HUD)Ninin DoriBronze – SMITH, WONG + HILLS(TAN)Silver – BANBY, WALKER +KATO (YJH)Gold – YOUNG, GALIEV + FIRTH(HUD)

Best individualYOUNG (HUD)

UNDER 16’s

Juniors& Youth

Randori No KataBronze – BOLTON + GANDER(LDS)Silver- CHESHIRE + RILEY (LDS)Gold – ROWE + KATO (YJH)

Open KataBronze – ROWE + KATO (YJH)Silver- BOLTON + GANDER(LDS)Gold – HARRISON + BARKER(HUD)

KakarigeikoBronze – LAKE + PILLING (LDS)Silver – BARKER + EMMERSON(HUD)Gold – BOLTON + GANDER(LDS)

Ninin DoriBronze – BALL, BARKER +EMMERSON (HUD)Silver – BOLTON, GANDER +PEARCE (LDS)Gold – ROWE, KATO + WALKER(YJH)

Tanto TaisabakiBronze – GORNELL (BRD)Silver – GANDER (LDS)Gold – HARRISON (HUD)

Best individualLAKE (LDS)

Team champions1st – Leeds Central Aikido2nd – Yon Ju Hachi3rd – Huddersfield Tomiki Aikido

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Juniors& YouthAiKIDo

The Second Junior and Youth TomikiAikido European Championship

24 juniors and youths fromSheffield Aikido, Leeds CentralAikido, Skipton Aikido, WharfedaleAikido and Bradford Aikido clubstrained together and competed asone team at the Second Junior

The two BAA Teams, Yorkshire and Huddersfield who represented the UK at the Second Junior andYouth Tomiki Aikido European Championship in St Petersburg, Russia this year.

and Youth Tomiki AikidoChampionships, held 1,900 milesaway in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Juniors and youths took part inregular Yorkshire team sessionsfor many months leading up to thecompetition, as well as many hardsessions at their own clubs.Parents and coaches are veryproud of the Yorkshire team forboth personal and teamachievements. Milly Bolton, co-captain, with Aryan Gornall said, “Iwas amazed at the successachieved by the team. Thesupport and teamwork wasoutstanding! I am so proud ofeverybody!”

Ellie Gander brought home thefirst Youth Tanto Randori medal.Winning Silver in thechampionships was a greatpersonal achievement and club

achievement and we are all veryproud of her.

Sarah Fletcher &Jim Bolton

The Yorkshire Team

Ellie Gander16-18 women’s Tanto RandoriSilver Medalist

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AiKIDo Juniors& Youth

The Second Junior and Youth Tomiki AikidoEuropean Championship continued

All of the team is lookingforward to the Third Junior andYouth Tomiki Aikido EuropeanChampionship, which will beheld in Sheffield, July 2016.

ResultsAge 6-7Jake Fox, Phoebe Parker andEthan Cox – Bronze – Ninindori

Age10-12Danny Goodall and Joe Pilling –Silver – Randori no Kata (10Techniques)

Age 13-15Kate Bolton and Edward Gander –Bronze – Tanto Kakari-GeikoHarry Pilling, Patrick Lake andNathan Cox – Bronze – Ninindori

When we arrived at the airportvery early in the morning it wasgreat to meet up as a team and

get us into the spirit.

When we arrived in St Petersburg

it was freezing and we were verytired and hungry. We all squeezedinto little coaches to get to ourhotel. We all huddled up on thesofas in Reception waiting forkeys to our rooms. We walkedaround in the freezing townlooking for somewhere to eat.Eventually we found a little caféwhere we had soup, chicken saladand squash to drink.

In the morning we had breakfastin the hotel, which was unusualbecause we had cheese and ham,beetroot and cucumber. We goton a coach, which took us aroundthe city. We went past palaces,cathedrals and the famous sightsof St Petersburg. We stopped atSaint Isaac’s Cathedral andclimbed up the spiral stairs to theroof where we had a magnificentview of the whole city. It was verybeautiful.

Competition day.

I was very nervous when we wokeup on the morning of thecompetition and so was everyoneelse. We travelled as a group onthe underground tube train to thedojo. When we walked in it allbecome very real. We had to takeoff our shoes, coats and get readyin our gi’s with our competitor

Age 16-18Milly Bolton and Ellie Gander –Bronze – Randori no Kata (17Techniques)Milly Bolton and Ellie Gander –Silver – Tanto Kakari-GeikoMilly Bolton, Ellie Gander andChloe Duckett – Gold - NinindoriEllie Gander – Silver - TantoRandori

Chris and Charlotte training together on the Youth & Junior Tomiki Aikido EuropeDevelopment Day

Charlotte GanderMy trip to St Petersburg October 2014

Charlotte Gander, one of the junior members of the Yorkshireteam has written the following report of the event.

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numbers on. There were lots ofpeople from Russia who alsolooked very nervous. The Russiancompetitors all looked really goodso I was extremely nervous whenit was my turn to go onto the matwith my partner Scarlet. But aftera long day all our hard work paidoff because I was very proud ofmyself and although I didn’t getany medals I was happy that I hadtried my hardest and had takenpart in such a great experience.

The next day we returned to thedojo for the finals! It was a verytense day for all of us watchingour team trying their hardest andachieving lots of medals. I was

AiKIDo Juniors& Youth

The Second Junior and Youth Tomiki AikidoEuropean Championship continued

Congratulations to theHuddersfield Team who enteredthis year’s Junior and YouthTomiki Aikido EuropeanChampionship, staged in Russia.

Daniil GalievKaitlen YoungElise HarrisonLuke BarkerJake Pullan

Huddersfield Medals:Under 16's JunanahonGold - Elise Harrison and LukeBarkerUnder 19's Tanto KakarigeikoGold - Luke Barker and JakePullanUnder 19's Open KataGold - Jake Pullan and EliseHarrisonUnder 19's Ninin doriSilver - Luke Barker and JakePullan and Elise HarrisonUnder 16's Tanto TaisabakiBronze - Luke Barker

The Huddersfield Team

very proud to be part of theYorkshire team. In the evening wewent for a meal to celebratehosted by the Russian team,which was a great chance to chatand make friends.

Even though we were absolutelyshattered after the competition wereturned to the dojo for one morevisit the next day to take part in anumber of seminar sessionswhere we all worked together todevelop our Aikido and learn fromeach other.

To relax on our final day in Russiawe went on another trip to theSummer Palace, which wasabsolutely beautiful and almostcovered in gold. We boughtsouvenirs to remember ourfantastic trip to Russia. I willalways remember this fantasticexperience and the feeling ofbeing part of a great team whosupported each other all the way!

Charlotte Gander age 11 (LeedsCentral Aikido) Yorkshire Aikido.

Bob Jones 7 Dan BAA teaching on the Tomiki Europe Development Day

Randori no Kata Embu

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sport, is often divided into agegroups for the purpose of fairerand safer competitions. Aikido issimilar with junior and youthcompetition divided into agegroups and with competitiveRandori set at 18 years minimumage in order to allow for bonestructure set. Currently theassociation also sets a minimumage to hold a Dan grade at 16years and 6 months in order foryoung people to start the processof understanding free playespecially Hikitategieko and lightRandori. Coach awards can onlybe held by 18 year olds due totheir legal responsibilities andaccess to liability insurance,although the association iscurrently investigating Junior andYouth Leadership awards.

Chronological AgeIs the calendar age of a youngperson that provides a roughindicator of potential developmentbut cannot be used as anabsolute indicator of ability ordevelopment. Academicsmeasure physical, mental,intellectual, social, skills andacademic successes against theaverage for each age. Thechronological age has a direct linkwith legal age.

Learning and Developmentrelies on several keyconsiderations including: -

Training AgePrevious experience, like buildingblocks better performance oftenrelies on previous learning,knowledge and understanding.For a example, young people whohave experienced gymnasticsmay be conversant with tumbling;therefore forward rolls may notpresent themselves as a barrier tolearning. However the style offalling or tumbling may have to beunlearned in order to execute aforward roll suitable for Aikido.Great care is required toprogressively develop a youngperson’s gross and fine motorskills. Gaining an understanding ofyoung people’s previous learningexperiences may provide positivebenefits to coaching. If a youngperson has no experience of anactivity then their training age isestablished at zero and has to benurtured from that point.

Legal AgeWithin society in general the legalage of boundaries for youngpeople will vary according to theactivity undertaken. Accessing thevote, permission for marriage, carinsurance premiums, enlisting inthe Armed Forces, driving test andlicense all occur at different ages.Sport, especially competitive

Physical or Developmental AgeIs related to the patterns of growthexhibited by young people. Frombirth until final adult stature, atapproximately twenty to twenty-five years of age, there will becontinuous but sporadic growth.There are four stages of growthbetween birth and adulthoodincluding: -

· Rapid growth duringinfancy and earlychildhood

· Slow steady gains duringmiddle childhood

· Rapid gain duringadolescence

· Decreased gain postadolescence.

There are only minor differencesbetween boys and girls beforeadolescence, though boys tend tobe slightly taller. During thegrowth period the head doubles inlength, trunk trebles, armsquadruple, and legs increase fivefold. During adolescence “growthspurts” occur, these rapid andrandom increases in growth cancreate added disruption to the

Coaching Young People in Tomiki AikidoLearning and Development (Part Two) Bob Jones

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growth cycle and transition toadulthood. Given these factors afour-year range in developmentage can exist between youngpeople of the same chronologicalage. This can create problemswithin sports that divideplayers/practice alongchronological age parameters.

Mental Age includingPsychological, Moral, Social andIntellectualAgain with any young person afour-year difference betweenthese and the chronological agemay be exhibited. Therefore theoverall maturity of a young personcan vary greatly from individual toindividual.

What does this mean for theCoach?

That there can be no standardassumptions about thedevelopment of young peopleeither mentally or physicallyrelating to age or size.Assessments should be made oneach individual to determine their

history, current abilities andpotential. This would enable acoaching/ development plan thatbest suits the individual.

That categorization of youngpeople into age groups for trainingor competition is problematic andit is virtually impossible to createstructures or formats that provideequity and accommodate allyoung people. If we tried wewould have to attempt to dividenot only by age but also grade,weight and size, gender andrange of disability to ensure a fairplaying field. However, havingsaid that, by dividing groups onage does allow for moreappropriate coaching and learningstyles providing for more relevantmethodologies to young people tobe adopted.

Specific skill development maybehampered by a young person’spervious experiences and must beunderpinned by a range ofrelevant tasks or exercises toimprove their basic skill level.Gross and fine motor skills arecrucial to young people’sdevelopmental they includeeverything from standing, walkingand rolling to tying a belt. Grossmotor skills are used in thoseactivities that involve thecoordination of several largermuscle groups, like throwing orfalling. Fine motor skills are usedin activities that primarily involvethe hands and fingers, like usinghand blades. You can developmotor skills in young people byinteracting with them in aprogressive series of activities thatconstantly challenges them toimprove and use these motorskills in a progressive fashion.Games are a useful tool that helpincrease motor skills, they are notonly fun and keep young peopleengaged but also mirror specificskills and aid their development.

Some learning styles andcoaching methodologies maybeinappropriate for some youngpeople and adult approaches maynot be suitable. A focus should be

made on active experientialapproaches, learning by doing,with less reliance on the spokenword.

Physically young people may lookcapable but are psychologicallyunprepared for a specific activityor the reverse may be true thatmentally some young people areextremely confident and capablebut physically immature. Greatcare must be taken to ensure thatactivities are fit for purpose andthat young people are “coached”appropriately in preparation forfuture activity.

Coaching young people is not aneasy task and should not beentered into withoutunderstanding and preparation. Itis highly demanding and at timesfrustrating but extremelyrewarding. Young people are thefuture of Aikido and with carefulnurturing can and do becomeexcellent Aikidoka.

To be continued

Tadayuki Sato Sensei inKawasaki DVD

For those of us that were unableto attend the 2013 InternationalAikido Festival and AikidoTournament in Kawasaki, thenthis DVD produced by the JAAenables you to catch up with Satosensei’s teaching session at theevent. Presented here are thebasic principles and rules for theJAA’s new concept of ToshuRandori.

Available from the JAA: Enquiriesto info@aikido-kyokai.com

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DBS (CRB) Check for Free!Francis Burgess BAA Child Welfare Officer

BAA Executive Commitee

All Coaches within the BAA arerequired to have  a Disclosure andBarring (DBS) check. The DBScheck has replaced the oldCriminal Record Bureau (CRB)check. Until the end of February2015 the British AikidoAssociation will cover the cost of aDBS check for all it's coaches thatcurrently hold Personal Indemnity(PI) Insurance.

All the BAA DBS checks are nowdone electronically online and assuch all applicants have to havean email address. All that isrequired is for an applicant tosupply the email address to one ofthe verifiers. The verifier will thenactivate the email id to the onlinesystem which is run for the BAAby the umbrella group OnlineDisclosures.

The BAA has four verifiers FrancisBurgess(FrancisDBurgess@hotmail.com) ,Paul Holding(paulholdingz@Hotmail.com),Terry Gibbs(tgibbs1@virginmedia.com) andMark Aldridge(tykeaiki@icloud.com) .

Once the applicants emailaddress has been activated to theonline system the applicant willreceive an email telling them howto proceed to the application site.Once on the site an applicant is

guided through the formcompletion and submits it whencompleted. Whilst completing theonline application the applicantwill be asked to providedocuments to verify their identity.There are a number of choice thatcan be made and the applicationform will not let the applicationproceed until sufficient informationis provided.

The next stage is to provide thedocuments to one of the verifiersfor verification - this can be donein person or by supplying thedocuments in the post. Pleasenote it is recommended that whenusing the postal system sufficientcare is taken to ensure thedelivery of valuable documentssuch as a passport etc. The BAAverifier will send documents back2nd Class signed for unless theapplicant wants something else inwhich case they need to coverany extra postage.

Once an applicant is verified theverifier submits the applicationform and the DBS check begins -this can take 6 - 8 weeks, but isnormally much quicker.The completed check document issent directly back to the applicantand unless the BAA Child WelfareOfficer requests a copy that is thecheck completed. The BAA ChildWelfare Officer gets notified thatsomething has shown up on a

check, but has no knowledge ofwhat has shown up and so isrequired to see the disclosuredocument.  Any disclosure isbrought to the attention of theattention of the CaseManagement Group who willdecide if there is a risk to under18's. At this point furtherinformation may be requested.Please note only the BAA ChildWelfare Officer will know whoapplicant is that has hadsomething show on theirdisclosure - details of theapplicant will be madeanonymous prior to the discloserbeing brought to the casemanagement group.If at any time an applicant refusesto supply a disclosure or furtherinformation when requested theyare suspended from a coachingrole and in extreme cases theirBAA membership suspended.

All applicants have the right toappeal any adverse decision, butit should be remembered that anappeal would mean anonymity islost.

Any question please contact theBAA Child Welfare Officer FrancisBurgess.

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Contact: shizentai@aikido-baa.org.uk

Keep up to date with BAA Courses& Events in 2015

Thinking of replacing your old Gi? Then take advantage of this greatoffer negotiated by the BAA for our members. Help promote theBAA’s highly professional corporate image.

BAA Logo EmbroideryProduct code: EZ-4£10.00 £5.00We are pleased to offer this specially discounted option to all BAA members!We can apply this to Gi, bags and casual products for the hugely reduced price of £5.00 + VAT.You simply need to add this item to the basket to proceed.  The standard position for Gi embroideryis the left upper arm.  If you require a non-standard position or wish to have this on another productfrom our range, then please send us a brief email with your order ID and a description of whereyou would like us to apply it for you.http://www.ninecircles.co.uk/Clothing/Embroidery_Service/BAA_Logo_Embroidery.aspx

January 2015 11 BAA Squad Session

Wolverhampton31/1 Feb BAA Winter SchoolSheffield

February 201515 BAA Squad SessionWolverhampton

March 20158 BAA National

Championships Dartford Judo Centre

14 BAA Junior Open North Bradford

22 BAA Squad Session Wolverhampton

29 EC NorthamptonApril 2015

11-12 BAA Rising DawnIreland19 BAA Squad Session

Wolverhampton

May 201510 EC/AGM Northampton17 BAA Squad Session

Wolverhampton23-25 BAA Spring SchoolWinchester TBC

June 201514 BAA Squad SessionWolverhampton21 Club ChampionshipsSheffield TBC27 BAA Junior NationalsBradford

July 201519 BAA Squad SessionWolverhampton24-26 BAA Summer SchoolLeeds TBC

August 20159 BAA Squad Session Wolverhampton

29 -30 SAF InternationalCompetition Cold Coast,Australia

September 201526-27 BAA SOTR SchoolSouth TBC

October 201511 EC Northampton22 – 26 JAA/TAINInternational CompetitionSwitzerland

November 20157 & 8 BAA Autumn SchoolHerne Bay TBC21 BAA Junior Open SouthHigh Wycombe Judo Centre

December 2015

TBC to be confirmed