It has been two months since our seminar with
Tazaki Sensei, but every time I get back to the dojo, it feels like just last weekend. There is still that much I have to take in and incorporate in my training. Along with the rest of the attendees, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We are still revisiting the teaching points and key concepts Sensei shared with us. As in all of the previous times Sensei has led a weekend seminar with us over the past decade, our dojo continues to grow.
Sensei focused on distilling some advanced concepts of
Nishio Ryu tachi tori, toshu henka, and ninindori techniques into straightforward instruction that all levels of students could understand. During our Friday evening session, Shoanjuku student Pat B successfully tested for the rank of Shodan!
During our Iaido sessions, Tazaki Sensei challenged us to understand the draw and how to continue it to an effective conclusion. A few of us also honed our skills in various Omori Ryu sitting kata.
I have processed and posted photos from the event. We had a total of four sessions, but since I was a participant as well as the principal photographer, there are large gaps. We had visitors from both the east and west coasts of the United States. Jeff Learned Sensei traveled with Tazaki Sensei from California to share his insight and help us improve the subtlety of our Iaido kata. Enrique Marentes Sensei, his wife Susan, and one of their students, Kevin, joined us from locations on the east coast.
It was a pleasure to host so many wonderful friends! We look forward to it again next year. Keep an eye out for an announcement of our fall 2008 seminar schedule.
