The dojo was closed for about 17 months. The NY Aikikai offered zoom classes for most of those months. After all the effort done to re-open the dojo, finally Yamada Sensei got to teach on Tuesday June 8th. It was a very festive day at the dojo.
On Tuesday June 8th, Yamada Sensei came back to the mat to teach his first class of 2021. 17 month had passed with the dojo closed due to the pandemic.
Donovan Waite Shihan, 7th Dan AikikaiNovember 1957 – February 2021
At the beginning, I didn’t get him. His aikido was different, so different from what I had seen in those early years practicing aikido. And I had barely heard of him. When I took my first class with him, I was there, at the New York Aikikai, to train as an uchi-deshi under Yamada Sensei. Oh, how things … [Read more…]
Living as a deshi of a true budo requires dedication. The rewards are immense, though. You can be a live-in deshi (uchi) or a deshi that doesn’t live in the dojo (soto) while you follow this path. Either way, the process doesn’t have to be all sacrifice. You can have fun and camaraderie, too. (All photographs Copyright … [Read more…]