A very happy Christmas to members old and new and also to old friends whereever you are. Warm wishes to you all for a very happy and healthy New Year.

The last session of this year is Tuesday 20th December. Senior classes will resume on Tuesday January 3rd 2012 and Juniors Wednesday 4th.

The course to be held this weekend 15th &16th October, is now Saturday 15th only, at the same time of 2pm -6pm. The  Sunday Aikido class will run as normal.

Sensei Foster visited our dojo every year in October to teach a weekend course. Sadly he is no longer with us and so this years’ course will be instructed by two of Sensei’s most senior students, Frank Burlingham and William Timms. The course is a tribute to Sensei Foster who we miss greatly at Yama Arashi.

The training times are as follows:

Saturday 15th October 2pm-6pm

Sunday 16th October 10.30-12.30

The Yama Arashi UK Dan Gradings were held at the dojo on Sunday 18th September. This traditional annual event began with a two hour training session on Friday evening, with another four hours on Saturday afternoon. Friday evening was instructed by Barbara, with the Saturday sessions shared with the other 5th Dans, Grev Cooke, Brian Kennedy and Ric Costigan.

The weekend was very well attended, with Coventry members and members from YA Stratford and members from Milton Keynes. It was a pleasure to see Dean from Scotland, who travelled down as normal and brought three of his students for their first visit to our dojo.( Dean is our camera man who seems to bring more photography equipment every year!)

There were three 1st Dan Gradings this year, Steven Barnett, who started Aikido as a junior member at 12 years old, so has been practicing at the club for ten years, Chris Cox and Toby Quosh, a student from Ric’s club at Stratford.

The 2nd Dans were Mark Burton, Jake Irwin and Dennis Younge. All were successful, which made for a very pleasant meal afterwards at The Bell and an evening back at the club.  This was rounded off with Marianne demonstrating her excellent belly dancing skills to us, with a few brave souls joining in to have a go. Photos to follow soon!

Very well done to all and my thanks to all those who helped out over the weekend.

Junior Aikido Summer Timetable

The Junior timetable will be amended for the summer holidays:

Tuesdays- as normal timetable

Wednesdays- no class

Fridays- one class only 6.15-7.15

(no 5.15-6.15)

 Saturdays- classes as normal timetable

 All Juniors welcome on all classes regardless of grade.

 Juniors also welcome on Thursday morning class 11.00-12.30

 Temporary changes to take effect from Tuesday July 26^th until Tuesday 6^th  September(classes as normal on 6^th)

Over Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th June 2011, Broadland Aikido Club once again hosted the annual weekend course which has become so much a part of several Aikido Associations’ calendar.  This year’s event was entitled  “Tribute to Lost Friends,” in honour not only of Senseis Haydn Foster and Pat Narey, whom we have lost since last year’s course, but also all those who sadly have left us over the 13 years the event has been running.

Sensei Frank Burlingham, who organised the first “Big 3″ course in May 1999, started Saturday’s proceedings by thanking the guest Senseis and all the students for attending, but then explained that this was to be the last one, as he considered that the series had arrived at its natural conclusion after the loss of the last of the original instructors.

 Sensei Burlingham explained for newcomers that he had organised that first course by telling each of the three “Big” instructors that the other two had already agreed!  Bit of a risk, of course, but it paid off handsomely.  The “Big 3″ were Senseis Haydn Foster, 7th Dan Institute of Aikido; William Smith, MBE, Shihan of the United Kingdom Aikikai; and Tom Moss, then 5th Dan, later 6th Dan Yama Arashi UK.  So these three Associations came together for the first time, in such a resoundingly successful event that even before the last foot had left the mat, Sensei Burlingham was being asked when the next course was to be held, and had very little option but to start organising what he then decided to call “The Big Three + 1.” 

What Sensei Frank intended, of course, was “The Big 3″ Plus One Year, but by then the three Senseis had discovered his little deception, and they decided that the “+ 1″ would have to be Frank himself!  And again, an outstandingly successful course, characterised not only by the standard and variety of Aikido, but also in the attitude of both students and Senseis, who demonstrated a true Aiki attitude of harmony and friendship with the other Associations, such that people who only saw each other at these courses looked forward to meeting again at the next year’s course.  Indeed, at the Registration desk this year, it was less like an Aikido course and more like a Family re-union!

 The recession has regrettably had some effect on the number of students able to afford the weekend, down slightly from an all-time high one year of about 150 over the weekend of the first course, but still easily high enough to fill the mat comfortably on both days, actually no bad thing when students are using jo and bokken!

 After the unfortunate early loss of Sensei Tom Moss, the next course was dedicated as a Tribute to him, similar dedications being made after Sensei William Smith passed away, and also Shihan Ken Cottier, who had been another guest-instructor. Over the years, other superlative instructors have been invited, including Sensei Shane Riley, 7th Dan of White Rose Aikikai; Sensei Philip Lee of Singapore; Sensei Htun Han (3^rd Dan); and Sensei Frank’s own long-term Sensei, Shihan Osamu Obata, 7^th Dan,  to name just a few.

 This year’s guests included Sensei Lawson Moore, 5th Dan Institute of Aikido, and long-term friend and associate of Sensei Foster, who demonstrated basic weapons work, but left-handed and in the opposite posture, which definitely presented some special challenges; and Sensei Simon Thackeray, also 5th Dan IoA, who took the first session on Sunday morning and proved that the Chinese are apparently correct in thinking that we Westerners have “Hurry Disease!” 

 Sensei William Timms, also 5th Dan IoA, led an interesting session on Sunday when he talked about and demonstrated the connection between uke and tori, within the technique and ukemi, and also some kata dori attacks and responses, but unfortunately due to travelling-time had to leave before the end of the day, as did Sensei Mario Falaschi, 5th Dan UK Aikikai, whose session concentrated on various yokomen attacks and some very effective responses.

 Sensei Barbara Moss, 5th Dan Principal of the Yama Arashi (UK) Association, included in her class the first half of a kata devised by Sensei Tom, and, being of a petite build, demonstrated convincingly that actually “size DOESN’T matter;” while Sensei Philip Smith has clearly inherited the Bokken-gene from his father, and put this to emphatic effect by demonstrating how techniques with and without the bokken produce exactly the same result on the uke.  He also showed some “fully-prone submission” techniques which resulted in the uke almost achieving escape-velocity!

 Sensei Frank himself, 5th Dan Institute of Aikido and also 5th Dan Hombu (United Kingdom Aikikai), showed us among other things how the balance-point of the jo combines with the twist of the wrist to produce an irresistible posture-break and projection, which judging by the subsequent immediate improvement in technique, clarified for many students the effectiveness of the jo in Aikido.

 But sadly, “All Good Things Come To An End,” and all too soon it was time for the final Reis, the presentation of “Thank-You” gifts from Sensei Frank to the guest-instructors, and thanks to all the students who had attended over this weekend and others in the series – and naturally, as a finale, a swift soda-water (!) in the bar before departure…….

 Although the sequence of courses which began with “The Big Three” has now ended, there is  “light at the end of the tunnel.’  It is planned that the Lowestoft course will return in about two years (as it will probably take that long to organise), but with a different and – hopefully – unique theme; so “Watch This Space!”

 Marianne

In view of the sad passing away of Sensei Foster, the course in October will  now be instructed by Senseis Frank Burlingham and William Timms, senior instructors from the Institute of Aikido. This course will be a tribute for Sensei Foster. The dates are different from the ones stated on the calendar. The new dates are, Saturday and Sunday 15th/16th October 2011 and not 8th/9th.

 Haydn Foster, Shihan 7th Dan, passed away suddenly yesterday, Sunday 13th February 2011. His passing is a huge loss to the Aikido world and a great loss to all of us at Yama Arashi UK. Sensei Foster was the last surviving Sensei of the  ”Big 3″ and has been teaching at our dojo for many years. His unique style of teaching, his humour on and off the mat ( and his lovely laugh) will always be remembered by us.  He became a good friend to me, as he was to the late Tom Moss, who I know held him in such high esteem. I so enjoyed the times I sat next to him at social occasions listening to him relate his many Aikido memories and stories and wondering how he managed to remember so much detail from so many years ago. My sincere condolences on behalf of all of us go to Mrs Foster, Paul and all other family members. My sympathy also to the members of the Institute for the loss of their Sensei and their friend.

Hi Everyone. I hope you all had a  lovely Christmas and have now recharged the batteries ready for another year of Aikido/fitness. The calendar for 2011 will be finished very soon so please make a note of grading/course dates for the coming months.   All classes as normal from Wednesday 5th January. Wishing you a very happy and healthy 2011.