Held over the first weekend of October, Maruyama Sensei came to visit us at UNSW dojo as he does each year.  However this year was different on a number of levels.

Rather than being held over a long weekend, it was crammed into two days.  Gradings were held during morning and afternoon sessions in an attempt to fit them all into a tighter timetable, and I think this was a good thing. Training was broken up more and each grading session was shorter which kept the attention of everyone longer. I somehow feel that the gradings ended up being much more exciting. 

As there was less teaching time, Sensei probably didn’t have to repeat himself as much. Maruyama Sensei generally does not teach many techniques and for the first time he stressed this point to everyone - obviously someone had asked him the taboo question.  Sensei stressed that teaching the techniques are all up to the senior students and he is to improve the quality of the technique by focussing on principles. He also touched on the fact that you only need one technique if you have the quality. I am extremely happy that these points were brought up so succinctly by Sensei, however I still long to see a spectacular throw as I saw from the late Saito Sensei all those years back.  It still haunts me, the sheer power and casual abandon at which it was performed. Speaking with Adam, it is clear that it still sticks with him and I think over time the tale will grow like a fisherman’s exploits.

Sensei brought with him one of his longest time students, Ralph Pillischer. 

Ralph is a gentle soul who has experienced Maruyama Sensei’s aikido for 39 years and lived for over 73 of them. He was there during the early days when Sensei was still teaching the Aikikai style he was originally taught all the way through his transition to Ki-Society and the development of Kokikai Aikido. To hear and see someone who has stuck with Sensei for so long is nothing but simple proof that Maruyama Sensei is a formidable martial artist. I think my respect for Sensei has deepened, however I still yearn to see a flash of magic in a technique which defies comprehension.

This year was the last year Glen would be acting president and at the end of the camp he handed over the reins to Allen Iu. I’d like to thank Glen for running the club during a time where we were trying to find our identity and stand tall amongst other established arts. That said, I also look forward to the fresh feel that I expect Allen will bring to the organisation.