by Robert Wolfe
Congratulations
Kirsten and Budd!
The
big news this update is that Kirsten and Budd welcomed into the world their son,
Andrew Johannes Yuhasz, at 4:50 pm on Monday, September 29th. All is well with
baby and mom.
Shoden
Promotions
Because
our aikido curriculum is eclectic to begin with, and to avoid some of the
folderol associated with dan-grades, Itten Dojo utilizes a unique system for
black-belt “ranks.” Our three-tier system awards certificates for
demonstrated understanding and application of “Shoden” (initial teachings),
“Chuden” (middle-level teachings), and “Okuden” (“hidden”
teachings). The first certificates awarded under this system were presented to
Jevin Orcutt and Budd Yuhasz on September 23rd, following their successful
Shoden examinations on the 20th, the culmination of six and five years,
respectively, of intense effort and dedication -- in both cases on top of many
years previous training in other arts. These two promotions are also the first
black-belt promotions within this dojo in seven years.
Amdur
Sensei to Visit Aikidokai
The
final seminar devoted to development of our aikido curriculum will take place
November 7th through 9th. Amdur Sensei will arrive Friday afternoon and return
home Sunday afternoon -- in between, he'll review and tweak our techniques and
exercises. Friday evening and Sunday morning sessions will be open only to the
instructor cadre (brown-belts and black-belts), while all members of the aikido
class should do all they can to participate in the Saturday morning and
afternoon sessions. Registration fees for this seminar are $50 for white-belts
and green-belts; $75 for brown-belts and black-belts. Please note that this
seminar is open only to members of the dojo and invited guests.
Dates
Set for Internal Skills Workshop
Mike Sigman will return to Itten Dojo in March to continue sharing the theory and methodology of training internal skills (ki/kokyu). As was the case with Mr. Sigman's first visit earlier this year, the workshop will be limited to 30 participants, but unlike the first time around, participation will be restricted to persons who have trained previously with Mr. Sigman or who are invited personally by him. There will be a private session for those members of Itten Dojo actively training internal skills, the evening of Friday, March 20th, with the primary sessions of the workshop conducted on Saturday and Sunday, March 21st and 22nd.