Lancashire Aikikai Magazine No 3 - published May 2002
Editorial
A slight change to what was previously advertised in LA No 2 AD Bleasdale's
article 'The Power of Atemi' will appear in the next edition. In the light
of the events of September 11th 2001 and the current increase in street
crime the article by Dean Marshall was appropriate.
Sadly Mrs Mucha passed away on 20th April 2002. I am sure many throughout the association will miss her. It is fitting then that we should be running an article about Sensei Marion Mucha, the founder of the Lancashire Aikikai, whose wife did much to support him in his pursuit of Aikido.
Thanks to Hephzibah Yohannan for allowing us to reprint the article about Sensei Mucha which first appeared in 'Fighting Arts' magazine back in 1993 with John Cox.
I am also grateful to the following people for contributing to the publication: - Sue Baird, Andrew Baird, Peter Philippson, William Smalley and Dean Marshall without which we wouldn't have a publication.
If you would like to contribute to the magazine please send to the address below: -
Alan Lock
Contents
An Interview with Sensei Marion Mucha by Hephzibah
Yohannan
Weapons Practice by William Smalley
Aikido - Living a philosophy of Life by Dean Marshall
Reviews
Coaching
Grading News
Course Dates
Club directory
An Interview with Sensei Marion Mucha by Hephzibah Yohannan
This is situated on its own web page for easy of access. Click
here
Weapons Practice by William Smalley
Since the re-introduction of weapons back into the general Aikido syllabus there still doesn't seem to be any uniformity in what we are practising.
The introduction of the Steve Magson weapons courses, although interesting and useful I feel may confuse Kyu grades by teaching another system of weapons practice different to that taught by Sensei Mucha.
Sensei Mucha taught me all I know about weapons and there is enough information in the Lancashire Aikikai weapons syllabus to keep anybody busy for quite a long time,
Therefore I have decided to concentrate on the Lancashire Aikikai weapons syllabus as taught by Sensei Mucha, and that only; and forego Steve Magson's teaching, as good as it is. In doing so I am adhering to Sensei Mucha's dying wish that I continue to teach weapons within the Lancashire Aikikai.
Those students wishing to improve their weapons training are more than welcome at the chatty club. (See also Weapons courses May & October 2002) If anybody would like to discuss this matter further they can contact me on the following telephone number - 01257 268572
Aikido
Living a philosophy of life by Dean Marshall
September 11th 2001 was a watershed in world history. It signified the extremes that organised terrorism is prepared to go to in pursuit of its ideals. It took an event as horrific as this to mobilise governments around the world to do something to stop them. Thirty years too late.
On the domestic front politicians and the police quote statistics that say that crime is coming down, but violent crime is on the increase, by their own admission. You only need to turn on the TV or open a newspaper to see that. Our society is becoming more violent, even the most senior chief constable in Britain has admitted that crime is out of control and the current legal system cannot hold.
Mobile phone muggings, car jacking, pensioners being beaten and sometimes raped and for what? A few quid to buy another fix. Stabbings, shootings it's all becoming too familiar. Lancashire per se has the highest rate of animal cruelty in Britain - what does this tell us about ourselves? What extreme does the violence have to go to before government is made to do something?
Where am I leading with all this you might be wondering, well it is my opinion that since the demise of Christianity as the state religion in tins country it has left a moral and spiritual vacuum that is currently being filled with greed and commercialism. Don't get me wrong, I am not a Christian and I find the dogma and hypocrisy of organised religion repressive. But the one positive thing that Christianity did maintain, especially in schools was a moral and ethical code, a simple code that teaches people basic right and wrong. It seems to me that children are not being taught these principles anymore, are given too much liberty and not enough discipline.
Those of us that practice martial arts, particularly Aikido are fortunate because not only does Aikido impart a way of self-defence, it builds character and confidence and has a philosophy to embrace the spirit and stimulate one's intellect as well. In the second part of this article I want to examine some of the precepts that Aikido is based upon, in fact most martial arts are based upon.
Zanshin literally means perfect posture. A mental alertness at all times, a state of combat readiness, an awareness of ones environment. It is a sixth sense one develops through training using correct posture and balance. You will learn how to sense danger. One of my Sensei's used to take me drinking in Bolton, the first thing he would do when entering a new pub would be to check where all the exits where, find the best place to stand if anything kicked off; he taught me how to identify potential carriers, those likely to cause trouble, and perhaps most important of all to use my psychic muscle to sense if trouble was immanent. The spirit of wanton violence and evil often invoked by alcohol we nicknamed 'The Beast'.
Ma-ai is the distance between two opponents, the killing distance. Whether you subscribe to the theory of the aura or not nobody can deny that we all have our own personal space, an invisible area that extends from our physical bodies, expands and contacts depending on our whereabouts, we all no how uncomfortable it can be 'when somebody stands to close to us in a queue, or bumps into us. It is our own personal security system that sets off alarm bells when crossed. A good modern example of this is the 'Fence' popularised by the ex-bouncer Geoff Thompson (see 3 Second Fighter & The Fence) using the hands in front of the body as measure to gauge the distance of an aggressor and also as a protection barrier between you and them.
SEN is correct timing without which our techniques are useless. Knowing when to move is essential and is something that we use a lot in Aikido for our response is governed by our opponent's intent. We move when he moves. More often than not we move into an attack to capture its momentum and neutralise it. Move to soon or too late and you are dead. The only variation on this is the pre-emptive strike; here you will have to use your Zanshin to feel your opponent's intent when an attack is imminent.
Hart or centre is the one thing that ties all the other precepts together, without the centre there is nothing. We talk about the centre a lot in Aikido for it is fundamental to all your practice. If you are centred you are balanced, and if you are balanced you have correct posture you have calm and confidence. You only need to look at a persons posture, how they hold themselves, to find out much about somebody. If you can keep centred at all times, especially under conflict or in combat be the stillness, the eye of the storm, then the rest will take care of itself
The one thing I haven't mentioned is Ki, inner energy, which is both within and without and pervades all the above precepts and extends from the centre We develop Ki naturally during our Aikido training, but there are many and varied techniques for developing Ki
To return to my opening statement; the world can be a dangerous place but through Aikido we can learn to protect ourselves not only by acquiring the physical ability to deal with violence but also the necessary mental attitude to avoid danger and become more aware, more timed in to our environment. I think this is what 0' Sensei meant by his insistence on finding peace. If you can develop the above abilities within yourself and be at peace with yourself then this will create the same effect in those that come into contact with you.
Weapons Course 23rd & 24th March 2002
Thanks once again to Sensei Magson for delivering a very interesting and thought provoking two days. He has left us with much to think about and work on.
So just a short message of thanks to all who supported the course and I hope that you all enjoyed it as much as I did.
Sensei Magson expressed his thanks to all those who attended, familiar and new. Once again he was impressed with the number of students who attended and the enthusiasm with which we all participated. He thinks we are a dynamic group who are enjoyable to teach if a little frustrating at times with our inability on occasions to differentiate our left from our right and other simple physical actions like this.
He will deliver two more weapons seminars on 13th & 14th July and 16th & 17th November at the same venue. The seminars are for all Aikikai members.
Sue Baird
The Lancashire Aikikai has always been very strong in the area of coaching. Long before the MAC (Martial Arts Commission) or the BAB (British Aikido Board) promoted their coach award schemes our Association nurtured those fro 3rd Kyu and above through its own comprehensive teaching regime.
Many of the long-standing members will have fond memories of Saturday afternoons spent studying the most appropriate teaching/coaching style.
The nurturing of prospective coaches is still important in the Aikikai although the means of achieving it has altered somewhat.
Currently, the Association, as a member of the BAB, endorses the National Governing Body's Coaching Award Scheme.
If you have achieved 2nd Kyu then you will be encouraged to take your first step on the Coaching ladder and receive your FREE BAB Coaching Manual.
You should also complete form CCO/1 and return it to me for signing and forwarding to BAB.
Don't forget Dan Grades who already hold Assistant Coach Awards should be considering applying for the Coach Award. They should also acquire and complete form CCO/1 and return to me for signing and forwarding to BAB.
The BAB will then contact you when a suitable course is being run.
It is also recommended that you obtain a First Aid qualification. If in doubt about which one I have a list of suitable ones.
Forms can be downloaded from the Lancashire Aikikai website or ring me on 0161 928 8597.
Sue Baird
Coaching Liaison Officer.
Congratulations to the following on achieving their grading:
Grading details were published in the paper version - Not published online under Data Protection Provisions
Course Dates
Sunday 12th May 11.00am, - 16.00 p.m. Chorley Community Centre, Railway
Street, Chorley (Weapons)
Sunday 22nd September 13.30 - 17.30 p.m. Altrincham
Sunday 1st December 12.00 - 16.00 pm St Helens.
Sutton Sports Centre,
Elton Head Road, St. Helens
Dates Awaited
June - Milton Keynes
October - Chorley (Weapons) early part of month
To be confirmed
July - Steve Magson weapons weekend 13/14 July
November - Steve Magson weapons weekend 16/17 November
Altrincham (Greater Manchester/Cheshire)
Address: Altrincham Leisure centre, Oakfield Road, Altrincham.
Times: Sunday 18.30 - 19.30 p.m. Juniors Sunday 19.30 - 21.15 p.m.
SeniorsChief Instructor: Andrew Baird 5th Dan
Assistant instructors: Susan Baird 3rd Dan,Christine Shepherd 2nd Dan,
Christopher Wallace 2nd Dan, Lawrence Robinson 2nd Dan, Hephzi Yohannan
1st Dan, Kevin Wallace 1st Dan, Eugene Daly 1st Dan
Contact: Chris Wallace or Anita Wilson
Altrincham (Greater Manchester/Cheshire)
Address: St. John's Church, St. John's Road, Altrincham
Times: Wednesday 19.30-21.30 p.m. Seniors Thursday 19.30-21.30 p.m. Seniors
Friday 19.30- 21.30 p.m. Seniors-Improvers
Chief Instructor: Andrew Baird 5th Dan
Assistant Instructors: Susan Baird 3rd Dan, Christine Shepherd 2nd Dan,
Christopher Wallace 2nd Dan, Lawrence Robinson 2nd Dan, Hephzi Yohannan
1st Dan, Kevin Wallace 1st Dan, Eugene Daly 1st Dan
Contact: Chris Wallace or Anita Wilson
Bury (Greater Manchester/Lancashire)
Address: Castle Leisure Centre, Bolton Street, Bury
Times: Sunday 18.45-20.45 p.m. Seniors
Chief Instructor: Graham Harrison 5th Dan
Assistant instructors: Gordon Dean 2nd Dan, Kelvin Rice 2nd Dan, Wayne
Gaunt 1st Dan
Contact: Graham Harrison
Bury (Greater Manchester/Lancashire)
Address: Unsworth & Sunny Bank Community Centre, Sunny Bank Road,Unsworth.
Times: Friday 19.00-21.00 p.m. Seniors
Chief Instructor: Graham Harrison 5th Dan
Assistant instructors: Gordon Dean 2nd Dan, Kelvin Rice 2nd Dan, Wayne
Gaunt 1st Dan
Contact: Graham Harrison
Chorley (Lancashire)
Address: Community Centre, Railway Street, Chorley
Times: Wednesday 19.00 - 20.00 p.m. Juniors19.00 - 20.00 p.m. laido (Seniors)20.00-
22.00 p.m. Seniors
Chief Instructor William Smalley 4th Dan
Assistant Instructors: William Shone 1st Dan, Paul Sparks 1st Kyu
Contact: William Smalley
Milton Keynes (Sei Shin Aikido) (Buckinghamshire)
Address: Eaglestone Activity Centre, Harrier Court, Eaglestone, Milton
Keynes
Times: Monday 20.00-22.00 p.m.Wednesday 19.30-21.30 p.m.
Chief Instructor Keith Downs 5th Dan
Assistant Instructors Ray Munns 2nd Dan, Tim Welsh 1st Dan
Contact No: Ray Munns
Preston (Lancashire)
Address: Preston Judo & Martial Arts Centre, 53 Union Building, Fylde
Road, Opp Students Union Building
Times: Friday 19.00- 20.00 p.m. Juniors Friday 19.00-21.00 p.m. SeniorsSaturday
10.30 - 12.30 a.m. Juniors & Seniors
Chief Instructor Ian Cherry 4th Dan
Assistant Instructors Poppy Alexander 3rd Dan, Peter Warnock 2nd Dan
Contact: Ian Cherry Home
St. Helens (Merseyside)
Address: Peter Street Community Centre, Peter Street.
Times: Tuesday 19.30-20.30 p.m. Juniors Tuesday 19.30-21.30 p.m. Seniors
Chief Instructor Mike Lloyd 5th Dan
Assistant Instructor: Dave Ratcliffe 2nd Dan, William Shone 1st Dan
Contact No. Mike Lloyd
Stockport (Greater Manchester/Cheshire)
Address: Dialstone Centre, Lisburne Lane, Stockport
Times: Wednesday 19.30-21.30 p.m. Seniors & Juniors over 12yrs
Chief Instructor: Peter Philippson 3rd Dan
Assistant Instructors: Dave Clarke 2nd Dan, Sam Wilson 1st Kyu, Emile
Rodrigues 1st Kyu, Graham Coombe 1st Kyu
Contact No. Peter Philippson
Wigan (Greater Manchester)
Address: First Floor, 227c Ormskirk Road, Newtown, Wigan.
Times: Monday 19.30-21.30 p.m. Seniors
Chief instructor: Andrew Low 1st Dan
Assistant Instructors William Shone 1st Dan
Contact no: Andrew Low
The basic difference between an ordinary man
and a
Warrior is that the warrior takes everything as a challenge,
While an ordinary man takes everything as a blessing
Or as a curse
Carlos Castaneda