For Children: Friday 10 to Sunday 12/Jan/2014
For Adults: Monday 13/Jan to Sunday 19/Jan/2014 *The last day is daytime class and party.
Venue: Shodokan HQ (Osaka, Japan)
Reporter: Nili Roberts

Number of participants	n/a
Weather	Sunny weather (Temperature: 7℃(highest)/4℃(lowest))
Contents	Nariyama-shihan talked about a return to genten (origin) and kihon (basics), his theme this year. He explained how Tomiki-sensei dispensed with the names designating the techniques in Ueshiba-sensei's time (dai-ikkyo, dai-nikyo, dai-sankyo,..., which had themselves replaced the Daito-ryu terms dai-ikkajo, dai-nikajo, dai-sankajo,...) in favour of a descriptive terminology to make the techniques more readily accessible to the public. He asked some university students which of the Junana-hon techniques they found most difficult, and we subsequently worked on the hiji-waza section - the five hiji-waza + waki-gatame from hiki-taoshi (part of the 4th kyu grading syllabus). Shihan also emphasised the combinative aspect of some of the techniques within the Randori no Kata (for instance, the fourth hiji-waza is hiki-taoshi + ude-hineri). Shihan then asked Morikawa-sensei, who was with us this morning, to teach us an oyo-waza of waki-gatame: Morikawa-sensei showed us a waki-gatame from gyaku-gamae dogi-mochi/gyaku-gamae grab of the sleeve.

Number of participants	n/a
Weather	Sunny weather (Temperature: 7℃(highest)/0℃(lowest))
Contents	The session was divided into three blocks: 1. With Sakai-sensei: - Kihon no tsukuri (shomen-ate & gyaku-gamae-ate); - Hontai no tsukuri (5 atemi) with an explanation of the targeted kyusho (pressure/vital/tender points in the body); - Shoki no tsukuri (5 atemi). 2. With Fujimoto-sensei: - Kansetsu-waza tegatana jodan no tsukuri (oshi-taoshi & hiki-taoshi); - Kansetsu-waza tegatana gedan no tsukuri (kote-gaeshi & tenkai kote-gaeshi). 3. With Nariyama Tetsuya-sensei: - Kansetsu-waza hiji-mochi no tsukuri - jodan (junte-dori & gyakute-dori) & gedan (junte-dori & gyakute-dori) ***This was in keeping with yesterday afternoon's shinshunkai (special New Year's session), where Nariyama-shihan, reiterating this year's theme of genten, drew our attention first on the Jumbi Taiso, then the Unsoku Dosa and Tegatana Dosa and how they fit into the Aikido techniques, and subsequently focused on kansetsu-waza jodan and gedan no tsukuri. The second part of the shinshunkai was instructed by Omori-sensei who demonstrated the application in randori of the principles highlighted by Nariyama-shihan, and stressed some points the referees should look for.

Number of participants	n/a
Weather	Rain weather (Temperature: 10℃(highest)/1℃(lowest))
Contents	A return to genten has been mentioned several times already this week. In line with this, Nariyama-shihan first focused on the Unsoku Dosa, reminding everybody what the appropriate distance between the feet should be at all times and how to move in eight directions from shizentai. He referred to the Unsoku Dosa as "ido no kihon". This led to kihon no tanto taisabaki practice in six directions, from taisabaki to kake, followed by taisabaki practice moving freely, first using no hands, then using tegatana, next performing taisabaki with grab but no kuzushi, finally adding to taisabaki the four hiji-mochi no tsukuri. The session ended with a randori-geiko demonstration showcasing all those elements.

Number of participants	n/a
Weather	Sunny weather (Temperature: 10℃(highest)/1℃(lowest))
Contents	Nariyama-shihan opened today's session with the word kokoro - heart, mind, spirit - and stressed the importance of persisting with an undertaking until it is completed. As announced by Shihan yesterday, we focused on kata this morning and practiced, - The 8 suwari-waza that belong to the kyu grade syllabus; - The suwari-waza section of the Goshin no Kata; - The 6 oyo no tachi-waza practiced by university students as a set and part of the 4th dan syllabus:    . Oshi-taoshi from shomen-uchi;    . Ai-gamae-ate from shomen-uchi (2 ways);    . Tenkai-kote-gaeshi from yokomen-uchi attack (omote & ura);    . Kote-gaeshi from tsuki (omote & ura). Shihan mentioned again how, in a bid to spread Aikido, and following the example of his Judo instructor Kano-sensei, Tomiki-sensei renamed the techniques to make them transparent to the public.

Number of participants	n/a
Weather	Sunny weather (Temperature: 10℃(highest)/2℃(lowest))
Contents	Today's class was dedicated to the Tanto Junana-hon (+ waki-gatame from hiki-taoshi). After working on the four sections of the 17-hon, we practiced taisabaki with no hands, taisabaki with tegatana, taisabaki with grab (without kuzushi), and kakari-geiko. Shihan announced we would turn our attention to kata tomorrow morning.

Number of participants	n/a
Weather	Sunny weather (Temperature: 8℃(highest)/2℃(lowest))
Contents	Last *morning* session This morning, Nariyama-shihan briefly retraced the history of the Randori no Kata. The current Randori no Kihon, consisting of 17 waza, and the Zentai (all) no Kihon made up of 19 techniques, stemmed from an initial sequence of 15 techniques put together by Tomiki-sensei in Showa Year 33 (1958). We first practiced the four kote-hineri and four kote-gaeshi grips (a combination of ai-gamae/gyaku-gamae and junte-dori/gyakute-dori). Tomiki-sensei's approach was to teach those through waza, making them easier to remember. Subsequently, we worked on two sequences of four techniques, each including one of the grips. - Kote-hineri from ai-gamae wrist grab; - Oshi-taoshi from gyaku-gamae grab; - Tenkai-kote-hineri from ai-gamae grab; - Ude-hineri from gyaku-gamae grab; - Kote-gaeshi from gyaku-gamae grab; - Kote-gaeshi (following kime) from gyaku-gamae grab; - Kote-gaeshi from ai-gamae grab; - Kote-gaeshi from ai-gamae grab (the one included in the 8th kyu syllabus). We finished the session with three oyo-waza combining elements from the above, with the last waza executed against two attackers.

Number of participants	n/a
Weather	Sunny weather after snow. (Temperature: 6℃(highest)/1℃(lowest))
Contents	Today's session started at 1 pm. Following a demonstration of the Junana-hon, we practiced the atemi and hiji-waza sections of the 17-hon. Next, the first 16 techniques of the Goshin no Kata were demonstrated, and we subsequently worked on the tachi segment. We then moved on to some oyo-waza: - Four ai-gamae-ate: . From Jodan no kuzushi; . From Chudan no kuzushi; . From Gedan no kuzushi; . From Koho-Ryoute-dori(uke grabs both wrists from behind); - 5 oyo-waza of techniques no. 1, 3, 5 and 7 of the tachi-waza portion of the Goshin no Kata (with two oyo of no. 3); - 2 oyo-waza where uke grabs the collar from behind. After the class, we had a party on the mats with beer, snacks, and, most importantly, Mrs. Nariyama's zenzai (sweet bean soup with mochi), without which the kangeiko party would not be the same. Oh and... it snowed today in Osaka! Thanks for reading this mini-blog.