Takumakai Melbourne in Bundoora, Victoria | Education

Takumakai Melbourne

Locality: Bundoora, Victoria

Phone: +61 423 975 531

Address: La Trobe University Sports Centre, Centreway 3083 Bundoora, VIC, Australia

Website: http://www.aikiaustralia.com.au

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25.01.2022 Im trying to collect some written info about "principles" for the site http://aiki.info. If youd like to contribute, please join the facebook group where we will be talking about it, or just send me some info. -Sam https://www.facebook.com/groups/aiki.info/

25.01.2022 On Thursday, we did gyaku ude dori, ikkajo koshi guruma, shutou zume, idori aiki nage. Im starting to see the "no shi" shape in the aiki nage we are doing in class... Still learning to relax forearms and wrists in aiki nage and shutou zume... Trying to use the 7 walking steps from the seminar in some techniques... and practicing them at home during the week. -Sam

25.01.2022 Last night we did aiki age / aiki nage, shutou zume, and tenchi no wakare / tenchi nage. Zac had eaten too much pasta before training so he wanted to keep it low impact. :) We also tried some variants and other techniques, including tenchi nage from ryo sode dori, kote zume with extra leverage, and soto gote. It was good fun, and I made some improvement. -Sam http://aiki.info/Daito_Ryu.html#aiki.+age http://aiki.info/Daito_Ryu.html#tenchi

25.01.2022 We've done a few training sessions since the seminar. - lots of aiki nage practice - some of my next techniques: koshi guruma, obi otoshi, shihonage - some of Zac's next sankajo techniques: tsuri otoshi, soto gote, temakura, maki zume, yokomen-uchi shihonage... - new details we learned in the seminar: kuruma daoshi, shuto zume, ... - soden techniques and others from the seminar - using the walking steps in our techniques Training is good as always. :)

25.01.2022 Tonight Zac and I went over what I could recall from the techniques we did in Geelong on Tuesday. I think we did okay, most of the techniques we did felt more or less right, and some of them I think we did better tonight than I was able to do them on Tuesday. We also did ikkajo koshi guruma, and went through Zacs nikajo tachi-ai and ushiro-waza. -Sam

24.01.2022 Last night Zac did all of nikajo twice, 120+ ukemi for me, woo woo, and we also did yokomen uchi shihonage from sankajo.

23.01.2022 Thursday training, we did idori aiki nage, a katate dori turning throw that we learned at the seminar, ryote dori kotegaeshi sitting and standing.

22.01.2022 Tonight we did the famous ippon dori, with mixed success (on my part). I think I need to practice every day...? Then we experimented with a mune dori aiki-sage sort of technique, followed by suso dori, and nikajo koshi guruma. A good time was had by all! -Sam

22.01.2022 Last night I went to Geelong for training with Leigh Dicker Sensei and Paul Hamlet Sensei, who is visiting from Japan. Unfortunately Zac got a flat tire on the freeway and could not make it. We did many interesting techniques, including the following (as I recall, please excuse my faulty memory ... Im sure I have missed some things and mixed up some things. I will practice them and hopefully they will come back to me!): - katate dori, aiki age, then move ukes hand and cente...r down to unbalance forward (bend knees if needed), bring the arm back around behind ukes head and pin down with body center line aligned to ukes shoulder and knee. - variation, start with palm up and use shoshiku (little finger side of the hand), keep hand close to chest, drop elbow straight down to bring uke down - sankajo tsuri otoshi, control ukes center through the curve of his arm - ryote dori kagi gatame (hook pin) - rear hand slides around and out, with a little aiki age - front hand come up at center, elbow in, then go outside ukes hand with thumb (boshiku), move behind and hook around behind ukes head - variation, with front hand starting palm up, both hands cut over with little finger (shoshiku), hook around behind ukes head, and bend uke back to rest on knee - kosa dori palm down, cut over with shoshuku, raise to tilt uke back and run other hand down ukes back to help unbalance - kosa dori palm down, cut over with shoshuku, keep hand close to chest, and elbow angled in so as to lock ukes thumb in place. Turn uke around and expose the back with a "whipping" motion, then can control ukes other arm (not sure what the control is called, something like kakae kujiki) tsuki kote-gaeshi - use small movements, or for beginners use larger movements - Sam

21.01.2022 Tonight we focused on my next two ikkajo tachi-ai waza, which are koshi guruma, and obi otoshi. (At home now, Im reviewing some videos of those techniques.) Zac went through his nikajo tachi-ai and ushiro-dori techniques. We also had a quick go at kagi gatame and aiki age. - Sam

20.01.2022 On Thursday, we did gyaku ude dori, ikkajo koshi guruma, shutou zume, idori aiki nage. I'm starting to see the "no shi" shape in the aiki nage we are doing in class... Still learning to relax forearms and wrists in aiki nage and shutou zume... Trying to use the 7 walking steps from the seminar in some techniques... and practicing them at home during the week. -Sam

20.01.2022 Tuesday, we did idori aiki nage, some sort of katate dori aiki otoshi, and kiri kaeshi. Some very subtle stuff. I am slowly learning to keep my arms soft and relaxed... ...

20.01.2022 Tonight we did the first four idori techniques: ippon dori, gyaku ude dori, kuruma daoshi, and hiji gaeshi. After that, my feet were already sore... but that was just the beginning! We also did the first four tachi-ai techniques, then finally I did all eight of them with additional zanshin and decorum, followed by aiki nage. It seems that Im preparing for a grading or something. :) -Sam

18.01.2022 Last night we did the first four tachi-ai techniques: ippon dori, gyaku ude dori, kuruma daoshi, and ura otoshi. This time, I felt that my gyaku ude dori was decent, my ippon dori and kuruma daoshi were middling, and my ura otoshi was weak. Ill start to practice all of these every day. There is a training meet and grading at Takumakai Aikijujutsu Ballarat Dojo on Sunday, that will be good. -Sam

17.01.2022 I practiced some standing aiki age with my son tonight. It worked better than expected, and he said that he couldnt let go of my hand, so that was pretty cool. Dont know why he couldnt let go, I guess his hand was snagged somehow. Accidental success. :)

17.01.2022 Yesterday, we did aiki nage, obi otoshi, koshi guruma, shuto zume. We had fun, as always. Thumped down, strangled, wrists shattered, and gently lifted into the air... whats not to like? :) Im still waiting to see Zacs jeep, maybe next week...... - Sam See more

16.01.2022 Tonight we did ryote-dori kote-gaeshi sitting and standing, and Zac did the whole nikajo set. -Sam

15.01.2022 I have learned mainly Yoshinkan and Daito-ryu, but I have nothing but respect for other martial arts and martial artists. I love to cross-train at seminars, and in this way I have enjoyed a little taste of other arts including kali, karate, jujutsu, hapkido, jodo, jeet kune do, gyokushin ryu, boxing, and reality-based self defense. Each one of these has given me insights and techniques that can improve my own budo. I am glad that Aikido did not become a combat sport, but I en...joy to see quality judo, boxing, and MMA competition, and I can see value in alive training and friendly competition in addition to our kihon and kata training. Isnt this normal? I enjoy to meet people locally where I live, to cross-train, to share techniques and insights, to fight, and do research together. Almost all of the people I meet in budo (in real life) are respectful to other arts, and positive about cross-training. Many learn multiple arts, such as karate + aikido, or aikido + BJJ, for example. If someone isnt respectful, which I think is rare to see in real life budo, I could only suppose that the person has forgotten the very first and most important principle of budo: respect. Disrespect will get a person hurt a lot more surely than proficiency can keep them safe. -Sam

11.01.2022 I think that reigi (respect, courtesy, and etiquette) is by far more important than technical proficiency, even from a martial or self-defense standpoint. What do you think? -Sam

10.01.2022 Tonight we mellowed out a bit and Zac went through nikajo only once, with more chit-chat, re-trying techniques, and experimenting with variations... "ushiro eri dori shuto zume" was a weird one, kind of a mis-nomer as he applied it using his neck not his hand-blade... I think it needs more work! (We thought, if shuto zume is there in three of the nikajo sets, why not ushiro too?) We tried a few of the nikajo idori waza as tachi-ai waza, worked fine just a bit further to fall.... We also tried a few sankajo waza: ganseki otoshi, and kataude nage. A good time was had by all. :)

10.01.2022 Yesterday, we did tsuki kotegaeshi, karame nage, yokomen uchi shihonage, idori ryote dori kotegaeshi, idori aiki nage. Good training as always. We concentrated on breathing in aiki nage, and it worked better than usual so thats good... perhaps because not thinking about every little detail, but the technique as a whole.

10.01.2022 Thank-you Leigh Dicker Sensei, Asher Leslie, and Sam Mennen for the grading and training at Takumakai Aikijujutsu Ballarat Dojo today. I think the techniques we did were (aiki no jutsu) ryote dori kagi gatame (hook pin), maki zume, and yokomen-uchi shihonage (or perhaps senryu?). I will keep your guidance in mind with sinking lower for kuruma daoshi, flowing steps together, and the all-important "relax"!!! Lunch was delicious, and I took my very patient kids to the wildlife park afterwards to be excited with crocodile feeding and hug some kangaroos. -Sam

10.01.2022 Ive been practicing with both my kids Thalia (6) and Sean (10) at home, practicing reacting to a random attack, either shomen uchi or yokomen uchi, right or left, using ippon dori or kuruma daoshi. It was good fun, and Thalia really surprised me with how well she can do it. Must be her ballet skills kicking in! The exercise we did was based on some ideas in videos from Kondo Katsuyuki Sensei, where he explains how to do these two techniques in a similar way so that we can re...act to the particular attack after we have already started moving to defend. Anyway it was good value and Ill do it again. Its surprising to me how bad I still am at this after all the years Ive been doing Aikido and some Daito Ryu, I guess I never really got serious about it before. This is like "step one" of being safe against a "clubbing" attack (Im not too worried about swords in the modern day) and I feel that I should have had this mastered by now. Anyway, late is better than never! -Sam See more

09.01.2022 On Thursday we did my next two idori techniques, shibori gaeshi, and daki jime, and went over the two tachi-ai techniques koshi guruma and obi otoshi too. All strangles! Zac did some of his nikajo techniques: se kujiki, kubi hineri, kata guruma, idori hiji kujiki, and ushiro hiji kujiki.

09.01.2022 Tonight we did ryote-dori kote-gaeshi, with a few variations, and Zac did some of his nikajo techniques. We also had a go at nukite-otoshi. I forgot my gi, so I trained in work clothes. -Sam http://aiki.info/Daito_Ryu.html#nukite+otoshi

08.01.2022 At the recent six-day seminar in Victoria, Kawabe Takeshi Shihan demonstrated the Daito-ryu shoden syllabus from ikkajo through to gokajo. In this photograph, Kawabe Shihan performs shumoku (wooden bell hammer), with Sensei Grant taking the ukemi. This is the same technique seen in the famous photograph of Takeda Sokaku.

07.01.2022 Last night Zac did the nikajo set on me again, twice, and a few extras. I took a few hard falls, need to improve some of my ukemi. Im feeling a bit sorry for myself today, nothing serious though. :) also did some aiki nage.

07.01.2022 We welcomed a new member tonight, Christopher PavGar. We went through some basic strikes and falls, worked on ippon dori, and demoed a few other techniques. It was damn cold, and I forgot my gi top in the dryer, but fortunately Zac had a spare. Christopher was feeling the cold too, we might have to train in polar fleece or thermals in addition to socks if the weather keeps on like this. Ive started practicing each day out in the park with my son (who knows some Aikido), hopefully it will help us to progress. -Sam

06.01.2022 Last night Zac went through the nikajo set again, and did a bit of focused work on some of the techniques. Then we had a go at sankajo ushiro waki garami (side tangle from a rear collar grab). The power of two arms against one... http://aiki.info/Daito_Ryu.html#waki+garami

06.01.2022 Tonight Zac did all of nikajo twice again, plus some extra with random attacks at the end, maybe 140 ukemi for me... He did seoi nage and koshi guruma with harder throws this time, not trying to be gentle to me, and it felt a lot better. I paid him back with a surprise shumoku. It worked well, dont think Ive done it on an adult before.

05.01.2022 Tuesday training, we did idori aiki nage, ura otoshi, daki jime.

05.01.2022 Weve done a few training sessions since the seminar. - lots of aiki nage practice - some of my next techniques: koshi guruma, obi otoshi, shihonage - some of Zacs next sankajo techniques: tsuri otoshi, soto gote, temakura, maki zume, yokomen-uchi shihonage... - new details we learned in the seminar: kuruma daoshi, shuto zume, ... - soden techniques and others from the seminar - using the walking steps in our techniques Training is good as always. :)

04.01.2022 Sam: I did some "hand work" with my son Sean. We looked at different ways to respond to katate dori, turning the hand while the attacker is gripping. We took turns to suggest a different response... heres what we came up with: 1. grip escape / elbow strike, using chikara nuku (withdrawing power), turning the wrist one way then the other to escape, and moving around the fixed point to use leverage. 2. turn the hand palm up -> shutou zume (hand blade jam / nikkyo) 3. turn the ...hand palm up -> ura gote (behind the wrist / yonkyo) 4. turn the hand palm down -> kote zume (wrist jam / nikkyo) 5. slip the grab and grip the wrist -> waki zume (side jam / sankyo) 6. turn the hand palm down -> uchi gote (inside the wrist / yonkyo) 7. raise the hand inside -> throw or kote gaeshi (wrist flip) 8. aiki age and grip with other hand -> shiho-nage (four direction throw) We also tried ryote dori aiki age and aiki sage in the style of Okamoto Seigo Shihan, as shown here. His aiki age is simple to understand and works well:

04.01.2022 I have been reading "Transparent Power", about the life of Sagawa Yukiyoshi Sensei. Its an interesting and inspiring read, but light on technical details... Sagawa Sensei seems mostly to be saying to train hard every day, stay awake thinking all night, and figure everything out for ourselves like he did! As a hobbyist martial artist, I enjoy doing my own research (such as it is), but I doubt that I have the time or the talent to rediscover everything from first principles. ...So I googled "how to do aiki age", and found this set of roppokai videos, which go well with the previous video I posted of Okamoto Seigo Shihan. I dont know if this is how we normally do aiki age / sage in Takumakai, but it seems informative and looks good to me. Personally, Im all for openness and friendly respectful cooperation between different schools of budo. I feel that such cooperation can help to make the art stronger and less fragmented. -Sam See more

04.01.2022 We trained on Thursday, I forgot to post about it. We did kiri kaeshi... and some others which are slipping my mind right now. It was lots of fun anyway. -Sam

04.01.2022 Tonight we did emon-jime koshi guruma, ryote dori kote gaeshi, and Zac went through all of nikajo, rapidly, so I got a little puffed. :)

03.01.2022 Tonight we did the 14 ikkajo techniques that I will need for my next grading, and Zac did the 30 nikajo techniques on me. :) This evening I also put together an index of some videos of Morihiro Saito Shihan, covering 443 Iwama Ryu Aikido techniques: http://aiki.info/Iwama_Ryu.html -Sam

01.01.2022 Thanks to Leigh for organizing the seminar, and welcoming us to your home and dojo. The past six days were a great experience, we all learned so much from Kawabe Shihan, with the help of Sensei Leigh, Sensei Grant, and the other teachers and senior students. I think that most of us "levelled-up" technically, learning new details in many techniques. It was interesting to learn about the different tai-sabaki, and the types of walking. I was glad to meet people Ive only met online, and make new friends. The meals and other activities were also very enjoyable! A great seminar.

01.01.2022 Zac is back from the land of influenza, I was a bit late to class and brought donuts. Tonight we started with that well-loved classic gyaku ude dori. I feel like Im getting better at this one, although the entering turning bit can use a bit more polish yet... Then we did nikajo idori hiji kujiki and our elbows survived intact, followed by tachi-ai shutou zume, shiho-nage omote and ura, nikajo ushiro kubi-nage, and an unnamed (as far as I know) yokomen-uchi cool down technique... It was good fun and educational as always. Eat lots of oranges, Zac ... -Sam