News
Aikido New Year Event
Posted Saturday October 27, 2007
The weekend of Jan. 4, 5, & 6 of 2008 is coming soon and is the time when the Midwest Aikido Center in Chicago will host the annual Kagami Biraki event.
Below is one definition of what Kagami Biraki means. A renewal of your dedication to training.
The Kagami Biraki celebration has become a custom to various martial arts such as Judo, Kendo, Karatedo, Aikido, etc.. Its occurrence officially kicks off the dojo’s year and, for students, it represents a renewing of the ‘Spirit’ and ‘Rededication’ to training. It has come to mean the first gathering, (Hatsu Geiko – martial artists call it ‘first training’) opening or coming together in the new year of many people (members of a clan) dojo, family etc. to assemble for a lecture, message or speech given by the headmaster or leader. It is usually in order that he may share with them how he really feels and what he’s really like deep down inside. It follows that the members would also use this occasion to reflect upon themselves and their actions of the previous year. Each dojo or organization generally has its own specific itinerary. Some dojos combine training with demonstrations and also award promotions. Often recognition is given to members for special contributions to the dojo or for their outstanding participation. In other dojos training takes a very different form. One such custom is called ‘Ni Nen Keiko’ or ‘Two Year training’. It may include from ten to twelve hours of intense training, the length and severity symbolically representing the two year time span, while another interpretation is you train continuously through the last hour of the present year and first hour of the next year. Training may also include changes at ten minutes to midnight and become ‘Zazen’, ending one year and beginning the next in meditation.
Yoshimitsu Yamada, Shihan will be the visiting instructor at this seminar. Larry will be presented the rank of Godan sometime at the seminar and it would be great if we could have a good attendance of Kansas City students there. The way we normally attend and travel to Chicago seminars are that we leave late Friday evening and drive through the night where we’ll eat breakfast along the way or in Chicago when we arrive so we can attend the complete day of classes. There is usually a dinner provided for all who attend the event on Saturday evening. This is included in the seminar fees which I’ll guess will be approximately $90 for the two days. We’ll know more later when they publish the official schedule at their website. It’s recommended but not necessary to send in your form and fees early to expedite sign in Saturday morning.
This is a fairly large dojo with dressing rooms, showers, and plenty of eating areas close by. When we know the attendance number from Kansas City we’ll identify the overnight needs. Often we stay at members houses or at times they’ve allowed people to stay at the dojo and sleep on the mats. I’m not sure but there shouldn’t be any added expenses for the overnight stay.
This is a wonderful opportunity to see others in the region who practice aikido and to see a number of senior members. Many of these will conduct classes as will Yamada Shihan.
This is open to all Kansas City members regardless of days, months, years practiced. So please feel free to ask questions and try to attend if you can.
Here are some pertinent links for some more information.
Regards
Roy