Spring Course – a time for reflection

Dear all

The Spring Course in Chepstow has come and gone. For many of us it was a special one; the first one without Kanetsuka Sensei who sadly passed away last month. His absence was felt by many. This was especially so for our Chairman, Peter Gillard Sensei who received his Shihan certificate, recommended by Kanetsuka Shihan last year. A time for reflection on so many years and shared experiences.

The course was very well attended and it was especially lovely to see so many kyu grades. This year’s instruction was lead by our Shihans, Don Morgan and Ian McClarence, with support from David Yates and Gudrun Rieck who had us working on posture and movement.

It goes without saying that courses like this play an important role in our Aikido development. There is no substitute for training under senior instructors with their enormous experience. Every exercise and technique becomes an invaluable lesson with important insights. The course was quite exhausting but great fun and of course an opportunity to catch up with old friends and/or make new ones.

Thank you all for attending the course. We hope that you enjoyed it and went home inspired. Keep your eye on the Course Calendar for upcoming opportunities to train, and please put June 15/16 in your diary – this is the next National Course in Oxford.

See you soon!

Karolina Packo  (Member Representative)