Following: Getting Ready For a Seminar

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Getting Ready For a Seminar

So, you’re getting ready to go to a seminar, and you just show up and start, right? Not so much. The thing that we all forget about traveling to seminars is that it’s not just you. Anytime you go to a seminar, you’re representing your teachers and whole dojo community as well. We thought we should come up with a list of the most important things to check pre-seminar.

Double check when the class starts, and don’t be late.
It never hurts to be early (although I may not be one to talk, given that I panic that we’re going to be late if we show up less than 40 minutes early), and remember that you need time to register/fill out paperwork, pay, find changing rooms, get dressed, stretch, etc. You also never know about traffic, and if Sensei will expect you to be warmed up and ready to go when class starts. Long story short (for those of you who were there):
DON’T BE BILL!

2. Smelling good never hurt anybody. Show up with a clean gi!
What’s one of the absolute most commonly taught seminar techniques? Irimi nage. What does irimi nage entail? Yeah. Sticking your head in someone’s armpit. No one will want to train with you if your uniform stinks.
The problem is that your gi keeps that terrible smell that just won’t go away no matter how many times you wash it, right? Not any more! Sorry to sound like an infomercial, but we do have a borderline magical re-whitening-and-de-stenchifying recipe that family lore says came from the Von Trapp family (yes, of Sound of Music fame). It’s pretty straightforward:
1/2 cup bleach
1 cup borax
1 cup powdered (not liquid) dishwasher detergent
about 5 gallons boiling water

Mix it all together, and let your clothes soak as long as possible (as least three hours. All day if you can), then wash normally. Voila!

3. Check about the host dojo’s etiquette with a local.
Pretty much all dojos bow in differently. To clap or not to clap, line up by rank or not, wait for sensei to turn around. . . . There’s a lot of variation. To be safe, check with someone from the hosting dojo about bow-in procedures.

4. Be on your best behavior with etiquette.
No matter your level, if you’re polite more people will want to train with you.
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Kneeling bows to Sensei; assume everyone is senior to you; don’t correct people: they didn’t come to this seminar to hear you teach (more on that later. Look for “Try The Carrot Salad”, coming soon); mix up partners unless told otherwise (see #5); bring sandals; remember to thank people after class, and introduce yourself.

5. Mix up training partners, it’s better for everyone.
Unless Sensei says to stay with one partner, it’s always good train with different people. You can learn something from everyone—even if that thing is patience—and it’s rare to get as wide a variety of partners as at a seminar. Getting to practice with the high-ranking people is good for you, and you’re doing the same thing when practicing with more junior students. Plus, everyone’s ukemi is different, and you never know what you might find out.

Did we miss anything? Leave a comment, thanks!

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Aikido Glossary

These are the most common terms you'll see here. We've also prepared a more detailed glossary (see below).

Dojo: “The place of the way”. The training hall where we practice our art. In the US, many dojo are decorated with a Japanese aesthetic, but some are in racquetball courts or gyms. In the end, the dojo is wherever the people are who show up to practice.

Gi: Training uniform consisting of jacket and pants (normally plain white for aikido) and an obi, or belt. In our federation, belts are either white or black, but in many federations, there are colored belts, most commonly blue and brown, but sometimes there are more gradations. Some aikido practitioners also wear a hakama.

Hakama: The pleated pants (that look like a skirt) worn by some aikido practitioners. In some organizations, it is (or can be) worn by students of any rank. In others, it is reserved for black belts, and in still others, there are different rules for men and women (which are derived from some interpretation of Japanese ideas of modesty). It has no real practical purpose, but serves as a sort of historical link to samurai tradition.

Hanmi: “Half body.” We use it to mean an aikido stance which is sort of triangular. Front foot faces the partner, back foot points out at about a 45 degree angle. It provides a great balance of agility and stability, while offering only half the body as a target for attack.

Musubi: “Connection” or “joining”, although the word is also used to mean “knot”. A key principle of aikido because it helps avoid confrontation and collision, which lead to destruction.

Nage: The person “doing” the technique, generally the person being attacked in some way.

Seiza: Formal sitting posture, kneeling with a straight back. Tough on the knees if you are not used to it.

Shomen: The focal point of the dojo, the proper direction to face. Most aikido dojo have some sort of shrine to the founder on the shomen. Shomen is also shorthand for Shomen uchi, which is an overhead strike to the forehead with an open hand, like a classic karate chop. It's a stylized attack when performed with an empty hand, but would be devastatingly effective with a weapon.

Uke: The person taking ukemi. A good uke is more precious than gold, because he or she will help you learn better aikido not by teaching, but by creating the conditions that allow you to discover how to make sense of Sensei's teaching.

Ukemi: “Receiving” is the closest translation from Japanese. When someone performs an aikido technique on you, your are taking ukemi. It encompasses a lot of stuff, including the punches, grabs, and kicks that we use to simulate attack, as well as the falling and rolling we use to keep ourselves safe.
On a deeper level, it refers to the act of connecting with and following your partner. Great ukemi keeps you safe, allows you to be alert for opportunities to reverse a technique, and helps your partner learn better.