ZEN JUDO, A LESSON IN THE WAY OF LIFE?
By David Ross, 4th Dan

This story about my 1st Kyu grading focuses on an area of life that we all experience and would rather avoid; not gradings but the subject of failure. The story is set in July 1984. At the age of 14 taking a 1st Kyu grading was a nerve-racking thought. In my 22 year Zen Judo history there have been many ups and downs as the path of most things never runs smoothly. However, we must walk the path to become the path and accept and enjoy our experiences along the way.
Although failing 1st Kyu seems trivial now, at the time it was the last thing I needed. Typically, July was a hot month and the higher grade gradings were in the afternoon. Mac told us to come up to Love Lane at around 1:00pm which meant having the morning to think about it. I never did look forward to this grading and to this day do not envy anyone taking it either. It was the hardest one of them all because with this grade there went a responsibility. You are nearly "there". You know all the techniques in the syllabus, expected to teach and participate more actively. No more comfort zones! Mac had a habit of failing juniors at this stage (of which I was) as he felt it sometimes did them good. We quietly knew this too. It seemed in retrospect that seeing youngsters progressing to Dan Grade without some kind of knock never seemed right. This was nothing personal; it was more of a humbling experience that provided a valuable lesson (Mac was full of these "lessons").
The grading went reasonably well but felt non-plussed about the atmosphere between us and the Instructor. Mac had in fact told him to fail us both if we were not good enough - "See how they do", as he used to say.
We got as far as Randori and were then told the bad news. We took it again in the November and passed this time around.
In the long term it seemed that to keep going was the only way through and strangely enough it was. We cannot succeed all the time and failure does not make one a bad person by any means. Little did I know what many great experiences with many great people were to come in the years to follow. Here I hope I have shown that there is more to Zen Judo than just a syllabus. For those who have stuck with it over the years have learnt much more about life as well. Mac though was never always upfront about this. He relied on people being receptive to his subtlety much of the time. These powerful lessons are another reason why Mac is so sadly missed. They will never go away. So I would like to say Thank You Mac too. It was a lesson that may not have been well received at the time but was one well learnt in the end.

THINGS TO DO ON A QUIET SUNDAY
By Mike Healy, 4th Dan

Autumn has set in, the nights grow longer, and leaves turn from green to russet and gold and the light takes on a special quality. Perfect, then, for a long gentle walk in the countryside, dog alongside, to enjoy the peace and solitude and reflect on pleasures past and those to come.
So is that what I did on the first Sunday in October? Well… not exactly.
What I in fact did was to get into my car and drive south for an hour or so to Petersfield there to meet up with Jim Dart and various others who, momentarily blinded to the joys offered above had gathered to practice the Ju No Kata and, to my great joy, Peggy McCarthy who had come along to make sure we had enough tea, coffee and cakes to keep us going. I didn’t count them but there were enough people present, from various clubs, to make the mat feel full.
With a cunning built from long experience Jim had told us all that the course started at 1 pm. It didn’t… It started at 1:30. The earlier time was quoted to make sure there was no shortage of hands to lay out the mats. I feel I should dispel a misconception: (Mine) That a Kata on the ways of gentleness would be gentle. Wrong. Fifteen moves to be practiced in 3 sets of five, each move of some complexity, and all requiring some suppleness and agility. Those of you who know me may wonder at the spectacle that my wife, Ann, was treated to as she watched from a safe distance. Jim allocated 10 minutes per move therefore 150 minutes. Plus he, very generously, allowed a break between each set that was long enough to drink a cup of coffee without actually scalding yourself in the process.
I had great good fortune though in the partner that I was practicing with. Georgina (George to those who know her) had done it before! I was a bit concerned when I realised that there was some lifting involved as George must be under 10 stone (140lbs) in weight and I am over 15 stone (210lbs). I shouldn’t have been worried as George’s slight frame is clearly constructed from sprung steel bars. To attempt to describe the techniques would be pointless but, after 3 hours of being pulled and twisted and turned I headed for home pleased that I had attended, aching in places that I had forgotten I had and determined to pass on what I had learned to my own club members. So thanks to Peggy for the tea and buns, to George for helping me through and to Jim not only for the training, but also for the aching muscles I had on Monday.
Now…. Where did I put my walking boots?

TRAINING EVENTS

The annual Kenshindoryu Summer Course was held over the weekend of 9/10th September at Poole in Dorset.
Eighty two delegates made the trip to Rockley Park for Kenshindoryu's premiere course in the year. In the week leading up to the event the site had been forced to change the training venue and the first morning did not run to the usual smooth standard, although the standard of instruction remained as high as ever. Kicking off on the Judo area was popular instructor Sensei Gordon Lawson 4th Dan BZJFA with his own brand of groundwork and self
defence, while in the Karate hall, Shihan Yoshi Shinohara 7th Dan JKF Wadokai was beginning the first of his three sessions of the day with some basic Wadoryu karate fighting drills. Shinohara Sensei covered almost the entire Wadoryu syllabus in his training that day, from basic techniques to the traditional Tantodori (Knife defences).
The second matted session was taken by Sensei Simon Thackeray, 4th Dan from the Institute of Aikido, whose introduction to Aiki techniques and principles were so appreciated that his class the following day would prove to be the busiest of the weekend. After a short lunch break Sensei Jim Dart 4th Dan ISTJ Judo, 4th Dan Wadoryu, 3rd Dan Nihonryu Jujitsu, took a Jujitsu session for all but a few of the 65 people training, leaving everyone with the traditional aching fingers !
This was followed by Shinohara Sensei's final session and the first of the Judo sessions from Shihan Andrew Millard BEM 6th Dan BZJFA who explored the Seoi Nage group of throws in great depth.
Saturday evening on the course is a time for resting and soothing aching limbs, so with this in mind, 40 or so of the participants descended on the local Indian Restaurant for a curry and some beer, followed up with substantially more beer when they returned to the site bar, dancing and drinking into the early hours of Sunday morning. This did not, however, deter most of them from participating in the Sunday morning warm-up and run during which the beach games were, this year, completed without too many serious casualties !
The Sunday training began with Shihan Millard applying the training methods of the previous day to O & Ko Uchi Gari in an entertaining session, while Sensei John Cox 6th Dan Wadoryu, took the off-mat session - largely teaching kata applications to his own particularly gory format. Members were left in no doubt that there are lots of ways to break someone's neck !
The second off-mat morning session was with Sensei Andy Wright, 4th Dan WMAA Shotokan, who decided on a relaxed set, teaching meditation exercises and seated defences, albeit to only a few participants as about 55 of the members had crammed on to the mat for Sensei Thackeray's Aikido session. This gave everyone the opportunity to re-learn the skills of looking behind you as you fall, previously used three years ago when the course was held at Sensei Brian Bagot's dojo !
The weather was blazing sunshine and an un-seasonal 84', so the senior instructors took the decision to move outside onto the common for the afternoon sessions, setting the mat up in record time. Delegates were advised to protect themselves - and not just from the sun, as Sensei Stuart Edwards, the current BIKMA British Middleweight Jujitsu Champion, took a session on "practical freefighting" including the largely unpracticed skills of biting, gouging & pinching !
Meanwhile Sensei Dart took the karateka through a session on Wadoryu pair-work and fighting techniques, leading into the final teaching sessions of the course, Combat Judo with Sensei Dart and Bo Jutsu (Japanese long-staff fighting) with Sensei Cox.
As usual, the training ended with 30 minutes of randori and freefighting and, despite some problems caused by the venue, the course was adjudged another great success, with the students presenting Sensei Dart with a large bottle of Whisky to soothe his jangling nerves !! Same time (different place !) next year - All welcome !!

Ju No Kata Course - 1st Oct 2000

This course, hosted by Kenshindoryu, was held at Petersfield, the home of Zen Judo, with the hope that some of the lesser-seen Zen members would venture along. In the event a dozen people attended, and although most were from Kenshindoryu Reading, Zen Judo Horndean, Zen Judo Thatcham and Zen Judo Bognor were also represented. Each move in the Kata was explained in traditional style and then in a more modern format, giving everyone the chance to whirl their partner around at high speed, and the three hours flew past.
A short break each hour for what Sensei Dart describes as "The Best Tea in England", provided by Soke McCarthy's wife Peggy, gave members a well-earned breather. Using the kata notes provided, everyone had a go at performing the form all the way through, then, finally, after completing Ju No Kata - a Judo kata with no actual throws - the participants had a chance to have a short practice of Chinto Kata - a Karate kata consisting of nearly all throws - before the final rei.
Another FUN and informative course completed, extra special thanks to Sensei Tracy Marden, Sensei Mike Healy and Sensei David Ross for attending.

Asageiko 2000

This year's Asageiko was well attended, with local members from the Charlottesville and Wadokan clubs enjoying two days of Judo during the weekend of Oct. 14-15. Sensei Jo Winslow was the main teacher for the event, working mostly with the senior students on brown and black belt techniques.
Other teachers on the mat included Ed Stockwell and Mark Smith from the Inner Stairway Club in Charlottesville and Chris Flinn and Frank Curran from the Wadokan. The training was divided into alternating 2 hour sessions where the group was either divided by rank and worked on specific techniques appropriate to their level or everybody worked together on common drills.
Sensei Jo Winslow conducted grading for two students from Charlottesville: Mary Shemo and Leonard Valdes. Congratulations to both for passing the test.
Most of the participants agreed that this was the most participatory training for the Asageiko. All of the senior students were involved in parts of the training, so that everybody had a chance to share a bit from their own experience.