International Aikido Course
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4th-10th August 2002 Stefan Kristiaan (5th Dan Aikido) as technical director of Aikido within Bushido International Society GB hosted this course at: Essex University Campus, Colchester, Essex, England  Senior Sensei Daniel André Brun 8th Dan add. info
(Graded to Shodan by O-Sensei) The long awaited course in Colchester was well attended with over 40 delegates from France and Romania alone! Unfortunately one Romanian delegate had his weapons lost by the airline, and it took over two hours to extricate him from customs! By Sunday evening all foreigners had arrived. However our friends from north of the border had a number of problems during their journey down, and are to be congratulated on their tenacity even to arrive at the course! The senior instructor of CEA Sensei Daniel Brun 8th Dan took the morning sessions and taught many novel techniques with bokken, jo and tanto, alongside some very subtle moves in tachiwaza. His explanations were kept very short, and in French, which fast became the lingua franca of the week! It caused great hilarity to hear a one Londoner begin talking to another in French, only to be reminded they were both English! Despite the soaring humidity and heat of the Essex summer, every session was well attended and very lively. The senior instructor from each country taught an afternoon session, demonstrating their personal and national flavour. This allowed delegates to see an enormous diversity of Aikido techniques, even warm-up procedures which gave plenty to discuss afterwards. Often the discussions went well in to the night, occasionally accompanied with a bottle of wine, to assist translation of course! Thanks to the efforts generously and selflessly given by Mat and Frances the success of the course both in and out of the dojo was assured. Next years international course will run from August 2nd to 9th, in Piatra Neamt which is in the Moldavia region in the north east of Romania. For further details of the course please contact Paul Fratila at webmaster@aikido.ro, or for details of the town go to http://www.piatraneamt.ro I look forward to seeing many of you there, Nigel Vaughan  nigel@vaughan.net CEAT Course in France 1999 |