Yamanashi

This weekend, Bryn, Masa, Aki, and me were honored to join Yanagihara Shidoin at an Aikido demonstration held by Takeno Shihan (a living legend) in Yamanashi, a city located about two hours west of Tokyo.  For our part of the demonstration, we performed a continuous version of the kihon dosa we have been learning, along with 4 basic techniques.  I wish I could say that I didn't make any mistakes, but unfortuntely my performance was not as good as when we did it in practice.  However, I believe we communicated the proper spirit and we will have a chance to give a better performance at the much larger All-Japan Aikido demonstration in a couple of months. 

Here is a picture of us standing beneath a statue of Takeda Shingen, a preeminent 16th century daimyo, or territorial lord.