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| Bringing
Yoshinkan Aikido to Sydney in 2005 |
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month we talk to various instructors
to find out what's new and what
2005 has in store, this month
we talk to Darren Friend who is
currently living in Japan but
in April 2005 Friend Sensei is
bringing his Yoshinkan Aikido
to Sydney. Yoshinkan is seen by
many as a most effective and practical
form of Aikido and with his experience
training at the Yoshinkan Honbu,
Sensei Friend's dojo will surely
prove a success. |
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| MI:
Good Afternoon Sensei Friend. Would you like
to tell us about yourself and your experience
in Aikido? |
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| Sensei
Friend: I began training Yoshinkan aikido
at Aikido Shudokan, Melbourne in 1985. After
a year or 2 I decided to make the trip to
Japan, but didn't make it here until 1992.
In that year I went through the Yoshinkan
Honbu Senshusei Course. This is full time
martial arts course training alongside the
Tokyo Metropolitan Police. It's very hard
training but very rewarding. The course runs
7.30am -2 pm 5 days week from April 1st through
to late February the following year. After
graduation I stayed on in Japan and joined
the teaching staff at Yoshinkan Honbu in 1994.
Since then I have been basically teaching
or training at Yoshinkan honbu 5 days a week
in the mornings, going off to work in the
afternoon or evenings. During the last 10
years I have assisted senior teachers on seminars
to the UK, Canada, Germany, Malaysia, Australia
and within Japan. Along with teaching duties
I was responsible for all international correspondence
at Yoshinkan Honbu and worked as aikido coordinator
on the Go Warrior series that aired on Discovery
Channel last year. I have appeared in numerous
instructional books and videos, magazines
and did stunt work for 1 movie. |
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| MI:
Who did/do you train under in Tokyo? |
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Sensei
Friend: My Senshusei course was
the last to graduate directly Yoshinkan
Soke, Gozo Shioda Sensei. However he
was not so well when I came to Japan,
and so unfortunately did not appear
at the dojo that often. At honbu I trained
under Inoue sensei, the current Kancho,
and Chida sensei. I have also trained
under former honbu chief instructor
Takeno sensei, now Kancho of Yamanashi
Yoshinkan. Inoue
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sensei,
Chida sensei and Takeno sensei would be the
Japanese teachers who have influenced me the
most. When I first came to Japan Robert Mustard
sensei of Canada (visiting Aikido Shudokan,
Melbourne in March 2005) was also a big influence
on me. |
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| MI:
How long have you been training in Tokyo? |
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| Sensei
Friend: Almost 13 years. |
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| MI:
What was the typical schedule for a training
day at Yoshinkan Honbu? |
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Sensei
Friend: For the Senshusei course the day
starts pretty early. Arrive at the dojo 7.30
am, change and do some cleaning. As apprentices
to the dojo the Senshusei have a special position
and with that comes duties, which include
cleaning bathrooms, toilets, dojo etc. From
about 8.10 a group warm up is conducted and
then everyone sits in seiza (formal seated
position) at 8.25 before the first class,
which runs from 8.30-9.30. After that there
is a 30 min break during which Senshusei must
do Shinkoku, a formal reporting for training.
Training continues from 10.00-11.30 and again
from 12.00-1.30. During the breaks Senshusei
must record in a diary the details of each
class. It's a pretty hard schedule, 5 days
a week. The teachers have very high expectations
of the Senshusei; they have to pick up their
skills quickly. This is a very physical course
that should not be undertaken lightly. In
my year 14 people started but only 4 finished,
that was extreme but usually a few people
drop out every year. For regular students
classes are held throughout the day and they
can attend depending on their schedule. For
myself, after I graduated from the Senshusei
course for about 10 years I basically was
at the dojo 5 mornings a week training 2-3
classes and going to work in the evenings.
The last few years my work schedule has restricted
this more and more; currently I can only train
3 days a week.
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| MI:
And what was your occupation, other
than training whilst living in Japan? |
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| Sensei
Friend: When I first arrived in
1992 my focus was purely on aikido and
I took whatever job I could that would
fit into my dojo schedule. After a brief
stint selling umbrellas on the streets
of Ginza and Shinjuku I started teaching
English and this became my base, finally
moving into school administration and
management. I am currently working for
General Electric as a trainer in the
Human Resources (HR) |
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department.
This job involves training along with translation
and general administrative HR work. |
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| MI:
So what brings you to Sydney? |
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Sensei
Friend: There is no Yoshinkan dojo in
Sydney, so I felt a kind of obligation to
establish something here, and Sydney is a
great city to live in.
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| MI:
What
unique features will your dojo bring
to Australia? |
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| Sensei
Friend: I don't know about being
unique, but we will be a traditionally
run dojo, based on the teaching syllabus
at Yoshinkan honbu. We have strong ties
with Japan and plan to bring senior
instructors out to Australia for clinics
and seminars. Aikido Yoshinkai NSW will
be established as a full time dojo,
with a wide schedule of classes for
both adults and children. Instructors
have all trained extensively in Japan. |
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| MI:
Who are some of the names you will be inviting? |
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Sensei
Friend: Well it will depend on scheduling
and availability, but I would like to bring
out my teachers, Inoue Takeno and Chida sensei
along with other senior foreign instructors
from within the International Yoshinkai Aikido
Federation(IYAF) such as Jacques Muguruza
and Robert Mustard.
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| MI:
And who apart from yourself will be
training at your dojo? |
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| Sensei
Friend: My wife Peggy Woo (3rd dan)
and I are starting up this club together.
We have already received many expressions
of interest from people in Sydney, some
are Yoshinkan students from Brisbane
or Melbourne others have heard about
Yoshinkan aikido and want to try it
out. |
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| MI:
What can students expect from Sydney Yoshinkai? |
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Sensei
Friend: We aim for a professional approach
to aikido and dojo management. Yoshinkan aikido
is grounded very much on the physical side
of aikido. Teaching the police even in a safe
city like Tokyo, means that the techniques
have to be effective both inside and outside
the dojo. However to train safely, students
need to begin with the basics and build up
from there, so we will be focusing on basics
but with the end goal being to develop effective
and efficient waza (technique).
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| MI:
Thank
you for taking the time to take part
in this interview Sensei Friend and
we hope to see you soon in Sydney. |
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| MI
Magazine will have regular information
on Sensei Friends Yoshinkan Aikido and
the soon to open dojo and will be there
at the opening making sure you all get
the chance to see how the opening of
the first Sydney Yoshinkan dojo went. |
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By
Paul Swainson
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