Articles

View from the Bridge

by Kevin Choate

The Bridge Seminar concept is, unfortunately, new to Aikido, and perhaps to other martial arts as well, but it is an idea long overdue. I won’t focus on the grander purpose of developing a setting to increase interaction and build community among people who have a common interest and yet have been separated by… well, who knows. These are larger issues for bigger brains than mine.

The Bridge Seminar at its base, and at its best, provides an opportunity for us to experience instruction at a level and of a diversity that would otherwise be very difficult -- if not impossible -- to achieve. You literally would need to travel the world to see all of these instructors and experience what they have to offer. The airlines would love it but the wallet wouldn’t. Even if you did manage to make all those trips, I believe something would still be missing from the experience.

That's because there is a synergy that occurs when you see six instructors a day for six days. Each one brings a unique approach to an art they have studied seriously and want to transmit. At last year’s Bridge Seminar, my initial reaction was to be confused by the differences in style; this year I was impressed by the similarity of substance.

Ikeda Sensei has managed to bring together four Shihan level instructors who have dealt with central principles of Aikido in their own ways, and who can offer individual solutions that I think can benefit anyone interested in developing their skill and understanding. It was not only fascinating to watch the Shihan watch each other, it helped me appreciate that training truly is a process and not a goal. On and off the mat, the instruction and interaction of the Shihan showed a content of character that was in keeping not only with the overall purpose of a Bridge Seminar but with the Martin Luther King Day schedule.

In addition to the four Shihan, the guest instructors also brought value to the seminar, and though time was short, each one added to my understanding of aikido and of a Bridge Seminar.

I cannot express enough my appreciation to Hiroshi Ikeda Sensei, Jeff Sodeman and the members of Jiai Aikikai for all the effort they put into the planning and hosting of this event. All in all, the Bridge Seminar is proving to be a fine new tradition within our aikido community, and one that I believe can benefit us all.