Monday, June 30, 2014

FREE 20th Anniversary SMAA Workshop

In honor of the 20th anniversary of the Shudokan Martial Arts Association a special one-day workshop will be offered in California on September 4. This event is 100% free to SMAA members! It is just one of the many benefits of belonging to the SMAA.

The event will feature instruction in Shin-shin-toitsu-do, a form of Japanese yoga/meditation that can help you realize your full potential in budo, and Saigo Ryu sogo bujutsu, a synthesis of Japanese martial arts with an emphasis on jujutsu techniques. Here’s all you need to know to participate:

WHERE: Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts
1053 San Pablo Ave.
Albany, CA 94706
USA

WHEN: The September 4 workshop begins at 7:00 PM, but you will need to preregister to participate. Send email to hedavey@aol.com for registration information.

HOW MUCH: Free if your SMAA dues have been paid in 2014.

WHO: Instruction will be presented by H. E. Davey Sensei, an eighth dan in the SMAA Jujutsu Division, and Kevin Heard Sensei, a sixth dan in the SMAA Jujutsu Division. Both teachers have decades of experience studying Japanese martial arts in the USA and Japan. They, in addition, hold the highest level of teaching certification in Shin-shin-toitsu-do through the Kokusai Nihon Yoga Renmei in Kyoto.

WHAT: Created by Nakamura Tempu Sensei, Shin-shin-toitsu-do has been studied by top martial artists in Japan as a way of realizing their full power in budo via coordination of mind and body. Human beings have a tremendous latent potential that's waiting to be unearthed. Nakamura Sensei discovered the extraordinary energy of mind and body unification beside an ancient waterfall in the Himalayan mountains, allowing him to heal from tuberculosis and manifest a new state of consciousness. Upon his return to Japan, he created a new path called Shin-shin-toitsu-do: "The Way of Mind and Body Unification." A form of Japanese yoga and meditation, Shin-shin-toitsu-do unearths our buried talents and rarely realized potential. Read more at www.japanese-yoga.com.

While many Westerners use "jujutsu," "jujitsu," or "jiu-jitsu" to describe their art of self-defense, most of these methods bear little resemblance to the original Japanese jujutsu, Japan's oldest martial art. Both aikido and judo stem from jujutsu, and the SMAA is one of few groups to offer authentic Japanese jujutsu. Don’t miss your chance to try one form of it at the 20th Anniversary SMAA Workshop!

Saigo Ryu features a variety of throwing, pinning, and grappling techniques stemming from older methods originating in the Aizu-Wakamatsu area of Japan. It is a sogo bujutsu, an "integrated martial system," and it also features training in the martial arts of the sword, spear, staff, short stick, iron fan, and others. It is unique and unlike many more well known martial disciplines. While training is vigorous, and the techniques effective, the emphasis is on subduing an opponent without unneeded injury. Students improve their health while learning martial arts as meditation, which helps them to remain calm under pressure. The workshop will also teach methods for cultivating ki. Ki is the life energy that animates human beings, and an understanding of it is useful in martial arts and daily life. Read more at www.senninfoundation.com.