Aikido of Hawaii International

Without growth and change, there is often stagnation.

New editorial by Jason Perna Sensei of Old City Aikido:

https://aikidojournal.com/2022/06/24/a-future-to-honor-o-sensei-by-jason-perna/

Very interesting article on the progression of Aikido from O’Sensei to Tohei to present: https://aikidojournal.com/2016/01/13/an-overview-of-koichi-toheis-early-aikido-career-by-stanley-pranin/

A message from Kaulukukui Sensei, Aikido of Hawaii International.

To All,

I offer my heartfelt greetings to you. I hope that you all have a festive but healthy Holiday Season. I trust that you are able to safely reunite with your families.

This past year has been undeniably difficult for us all. But there are those who have suffered much more than any of us have. Thus, we should be grateful for all that we have, and for the lives that we live.

The ongoing pandemic has impacted our ability to practice Aikido in the way that we would like to do so. But the spirit of Aikido endures in our hearts. As long as we hold the art dear to us, it will continue to thrive.

I thank all of you for your continued commitment and for your dauntless loyalty to your students, your dojo, your families, and to our Aikido organizations.

Best wishes for a safe, healthy, and prosperous 2022.

Aloha,
Thomas K. Kaulukukui, Jr.
Chief Instructor, Chair and President
Aikido of Hawaii International
Kailua Aikido Club

Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido passed away on this day in 1969. We would like to express our profound gratitude and respect to O-Sensei for creating the wonderful art of aikido and being the catalyst for the creation of our global Aikido community. Morihei Ueshiba (12/14/1883 - 4/26/1969).

Congratulations to our AHI Instructors who have promoted this year.

Promoted to Rokudan (6th Dan)
Tom Walsh, Chief Instructor, Aikido of Volusia, FL
Dr. Scott Sobel, Chief Instructor, Baltimore Aikido Academy, MD
Jeff A. Christenham, Chief Instructor, Sarpy Aikido, NE

Promoted to Godan (5th Dan)
Randy Porter, Chief Instructor, Aikido Omaha, NE
Robert Putes, Instructor, Kailua Aikido Club, HI

KAILUA AIKIDO CLUB / AIKIDO OF HAWAII INTERNATIONAL
Sensei Thomas Kaulukukui’s 2020 Holiday Message
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My Christmas and New Year’s greetings to all instructors and students.

As this difficult year 2020 winds to a close, I offer a few thoughts for you to ponder.
The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the lives of people throughout the world. But we are not the first or only generation of humans who have had to face the enormous pressures and difficulties of widespread illness, or world wars, or deadly natural disasters. In the past,
our ancestors have endured such hardships. They survived, and persevered, and overcame.
Each generation that has overcome these hardships has strengthened its immunities to these difficulties. In the DNA of each of us is the DNA of these ancestors. So for generations we have been bred to also survive, persevere and overcome life’s greatest challenges. And we will. Believe it.

The pandemic has forced us into isolation and has severely limited our opportunities to interact on a personal level with our family, friends, and other. Because of political, economic, racial, and other conflicts and strife in our communities, the isolation caused by the pandemic has forced us apart when it is critical for us to join together. In this environment, aikido offers
a unique means of co-operation and collaboration. Aikido’s core values are harmony and love.
O Sensei changed the fighting techniques of martial arts into movements that embrace the values of unity, harmony and generosity. This is exactly what the world needs today. We all need this, so I look forward to the time in the near future when we can again gather in our dojo
and practice together. Until then, I give you my best wishes for a safe and relaxed holiday season.

Aloha,
Sensei Thomas K. Kaulukukui, Jr.
Chief Instructor
Kailua Aikido Dojo

14th of December is a date that we keep in our heart as a special one. On the 14th of December 1883, the Founder of Aikido, O-Sensei Morihei Ueshiba was born. Nishinotani Town, Nishimuro District, Wakayama Prefecture (present day Tanabe City, Wakayama Prefecture) was the place of his birth.
We are all greateful for the treasure O-Sensei created and passed over to the next generations. The virtues that we grow during trainings also flourish in our daily lives, beyond the tatami, especially now, in the time of the pandemic.

Happy Thanksgiving

Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba gives thanks on top of Haleakala, the tallest peak on Maui, during a visit to Hawaii in 1961. Happy Thanksgiving!

What Aikido is, What it is Not, and Why it is of Value – Aikido Journal Discover AikidoEditorialLeadership What Aikido is, What it is Not, and Why it is of Value Josh Gold21 hours agoAdd comment6 min read An editorial authored by Robert Savoca Sensei, Chief Instructor of Brooklyn Aikikai. Kazuo Chiba Sensei, an uchideshi (live-in student) for the founder of Aikido, was....

More history.

Morihei Ueshiba in Hawai’i at the Honolulu Aiki Dojo in 1961. More on his 1961 visit to Hawai’i in "OSensei’s Otomo on his 1961 visit to Hawai’i", on the Aikido Sangenkai blog:

https://www.aikidosangenkai.org/blog/osensei-otomo-1961-hawaii/

~ Tao (道) - The Way of Nature ~

“Simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and thoughts,
you return to the Source of Being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Tao or Dao: 道 is a Chinese word meaning 'way', 'path', 'route'... In Japanese pronounced "Do" - the symbol associated with traditional arts like judo, kendo, kyudo, chado (the way of tea)...

"Tao signifies the primordial essence or fundamental true nature of the Universe (and ourselves). Tao is not a 'name' for a 'thing' but the underlying natural order... It is thus "eternally nameless” and to be distinguished from the countless 'named' things (visible forms and structures) which are considered to be its manifestations."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao

Happy birthday Kubo Sensei. We miss you.

History.

Thanks to Rob Mackinzie for this blast from the past - 1968, the 15th anniversary of Aikido in Hawaii. Bob Kubo and Don Moriyama, who would become the first two non-Japanese to be promoted to 8th dan in the Aikikai, are both noted here.

Also, Harry Eto - "Aikido’s Harry Eto: The Wisdom of ‘Slow and Steady’":

https://www.aikidosangenkai.org/blog/aikido-hawaii-harry-eto/

And Ki Society 9th dan Takashi Nonaka - "Flow Like a River: Takashi Nonaka and the Hilo Ki-Aikido Club":

https://www.aikidosangenkai.org/blog/takashi-nonaka-hilo-ki-aikido/

One day we'll be able to practice again. Until then...

「Koichi Tohei Sensei in Hawaii, 1965① （藤平光一先生 1965年ハワイ講習会①）」

While the world take a break and cancels spring, don't let your Aikido slip.

"When O'Sensei created Aikido, he broke with the traditional concept of martial arts. That is how aikido developed. Aikido is not for fighting but for harmony and love.

If you look at martial arts from the western standpoint, they are fighting arts. In Japan, Budo is known to involve mental and spiritual aspects. But here, people do not see it that way. O'Sensei created aikido to break through the traditional concepts of martial arts. It was a simple thing, his idea, harmony with the universe. You train technically to be efficient and precise. Accuracy involved timing and rhythm. So if you understand that timing and rhythm create a balance, then you begin to understand that we are part of the universe...

If you only look at aikido like its a martial art, for purposes of attack and defense, training will be limited to those purposes."

-Seiichi Sugano (1939-2010) 8th dan

Kailua Aikido Club - Kagami Biraki - January 15, 2020

Aloha to All Dojos/Clubs and their members,

Hawaii Aiki Kai would like to first extend Holiday Season wishes to all, and hope all will be looking forward to a wonderful New Year 2020.

Hawaii Aiki Kai will be hosting Kobayashi Shihan from Hombu Japan and will be having a Seminar from Thursday, February 20 thru Saturday, February 22, 2020.

This is a first initial notification, and details will follow shortly.

Hawaii Aiki Kai would like to request participation from all Aikido Dojos and Clubs in the State of Hawaii and from your affiliate dojos and clubs. Please come and enjoy the practice with Kobayashi Shihan, and participate in social events to be recognized.

If you have any questions, please give me a call, text or email a response.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Jon Obara
Hawaii Aiki Kai - President
Ph.: (808) 341-8388

P.S. The hosting of Kobayashi Sensei is in partnership with Aikido of Hilo.