April the 4th is just another Saturday for everyone, but a special Saturday for the members of Aikido club because all of us were anticipating the arrival of Jun Yamada Shihan (7th Dan).
Some members went to the dojo around 10 a.m. in the morning to help with the moving of the mats. It took the members a few hours time to move the mats from the dojo and then loading it onto a lorry.
Arriving in Swinburne, the mats were carried into the auditorium (Block G) and arranged to form a square. Once all is done, everyone went to the nearby canteen for our lunch.
This is how our new ‘dojo’ looks like:
After the clock struck 1, members changed into their uniforms and getting ready for the upgrading examination under the supervision of Jun Yamada Shihan (7th Dan).
Some members did warm up exercises and their final practice before the examination starts. There were five people who took the exam, and they are Fabian Tan, Matthew Chien, Henry Bong and Zachariah Hong and Hu Ting Jie.
After the arrival of Jun Yamada Shihan, everyone is waiting for Yamada Shihan to lead the seminar. Those present are members from Seishinkan Dojo and Hikmah Dojo. Everyone sits in seiza.
It began with the upgrading of 5th Kyu. Originally, both Fabian Tan and Matthew Chien had selected their own uke but due to some changes, both of them had to switch turns to become uke and nage.
Next is Henry Bong on his upgrading to 4th Kyu.
Followed by Zachariah Hong on his upgrading to 3rd Kyu.
Lastly is Hu Ting Jie on his upgrading to the 1st Dan.
After the examination session ended, Yamada Shihan conducted a short class, teaching and explaining the techniques.
Like the classes in Aikido, everyone is told to practice together.
Even though Yamada Shihan’s hair color turns white, he is still brimming with energy like anyone in their 20s or 30s.
The seminar ends with Suwari-waza Kokyu-ho
We had the opportunity to have a photo session with Yamada Shihan, the picture below consists of the members of Both Seishinkan Dojo and Hikmah Dojo.
These are the members of our Seishinkan Dojo.
After everyone left, we had to stay back to move the mats back to the Dojo. If one thinks that moving the mats from the Dojo to Swinburne is hard, then moving the mats from Swinburne back to Dojo is something impossible.
The girls vacuumed the wood planks before placing the mats on top of it.
The guys piling up the mats.
We were awarded 100 plus to replenish our energy, it was a long and tiring day but I’m sure everyone enjoyed it.
Sorry for the late post since we all busy with projects and assignments
Happy Holidays~
Blogged by Wei Liang
Photos by Annie
