The year 2020 is upon us and it is definitely going to be a rather busy one, not only due to the upcoming summer's Olympic Games, but also because of a number of Aikido events, which will be more or less directly affected by the Olympics.
First, the readers should know that the Nippon Budokan is currently undergoing renovation works and as a consequence, it was unable to host the traditional Kagamibiraki/Keiko Hajime, which had to be cancelled. The Kobudo Embutaikai and the All Japan Aikido will happen but they will have to be relocated. The former will take place in February at the Tokyo Budokan and the later will happen in May in the Takasaki Arena, which most people will remember as the venue of the 2016 International Aikido Congress. Talking about the congress, the 13th International Aikido Federation Congress will take place soon after the Olympics have wrapped up in Yoyogi (details to follow). After that, the city of Tanabe (birthplace of Ueshiba Morihei) will hold a special exhibition on October 24 and 25 about the founder of Aikido (植芝盛平翁顕彰事業, lit. Ueshiba Morihei Honoring Project) in its newly constructed Budokan. Obviously, I will try to attend, and report on most of those events.
To quick-start this year, I attended the Kagamibiraki ceremony held a the Aikikai Hombu Dojo. I had been informed that Micheline Tissier was going to be promoted to the 7th dan Aikikai and I obviously couldn't miss this occasion. The Kagamibiraki is always a great moment for socializing and catching up while enjoying a glass of nihonshu and some mochi serves in azuki sauce. I was lucky enough to spend that time with Micheline, her daughter, and her students, as well as Okamoto Yoko and Kumazawa Miyuki Sensei, with whom it is now becoming somewhat a tradition. Micheline was kind enough to spare some time in her very busy schedule (she was here for three days in total!) to talk to me about that promotion and what it represents for her.
The ceremony adopted the usual format, with a demonstration by Doshu, followed by the awarding of the certificates to a few selected people. After that, Tada Hiroshi Shihan gave his traditional speech but this year, foreign attendees were fortunate to hear it translated into English by Fabio Gygi. The readers might remember Fabio since he is the one who helped me conduct an interview with Tada Sensei a few years ago.
The list of people promoted to 8th dan is as follows:
- Yamashima Takeshi
- Ogawa Yoshihiro
- Takahiro Matsumaru
- Haruyoshi Horikoshi
- Ishigaki Haruo
- Hatayama Kengo
I would like to congratulate Bruno Zanotti (7th dan), Philippe Leon (7th dan), Eamon Devlin (6th dan), Iulian Perpelici (6th dan), Emmanuel Mares (5th dan), and all the newly promoted. The full list of promotions is available here.
The Kagamibiraki is always a great opportunity to catch up with people we appreciate. Here I am with my close friend Jordy Delage and Kimura Jiro Shihan.
