Gunnma,Japan 2012

AIKISAMBO SEMINAR IN USA & CANADA 2011

Kiev,Ukraine

In March 2002,I was invited to Kiev,Ukraine by Andriy Berezhnyy,a chief instructor of Kiyokan Dojo. It was my first trip to Ukraine and was a memorable one for me.
I have arrived in Kiev from Narita via Moscow at 11.30pm.I remember I was very exhausted after a long trip from Japan. I was so happy to see Andriy san with his students and his Japanese speaking female translator waiting at the airport to welcome my arrival.
It was close to 1 am when I was invited to a small welcome dinner party .I was the first invited instructor from Japan to teach the Yoshinkan Aikido techniques.Andriy san was only Shodan at that time,but he organized the seminar well and more than 50 people came attending my seminar.During the three days seminar I taught three two hour’s training sessions a day.

At the end of seminar, i have received one TV interview by the local TV station and one interview at the local Radio station.
Since then,I have visited his dojo in Kiev four times and Andriy san came to Japan seven times to receive the training and Shinsa at Honbu dojo in Tokyo and Ryu dojo in Chiba.　Now he is holding Yondan of Yoshinkan Aikido.　Now he has six dojos in Kiev city and enjoying his high reputation.After my seminar, he has invited Ando Sensei,Ito Sensei and Inoue Sensei.
Kiev is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.Founded 1500 years ago,　Kiev is the bustling capital of newly independent Ukraine.　This city with a population of nearly 3 million people is distinguished for its rich architecture and cultural life. There are many beautiful buildings and interesting places to go such as,　Kiev Percherrka Lavsa,　National Opera House,

St.Sophia Catheedral ,Mariyinsky Palace, Andriyivsky Uzviz(The most ancient and steep street in Kiev),Independence Square, 　Khreschatyk Street(The main street of Kiev).
Andriy san took me down to Yalta to spend three days for relaxation two times.It is about 1000 km away from Kiev and it is located by the Black Sea of Crimea. Steep　mountain peaks serve as a lovely backdrop for Yalta, the jewel of the Chrimean peninsula. There is no surprise that the writer Anton Chekhou would choose to live in this seaside resort. It seems to be a combination of Carmel California,the French Riviera and Greece.
Yalta is situated on a deep bay facing south towards the Black Sea,surrounded by wooded mountains. It enjoys a warm Mediterrainian climate with many vineyards and orchards in the vicinity. I wish I could have a summer training camp in Yalta in the future.

Lviv,Ukraine

It was my second visit to Lviv,Ukraine in June 2008.The summer weather in Lviv was very comfortable.
Lviv is one of the most beautiful and the oldest cities in Ukraine. It is the gateway for most European traffic into Ukraine and is located close to Ukrainian Western border.Lviv is a monument to history,art,architecture and culture of Ukraine.
Alex Kozlovsky is a chief instructor and Dojo cho at Academy Aikibujutsu in Lviv. I met him for the first time in Saint Petersburg,Russia in June 2001 on the occasion of the Yoshinkan Aikido Festival with Terada Hanshi. He invited Terada Hanshi to Lviv,Ukraine and established a strong foundation. Besides the Yoshinkan Aikido,he has studied the battojutsu,and Daitoryu Aikijujitsu. He has a strong leadership and maintain a good communication and friendship with the other dojoes in Ukraine and Poland.A total of 160
People participated and enjoyed experiencing my Aikisambo techniques.During the seminar,Alex Sensei made lots of special arrangements such as visiting a local TV station,Radio station and a special interview at the Press Club.I have received a warm welcome and kind hospitality.On the last day of the seminar, a special Budo Enbutaikai was arranged and many martial artists from the different local Martial arts such as Judo,Karate,Kung Fu,Battojutsu and Aikijujitsu
Came and demonstrated their techniques.
Alex Sensei made this Enbutaikai an open invitation to everyone and truelly demonstrated his spirit of harmony.My Enbu was the last one and was enjoyed by many people in the audience.It was such a memorable event for me.

After my visit,Alex Sensei arranged a special seminar with Ando Sensei.It turned out to be a big successful event and 250 people participated in the seminar.Many people came to participate from Poland.
In September 2009,he is inviting Yasuhisa Shioda Kancho too his dojo in Lviv,Ukraine.I am sure this will be the highlight of the Yoshinkan Aikido Festival in Ukraine and Poland.I wish Alex a lot of good luck for his seminar with Yasuhisa Kancho.

Moscow,Russia

David Ayers Sensei is a Kancho for Misogikan Dojo in Moscow,Russia.I have met David Sensei in May 1999 during an international Yoshinkan Aikido seminar in Kamakura with Terada Hanshi.In June 2001 he invited Terada Hanshi and a group of people from Japan including myself to Moscow.We have received a kind
hospitality from him,his family and his students.
David Sensei came to Russia from UK back in 1995 and started teaching the Yoshinkan Aikido .Many people have received the instruction from him.He is a pioneer of Yoshinkan Aikido in Russia.　He made a great contribution trying to spread the Yoshinkan Aikido all over Russia including Siberia.
His wife,Oksana is from Ukraine and is a good cook.
I enjoy her homemade meals everytime I visit oscow.
I have visited his dojo several times and enjoyed the training with his students.I have lots of fond memories from my trip visiting Moscow thanks to the kind hospitality of David Sensei.
In May 2002, I made a trip to Kiso,Nagano with David Sensei, his wife,Oksana and Rustam, another instructor from Saint Petersburg.They enjoyed the trip very much.We stayed at an old Minshuku in the quiet village of Kakizore Canyon in Kiso,Nagano.They enjoyed the traditional Japanese dishes,Sake and hot spring. I look forward to our near future reunion in Japan.

Saint Petersburg,Russia

My Dynamic Aikisambo Oversea Tour in Saint Petersburg,Russia
In Jan 2008,I went to the Sutemi Dojo in Saint Petersburg,Russia and conducted my Aikisambo seminar and workshop hosted by Rustam Karimov Sensei.The seminar was scheduled for three days.I started showing some unique Aikisambo striking techniques both by hands and feet.Next I showed some escape or release techniques　 from One hand grab and two hands grab.followed by throwing and grappling techniques.Aikisambo has many unique Sutemi throwing techniquesand people enjoyed learningthose Sutemiwaza very much.
Rustam Sensei is a dojo cho of Sutemi Dojo in SPB and has been my good friend since 1995.
He came to Japan three times.He spent lots of time training at the Honbu Dojo in Tokyo.He came down to Yokohama on weekend to enjoy Japanese Sushi and beer.
Japanese Sushi is becoming very popular in Russia.Now there are many Japanese Sushi restaurants in SPB.One of Rustam’s student owns five Japanese Sushi restaurants called Wasabi.　Sushi was very delicious.　Rustam told me they get the fresh fish from Alaska.and Norway.
Another thing that is becoming very popular in Russia is a new beer restaurant and garden.The quality of Russian beer has been greatly improved and more people started drinking beer.
Rustam’s one of the students is a manager at a beer restaurant inside the big hotel.The beer brewery is located inside the restaurant.This beer restaurant has a seating capacity of 700 people.The winter scenery in Russia is very beautiful. I took a side trip 30 km outside SPB. Everything was white covered with snow and it was very beautiful.I enjoyed my winter trip to Russia thanks to Rustam’s kind hospitality.

Sacramento,California,USA

On 24 June 2009 I have arrived in San Francisco international airport at 9am.Steven Miranda Sensei and his students came to pick me up from Sacramento and took me to Pier 39 for Louisianna style seafood lunch.After 13 years of long interval,I finally got a chance to come out visiting USA.The main purpose of my visit was to attend the Aikido seminar with Parker Shihan to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Seikeikan dojo in Sacramento and to teach my Aikisambo class .I enjoyed my reunion with Parker Sensei,Miranda Sensei and his students who came to Japan four years ago.The seminar by Parker Sensei was very beneficial and I enjoyed the training with all attendees.After the seminar,I had a chance to enjoy the local tour and outdoor events arranged by Miranda Sensei such as a winery tour,,a tour of gold mine,a walking tour to see the big trees,　a tour of old Sacramento,Gekkeikan Sake brewery tour and outdoor BBQ by the American river and etc.　Although my stay in Sacramento was very short from 24 June till 4 July,I could see and enjoy the good old history,　cultural heritage and the beautiful nature around the city.
My Aikisambo class was conducted at a local Karate dojo on 2 July and at Seikeikan Aikido dojo on 3 July.Many people came to experience my unique Aikisambo techniques.I hope they enjoyed learning my Aikisambo techniques.It was my first time to teach an Aikisambo class in USA.I am very grateful to Miranda Sensei and Eric san who made a wonderful arrangement for me.I have received some positive comments about my Aikisambo techniques from people who saw U Tube of my techniques.I look forward to coming back next summer.Thank you for the good time and unforgettable memories from Sacramento.

California,USA

Time period 24 June to 5 July 2010
I arrived in San Francisco on 24 June 2010 with Masaki san from Yokohama YMCA dojo.Mark san from Sacramento came to pick us up and drove to Lake Tahoe in the high Sierra Mountains.
We spent the night at the cabin by the lakeshore.Mark san prepared a welcome BBQ for us.
Next day Mark san took us to Emerald Bay and the Eagle Waterfalls.for hiking trip.We enjoyed our pinic lunch by the waterfalls running into the lake.The view of the Lake Tahoe was fantastic.We drove along the lakeshore to Kings Beach to visit one local Karate dojo.We spent one hour training there.After that we continued driving along the lake to get to the beautiful Sand Harbor in Lake Tahoe.We saw a beautiful sunset over the lake.We thought about the future summer Gasshuku in Lake Tahoe.
Next day Masaki san and I attended the Aikido seminar in Seikeikan dojo in Sacramento conducted by Parker Shihan and hosted by Steven Miranda Sensei.Miranda Sensei conducted a special walking tour to enjoy the big tall trees in the Carabellas Park.In the evening a Sayonara BBQ party was held at Jeff san’s house.Next day I conducted my Aikisambo seminar at the Orangevale community center .It was my second Aikisambo seminar in Sacramento.Next day Miranda Sensei took me to Amtrak station.I took a train from Sacramento to San Francisco.
Mark san and I spent time together to enjoy the sightseeing tour of San Francisco.We visited the Zen Meditation center in Japan Town..We walked around the beautiful Marina Green,and enjoyed the lunch at Sausalito.by the Golden Gate bridge.After I enjoyed the firework festival on 4th of July I returned home in Japan.It was such an enjoyable and memorable trip thanks to Miranda Sensei,Jeff san and Mark san.

Podolsk,Russia

Time period 18 Nov to 25 Nov 2010
My first Dynamic Aikisambo seminar and workshop was conducted in Podolsk,Russia at the Sports Center Dojo called the House of Strengthening the Spirit.
Andrei Vakulin Sensei and his Uchideshi students made a nice seminar arrangement for me.The training started at 10am every morning and finished at 9pm every night. A total of 50 Aikisambo techniques were demonstrated and taught during the seminar.60 adults and 40 children attended and enjoyed the seminar.All students demonstrated their strong spirit to go through the intensive training.A local TV station came during the opening of the seminar.
I was very happy to learn that the effective and practical Aikisambo techniques were enjoyed by so many people in Podolsk,Russia.The end of the seminar was celebrated by the special Sushi dinner party.After the successful completeion of the seminar,I had a chance to enjoy the traditional Russian style Sauna and BBQ.It was such an enjoyable and memorable experience in Podolsk,Russia thanks to the kind and warm hospitality by Andrei Vakulin Sensei and all his Uchideshi students.

Podolsk,Russia television interview with Sensei Nakazawa