Hombu Dojo Keiko: Endo Shihan
Contributed by Daniel Nishina*

The hot, muggy air hangs around us as we sit waiting for the class to begin. People are dripping sweat even though nothing has happened yet. We are all lined up on the tatami, about four rows up from the very back. This is the latest development: everyone usually used to sit scattered, more or less towards the back of the room, even on the wooden-floor section. I myself considered it almost a comical little tradition that, every Wednesday, Endo sensei would enter the room, look around, and ask everybody to move up further. But, as my friend tells me, he finally told everyone one day that they should all sit further up front, lined up neatly.

Each teacher has a different way of entering the room. Endo sensei, after bowing in at the entrance, walks toward the back of the room, turns in front of where the students are lined up (sooner or later) and walks to the center, taking a few more steps toward the shomen before sitting down. He usually doesn't do warm-ups, instead immediately saying "Onegaishimasu" and signaling with just his eyes to the most senior uchideshi present. Kuribayashi sensei often attends Endo sensei's classes, so he is of course used when he's there. Today the man of the hour is Namba-san, arguably the most fun uchideshi to practice with, for his infinite-seeming energy and earnest responsiveness.

Namba-san stands up, apparently in some degree of disbelief as he checks behind himself to see if he's really the one, and moves up to attack. Endo sensei leans forward a little, signaling for yokomen-uchi. The technique is ikkyo, from entering/blocking. The technique is demonstrated four times, omote and ura, and then everyone bows to their partner and begins practice.

Today, my partner and I are near the front left corner, next to the entrance. Shortly into the practice Endo sensei starts to make his rounds, beginning in our corner. He tends to vary his techniques the most among all the teachers, but today he starts out relatively conservatively. Generally speaking, for this first technique, from the initial block he continues his forward motion, keeping and connecting through the pressure on the attacking arm. For this first yokomen-uchi response, I'd say the main characteristic is "in", or "forward."

Most classes, Endo sensei will demonstrate one technique in the beginning, and we will practice just that one until he calls for jiyuwaza for the last ten minutes or so. However, today he stops us and demonstrates yokomen-uchi ikkyo from the more-flowing, omote movement (the one most commonly/easily leading to shihonage). He stops again later, and demonstrates the direct but still flowing entry, (the one that looks the most similar to the shomen-uchi entry for iriminage). Then, for the last ten minutes he asks us to change partners and do jiyuwaza. For both of these latter types of yokomen-uchi responses, the main characteristic is "down" (i.e. not wide, circular movements). He characteristically gets and stays quite close, and somehow keeps uke fully committed to the initial attack, unable to attack with the other arm. It may appear that he first blocks and stops the attacking arm before breaking balance (for other types of strikes as well), but from my own experience it doesn't feel like a block so much as it's the way he somehow gets me to be completely "in" that attacking arm, before dropping me for kuzushi. I might also say he tends to move relatively slowly, which just makes it all the more puzzling how he keeps so much control of everything. Even so, because I am "gathered" into that initial point of contact, when he moves it, all of me moves with it. (So much for textual description of technique.)

He seems very happy and enthusiastic today, full of energy. Once he starts making his rounds, practicing with every student, he doesn't stop (to observe). There are a few visitors today. It's always hard to tell. Some people come to visit Hombu for just a few days, some for a few months. You never know if someone has moved here and is a resident unless you ask. But there are so many visitors so often that new faces rarely get much notice. Today there is a group of visiting university students (if I'm correct in assuming they're all together) from Hiroshima. In the beginning of the class, a number of them are kiai-ing, indicating the usual way they practice. Personally, I think it's always curious to see whether visitors practice with others or with people from their own group, and practice as they normally do or as it is being demonstrated.

Today, Endo sensei lets the class run about 10 minutes long. He talks for a bit, most probably to the university students. He explains that today he demonstrated the most basic, the 2nd most basic, and an advanced initial response to yokomen-uchi. Demonstrating by taking both the uke and nage roles, he talks about how it's necessary to continue the attack, or more accurately the feeling in the attack, in order for the techniques to be successful. He describes this way of practicing as "ki wo neru keiko". One translation for "neru" could be "to knead", so all together it would be "practice in which you knead your ki". I'll attempt an explanation by offering that it's like practicing to be able to have a lot of your attention available always. To be present while developing more to be present with. He then went on to talk about how basics are important, that kata are necessary as sort of a format, but that in order to do waza, you can't just stay inside the kata.

After the class ends, someone brings out the brooms from the men's changing room, followed shortly by the bucket full of rags and water. While I'm sweeping I catch a glance of Endo sensei shooing away a university student who wants to fold his hakama for him.

*Dan Nishina is a student at Aikikai Honbu Dojo in Shinjuku, Tokyo, where he has trained for the past two years following graduation from UC Berkeley. An eight year aikido student, he occupies a tiny (but not the tiniest) room about five minutes from Honbu and devotes most of his time to training, content at keeping his head just above the poverty line with teaching and translation projects. Since moving to Japan, he has picked up a number of new habits, one of which is stopping in at the many local Starbucks. From time to time, he will be sharing his first-hand experiences with us, permitting a personal glimpse into training at Aikikai Headquarters.

Great lodging available near Aikikai Honbu!

Anyone visiting Japan knows how high lodging and transportation expenses can be. Here is a potential godsend, if you are planning on visiting Hombu Dojo for a few days or a few months.

Stay at a house an 8-minute walk away from Takadanobaba Station. 'Baba Station is two stops away (about 5 min.) from Shinjuku Station on the Yamanote line (the loop line that goes around Tokyo every 4 minutes or less).

To Honbu Dojo, it is a 15-minute bicycle ride or a 30-minute walk. The best bet on foot is to take the 2-minute train ride to Shin-Okubo Station, then walk for 15 minutes to Shinjuku Station, the busiest train station in the world.

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