Honbu Dojo Keiko: Osawa Shihan
March 4, 2001

Contributed by Daniel Nishina*

Hayato Osawa shihan (7th dan) is one of the main instructors at Aikido World Headquarters Honbu Dojo in Tokyo. He has teaching responsibilities in the morning, evening, and women's classes at Honbu and at university clubs. Visit the following web sites:
http://www.aikikai.org/about/index_e.html and
http://www.aikikai.org/dojo/schedule_e.html.

It's still the coldest time of year, but the sun shines warmly through the open windows this late Saturday morning. The back of the room is packed as usual, the people who are arriving just in time having to high-step over the irregular but dense rows of students already seated and waiting for the keiko to begin. The demographics of this Saturday morning class are a bit different than the weekdays - more weekend warriors, people who come because this is the only time they have free to practice during the week. Presumably some people are here for Osawa sensei specifically, but the crowded conditions and the likelihood that you'll pair up with someone on a totally different trip than yourself keep you from being too hopeful for a practice that perfectly suits yourself. The make-up of the people in attendance also lends to a slightly different atmosphere than the weekday practices, even the evenings when many people also just come because they are able to, not to attend a specific teacher's keiko in particular.

Osawa sensei quietly bows into the room, placing his towel inside the doorway before proceeding to the middle of the room. Immediately there is a seriousness in the air, juxtaposed but not at all clashing with the pleasant sunlight. Osawa sensei holds his hakama to the sides of his legs as he kneels. After stretches, rather than waiting for everyone to return to the back of the room and sit down again, he immediately motions to someone and says "Onegaishimasu." As we often do, this class begins with katate-dori tenkan; however, you could say it's tamer today than the occasions when he demonstrates about 4 or 5 different ways to practice it.

Osawa sensei's de-ai tai-sabaki is swift to say the least. He could also be the poster boy for bending one's knees, and today you can see the energy in his hand as he waits for the attack. Watching him, you probably don't sense much clashing, or even pressure or tension, even that which might be visible in connection. In fact, you could say he exemplifies one of the two apparent styles of practice. In one, you'll often see the uke struggling to regain balance or push against the nage, and in the other, the uke is always moving, or balance almost completely taken when still. Osawa sensei would fall into the latter category.

Osawa sensei is one of the teachers who give actual verbal teachings in class. Sometimes he will clarify the particular way he is doing something that day, other times he will emphasize very basic things that one can easily see they should be doing all the time, such as how to grab, where to move one's feet, etc. Today, he even takes the role of uke himself, pointing out that the palm of the hand should stay connected to the nage's wrist, with the body moving so that this is viably possible.

It is probably widely recognized and acknowledged that this Saturday morning class is something of a moderate, neutral ground. Its characteristically crowded conditions and student make-up keep everyone respectful and serious. It is surely also recognized that Osawa sensei must have something of a task every week to teach such a group of people under such circumstances. If any other teacher walked through the door Saturday morning, regardless of our affiliation or alignment, a wave of uneasiness or uncertainty would certainly swell through the dojo. The energy is definitely still in the air when Osawa sensei bows out of the room, and it is far from an uncommon sight to see several groups of people practicing afterwards.

*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 lives about five minutes from Honbu and devotes most of his time to training, while also teaching and doing translation projects. Other articles by Dan may be found in the Back Issues page of this newsletter.