The Shomen - Part 2
Added: July 24th, 2009 | By: Mike Diette | Topic: etiquetteWhen you first walk into a traditional Yoshinkan Aikido dojo, you will notice that at the front of the dojo are two portraits; the one on the left is of Morihei Ueshiba (commonly called ‘O’Sensei’ meaning ‘Great Teacher’) who was the founder of Aikido and to his right is a picture of Gozo Shioda (commonly called ‘Kancho’ meaning ‘Head of the House’) who was a direct student of O’Sensei and founded the Yoshinkan style of Aikido that we study.
This is referred to as the ‘Shomen’ which literally means ‘front’.
When first stepping onto and when you last leave the mat, it is customary to bow to the Shomen. The bow should be a kneeling bow called ‘seiza rei’.
Again, this is a Japanese custom and has no religious significance whatsoever. The bow is a gesture of greeting and of respect.
We also formally open and close each class facing the shomen; students line up according to rank, highest rank starting to the right of the Shomen and moving down to the left, and the students sit in ‘seiza’, the traditional Japanese kneeling posture. The ‘Sensei’ or ‘teacher’ then enters the mat and sits in seiza in front of and facing the Shomen.
The student who called out the warm up exercises, generally a senior student, then calls the command ‘Shomen ni rei’ which means to bow to the Shomen. This is a mark of respect and a way of thanking O’Sensei and Kancho for developing Aikido. He/she then calls the command ‘Sensei ni rei’ at which point the students bow to the Sensei, who has turned in seiza to now face the students. This is to signify respect and thanks for taking the time to instruct us in the ways of Aikido.
The Shomen is considered special or sacred (in the secular sense), and should be treated as such. For example, it is considered very rude to leave training bags, shoes, weapons, etc. at the front of the dojo along the Shomen wall. As the Shomen contains the portraits of the founders, both of whom are deceased, leaving a pair of shoes near these would be similar to leaving your shoes on someone’s grave.
When on the mat, it is also considered rude to turn your back to the Shomen. Training is usually performed so that students are perpendicular to the Shomen and the mats are laid out in such a manner as to facilitate this. Due to space constrictions when there are a lot of students on the mat or sometimes during group work, it is generally acceptable to have your back to the Shomen if this is the only way that the techniques can be performed as long as it is done consciously and with consideration. Casually turning your back to the Shomen is disrespectful.
All of these behaviours are done out of respect for culture, the founders of Aikido, and are also a great way to train yourself in controlling your actions and maintaining awareness of your surroundings; all essential tools in good Aikido.
How to: Calender and RSS Feed
Added: July 21st, 2009 | By: Shoshinkan | Topic: websiteThere are a number of new features on the website, which people may find quite useful but may not be aware of yet.
Class schedule and other events:
The “Classes” page contains a calendar listing the class schedule. This is posted using Google Calendar, which means that you can check for information on this week’s classes, such as what is the specialised class on that Saturday and also information for events later on in the year. You can choose different calendar views; day, week, month etc. If you click on an entry in the calendar it will give you more information, including the location of the class. When you do this, there is also a link to a map showing you exactly where the class or event will be held.
The calendar will be updated regularly, so it is worth checking back when you can. An easy way to do this is to sync the dojo calendar with your own calendar that you use at home or work. You can do this very easily if you use Apple’s iCal, Mozilla Sunbird, Microsoft Outlook or Google Calendar, by clicking on the small icon in the bottom right of the dojo calendar (as shown below). 
As class times or events are updated, they will be added or modified automatically and appear along with events within your own calendar (as shown below).
Getting new information or articles through RSS feed:
On the Homepage you will see an icon like the image here on the left located in the “What’s New?” section.
If you place your mouse pointer over this, it will change to orange and when you click on this you will be presented with a number of options that will allow you to receive information from the site automatically as it is posted. This can be through a live bookmark or through applications like Google Reader.
Don’t worry too much if you don’t use these new features, as any important details will be relayed to you as normal nearer the time.
What the new features provide is added convenience to anyone who already uses, or is planning to use, a calendar on their computer - or RSS feeds. It also allows you to look ahead and plan for any events in advance. If you are having any problems using these features, please let us know.
Gozo Shioda Memorial Seminar
Added: July 21st, 2009 | By: Andy Astle | Topic: seminarA group from the dojo attended the Gozo Shioda memorial seminar in Slough with Sensei Terry Harrison on the 19th July 2009. Sensei Terry has organised a seminar commemorating the life of Gozo Shioda for a number of years now.
Around 30-40 people from different Yoshinkan clubs attended this year’s seminar at the Tatsumaki dojo.
In the morning, a large number of things were covered including kihon dosa and shomen tsuki ikkajo osae.
In the afternoon we did 31 jo kata, goshin jitsu with tanto, and ushiro techniques. Sensei Terry emphasised the importance of attacking strongly.
It was good to train with all the students who were present. Everyone who attended found the day enjoyable and informative. Thank you to Sensei Terry and all Sendokan students for inviting us and for organising the day.