This post was written by Darrell D'Antonoli Sensei about this past weekend's seminar in Mesa, Arizona at the Arizona branch of the Daitoryu Aikijujitsu Ginjukai.

Very honored to have someone write about me like this..

http://martialartsmesa.com/daito-ryu-aikijujutsu-seminar-mes/

"Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu Mesa Arizona – To me it is hard to express the feelings I felt being at the Dojo over this weekend with so many friends and students in addition to all the other martial artists whom I just met for the first time, even though I felt as though they were old friends. Last weekends event was one of the very best I believe the Budo Shingikan Dojo has ever put on thus far. We had Martial Art Schools from across Arizona show up in force along with several representatives from other schools in other States travel to our home Dojo in Mesa, Arizona for this wonderful presentation of Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu. Not only were there no gaps between training styles there was no ego, just a group of very knowledgeable people who put “what they know” down for a second in order to “empty their cup” as the saying goes to learn something new. What a great example of humility from so many of you in the martial arts community. It was a true pleasure to have the opportunity to work with all the attendees as well as get some more of Howard Popkin Sensei’s amazing instruction. I applaud all those who came to join as students this weekend and look forward to a long and continued friendship with each and every one of you.

This weekends focus was primarily on the elusive concept known in Japanese martial arts as “Aiki”. The use of Aiki within martial practice to me is really that of the Graduate School of understanding martial arts as it is primarily less concerned with the opponent and far more driven by controlling ones self and ones body via a complex understanding of anatomy, structure within the body, and the ability to map that structure and truly comprehend its effects for maximum ability of application. Aiki is literally translated as harmonizing ones energy, which gives it some sort of mystical and magical air around it, however a study in Daito Ryu quickly puts these notions out of your mind and simplifies the transmission of such knowledge into physical and structural boundaries giving the practitioner a more solid and concrete idea of what Aiki really is. Popkin Sensei stated that the Japanese rendering of the word Ai Ki Ju Jitsu (合気柔術) is very straight on in the sense of meaning. Ai – Harmony (not fighting points of conflict), Ki – Energy (or Force), Ju – Soft, Jitsu – Techniques. The name pretty much sums it all up if you ask me! Doing it and applying it is another task all together, one that is as joyous in its challenging nature as utilitarian as a martial tool.

Howard Popkin Sensei is my Sensei, so I will be the very first person to say that I am extremely biased  However I can tell that as a human being I have met very few people as sincere and kind as Popkin Sensei. When I say kind I mean that he really cares about each of his students whether they are a direct student or a seminar participant. This is the main attribute that I believe sets Sensei apart from others. He isn’t there to take your money and show you some cool “stuff”. He is there to teach you and he expects you to learn! If you aren’t learning the information then something is wrong. I have met several teachers over two decades of practice and I can personally tell you that there are teachers who demonstrate and those who teach. Demonstration is very cool to see that something is real or true, however it leaves the student unable to perform the same tasks. The teacher that truly teaches has students who can duplicate and understand the information through the transmission of knowledge. Popkin Sensei teaches period. He has a genuine desire for all to learn, coupled with the fact that he is an educator by trade. I have found this as a large benefit because Sensei has methods of teaching that are not only unique in the martial arts world but effective to all levels of student understanding. I simply have not found many people at all with this ability to teach in the same manner.

I as well as the entire Budo Shingikan Dojo Staff & Student base would like thank Sensei for coming out to spend time with us and teach us and I would also like to thank the 30+ individuals who showed up to be a part of our Dojo for the weekend, we admire your openness to learning new things and appreciate your friendship. We sincerely look forward to seeing you all again very soon."