O-Sensei Meets an Eager Student by AaaRk Sensei
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Ueshiba Sensei, to prepare for his Mongolian trek with Onisaburo
Deguchi, decided to test his mettle with Nobu Shirase's expedition to
Antarctica.
Shirase's group immediately ran into trouble, which is understandable
considering they thought they were going to Southern
California. Trapped by a sudden blizzard, Ueshiba was separated from
the expedition. As the snow piled up around him, he started his misogi
and began chanting to Ame-no-Tajikara-o.
A little distance off, Byrd Sensei was taking a break from the
philophical discussion underway in his Winter huddle. He heard the
near Penguin-like squawks of the chant. Beguiled by the heavenly
warble, Byrd was drawn out to the storm, where he found a near-frozen
Ueshiba. Bringing him back to the huddle, they pushed O-Sensei into
the middle, concentrating enough heat to thaw him out.
Ueshiba was a curious looking bird; no beak to speak of, no feathers,
knees way too high, and very little by way of adipose beauty. But he
was charming and genteel, so the rookery took to him right away.
After the storm, in gratitude, O-Sensei taught byrd a modified way of
Aiki, which he called "Aiki-cccAAAwWkk", but Bird suggest he shorten
it to Aikido. So skillful was Byrd that O-Sensei made him a Shihan on
the spot, although, being the only Aikidoka on the continent helped a
bit.
Ueshiba made the summer trek with the males of the colony and got back
to the Ross sea, much to the amazement of Shirase.
Byrd Sensei developed a waddling style of Aikido, with an absurdly low
center. No thumbs, so no weapons; we do have a mean beak kata,
though. The circular part was easy, as we are naturally round. He
modified the suwari-waza techniques for us as it is much more
efficient for us to slide on our bellies. (As a side note, penguins do
have knees.) We've also developed some fun underwater group katas.
Antarctica Aikikai still has fine relations with Hombu Dojo. The 10
tons of shrimp we send annually surely helps.
We continue to run our classes based on the plan of the Winter
Circle. In order to survive the worst part of the winter, we all
gather together in a big huddle, which naturally forms a circle. The
middle can reach a balmy 60 degrees F! No one is left out and everyone
gets their turn in the warm center point. But this only happens
because everyone also spends some time on the cold, clod outer
rim. Sort of a social In/Yo. You give a little; you get a little, and
everyone works together.
I was asked to give our Memphis Lady's Junior League Cheese Cake
recipe. Unfortunately, the American Heart Association says we're not
allowed to. It's great for Penguins, but perhaps not so great for
humans. It starts with a stick of butter, a cup and a half of sugar,
four eggs and two pounds of cream cheese! We add krill, of course.
Robert from Austin, TX:
Brrrr, it's a might chilly down here! Come on out to Texas and we'll
put on some barbecue to warm you up!
AaaRk: Well, OK, but only because I need to increase my fine attractive
layer of fat for the coming summer months. Now, if only Texas had
beer.
Steve from Northampton, England:
Brilliant! And here's me trying to come up with some way of making
Aikido sound interesting - I think I'll give up now and try laying on
some more blubber. All the best - Steve
AaaRk: Good Man! Blubber is God's gift against the cold (and very
attractive to the opposite sex).
Andrew from Calgary, Alberta, Canada:
Greeting from the Great White North.
Our thoughts are with you. Our igloo dojo has survived another summer
although the mats did require some snow removal during the July
blizzard.
Be strong, throw long, and visualize flight.
Polar Bear Dojo
AaaRk: Be Soft, thrown down and visualize crashing into a pile of gull
guano.
Robert from Germany / Karlsruhe:
...Which kind of Fish are your favourite choice ? For best flood of
Pengi- Ki.
AaaRk: Hey Robert, you really can't beat a pile of krill, a keg of beer,
and perhaps a pizza, when you can get them to deliver it 9365 miles
from Goodfellow's in Staten Island.
Rachel from somewhere in Cyberspace:
Penguin Rondori?
Finding one's chick in a crowd.
Practice from birth then?
AaaRk: Hey Rachel,
Too many syllables
Not Rachel from Cyberspace
Have a beer on us.
Do you have a question you would like answered by AaaRk sensei? If
so, contact him by
e-mail!
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