Meeting Doshu

It's been a little while since I've blogged. A lot has happened in that short time. I've had some time to really reconsider my decision to stay. More on that to come.

And, I'd been preparing for the Aikido Demonstration today. Today was the 35th Anniversary since Suganuma Shihan(9th dan, Fukuoka) established an Aikido Dojo on Kyushu Island. So, there was a demonstration planned for the event.

I wasn't told even that much when I signed up to participate in the demonstration. I didn't know what it was for, or who would be attending. I just thought it would be a good thing to do, to participate in an Aikido demonstration with my dojo, the Kumamoto dojo.

We spent the past couple of weeks preparing in class. My group had two minutes to present a demo. Me and my partner had exactly 40 seconds. But that wasn't the biggest surprise. The biggest surprise was that Doshu would be watching.

Who is Doshu? For those who practice Aikido, there is an automatic response. He is the grandson of the founder of Aikido, the current head of the largest Aikido Association in the world. His name is Moriteru Ueshiba. He's sorta the head honcho of Aikido to many people. I had no idea he would be there. I had no idea I would meet him. After our group performed, we exited the stage and headed out to watch the demos after ours. There were innumerable 6th dans presenting, and I counted at least five 7th dans(7th degree blackbelts).

Then Suganuma Shihan presented. Then Doshu presented. Their presentations were quite enlightening; I won't try to describe them.

At the party afterwards, we all had fun eating and drinking. There were about 1000 people at the demo, and maybe 300 or 400 people at the party. Our dojo had a picture taken with Suganuma and Doshu. Then, thankfully, a couple of slightly drunk people from my dojo pushed me up to Doshu to shake his hand and get his *autograph*! Suganuma Shihan, being also renowned for his accomplishments, was kind enough to give me a signature too.(Honestly, I think signatures are a bit strange to keep, but I'm glad to have them all the same.)

I rode the bus home with my dojo brimming with joy. I'd met Suganuma Shihan before, so I knew his greatness of presence. At first, though, Doshu didn't seem to have a large presence at first, but seeing his eyes changed my mind. They were light brown, and had a shimmer to them. The shimmer looked like joy to me, and I imagine it might've come down the blood line from his grandfather.

I don't know what to say. It was a dream come true for me on this day, once again in my life.

Anything more you'd like to know about that?