Rising Sun Aikido

Traditional Ueshiba style Aikido self defence club

Weston-Super-Mare, North Somerset, England

My Aikido

Chris Henley tells us what its like to spend a weekend in Dartford training with Robert Mustard Sensei 7th Dan

Mustard Sensei Course Dartford 30th - 31st October 2010

I have been learning Aikido for about 1 and half years with Sensei Phil Benge and was very excited about going to a seminar with Sensei Robert Mustard who is a 7th Dan and has studied Aikido in Japan for approx 10 years. The course was held in Dartford Kent and lasted the weekend where we trained for approx 6 - 7 hours each day. Mustard Sensei trains in the style of Yoshinkan Aikido which is different but the same to our traditional Aikido that Sensei Phil Benge teaches. They all have slightly different moves but the basics are the same such as Kamae (posture).

Watching and training with Mustard Sensei was a real honour and I have to say I learnt a lot from the whole weekend. We went through the basics such as having a good strong kamae which is key to becoming a good aikidoka, to learning some very strong and powerful moves without having to expend much energy. Mustard Sensei is a great teacher with over 34 years experience in Aikido and he certainly knows how to make you feel comfortable using both expertise and humour to get his point across.

I feel that from the weekend I gained a greater insight into aikido and it helped me learn that you have to get the basics right first in order to succeed and in order to become a great shi'te you must also become a great uke. The highlight of the weekend was Sensei Phil Benge being awarded with his well deserved Yon Dan (4th) by Sensei Robert Mustard on Sunday afternoon.

(Congratulations to Sensei Phil Benge for being awarded with his 4th Dan)

Chris Henley