Now,We are in Moscow

Hello everyone.

It is 8 o'clock 45 in the morning in Moscow.

It is very cold.

Last night we watched a Circus.

Cats performance was rare.

I 'll write more later.

Tsuneo Ando

London Calling

Here are some pictures from my trip to England to celebrate Terry Harrison Sensei's thirty years in aikido:

Outside the hotel.

With the Nagahatas who are on honeymoon!

Congratulations to Terry Harrison and thank you to everyone at both the Sendokan and Meidokan Dojos for making the trip a memorable one!

Yoshinkan Aikido Munich Seminar

At the end of September, I made my first trip back to Munich in 9 years. This trip was at the invitation of Nagano Sensei of Yoshinkan Aikido Munich. Nagano Sensei and I were uchi deshi together in the days when the Honbu Dojo was in Koganei. Besides being uchi deshi together we were also drinking buddies! Mr Isaka (who accompanied me on this trip, along with Mr Umeda; Mr Morita and my uchi deshi Mitsuhashi Shidoin) has also been good friends with Nagano Sensei for many years. We were met at the airport by Nagano Sensei and Mr Watanabe. Mr Watanabe has been many times to stay at Ryu Dojo and he often acts as a contact between Ryu Dojo and Yoshinkan Aikido Munich.

Altogether, we held 7 sessions with about 60 people attending each time. I feel that everybody at Yoshinkan Aikido Munich is improving steadily.



We were lucky to visit Munich at the time of the world famous Oktoberfes. This festival is held in the middle of an amusement park with roller coasters and other attractions. There are 7 beer halls - each beer hall holds about 5000 people!



We also visited Neuschwanstein Castle. This fairy-tale castle, built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria, was the model for Cinderella's Castle at Disneyland.





This trip was particularly enjoyable because of the chance to meet people like Stefan Bill and Mr Watanabe who come and stay at Ryu Dojo. Unforunately I drank too much of the delicious beer and put on lots of weight! Thank you to everyone at Yoshinkan Aikdio Munich for a wonderful time.

Oktoberfes!

I am currently in Munich, Germany at the invitation of Nagano Sensei and Yoshinkan Aikido Munich to teach a seminar. I will be back in Japan on Wednesday. Here are some pictures from my trip.

St. Petersburg

Here are some more pictures from my recent trip to St. Petersburg - I`m sorry I didn`t get any pictures of the White Nights! I would like to thank Rustam Sensei and his students and everybody who participated in the seminars for making it such a memorable trip.

Rustam Karimov Sensei and myself in front of Katherine`s Palace, St. Petersburg.

Myself with the members of Rustam Sensei`s dojo, after training.

`Konnichi wa Party` at Wasabi Japanese restaurant - Rustam Sensei, myself, Lena, Tokiko Ogawa and Hotta Sensei.

Seminar participants after training.

Bowing in before training.

Teaching 31 no jo.

From Russia, with love.

These pictures are taken in Katherine`s Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia. I left Japan on Wednesday and will be in St. Petersburg for a week, teaching a seminar here.

"Tachi waza
1. Shoumen: Part 2

Uchi kondekuruteki ni mukate wa istumo jyubun no kokoro ni teki wo tsutsumuyouna yudaina kimochi de taisureba tekinodosa wo minuku koto ga dekiru soko de sore ni gashite migi arui wa hidari ni tai wo kawasu koto ga dekiru. Matta teki wo jyubun no kokoro ni dakikondara, jyubun ga tenchiyori uketa tokoro no michi ni teki wo michibiku koto gar dekiru."

The English explanation of Ueshiba Sensei`s words above coming soon!