The "8th Totsuka Martial Arts Festival'' was held on Saturday, June 11th 2022 at the Totsuka Sports Center in Kamikuratacho. The event was organized by the Totsuka Martial Arts Liaison Council and sponsored by the Totsuka Ward Sports Association and the Totsuka Ward Office.
On the day, eight martial arts including Aikido, Jodo, Judo, Karatedo, Kendo, Kyudo, Naginatado, and Shorinji Kempo were introduced through a series of demonstrations, followed by hands-on introductory classes offered to the general public. The Totsuka Martial Arts Liaison Council Chairman, Yamamoto Masanaka, said in an interview that the event was meant as a great opportunity for people of all ages to experience various martial arts.
The traditional opening with the Japanese National Anthem and speeches
Aikido is usually represented at the event by the teachers and students of the Takeda Dojo, which has been operating for the past 40 years in Kawakamicho, Totsuka. Since its inception, Yokohama AikiDojo has been fortunate to receive the active support of Takeda Yoshinobu Shihan and Takeda Daiyu Sensei and once again, they very generously offered to include us in their activities and share part of the Aikido demonstration slot with us.
A full house of spectators and practitioners
Five members of our children's class volunteered to participate and they prepared their two-minute demonstration with the utmost care and concentration during the weeks prior. For most of them, it was their very first time displaying their skills in front of an audience, let alone one that included seasoned martial artists from many disciplines! In spite of the nervousness, they did very well. One of our dads told us that he reckoned that they did even better than during rehearsal!
Members of the Yokohama AikiDojo children demonstration
Our head instructor also participated in the demonstration offered by the Takeda Dojo, first as uke for the adults demonstration, and subsequently during the instructors demonstration, where he demonstrated with Ishii Norihisa Sensei, a fifth dan instructor from the Takeda Dojo.
Women self-defense, as part of the adults demonstration
After the demonstrations, all martial arts offered introductory classes to the audience, as well as to the practitioners of other martial arts. The adult and youths members of our dojo who had come to demonstrate or support us enthusiastically opted to discover judo, kyudo, kendo, naginata, and jodo, and all left absolutely delighted by the experience. Meanwhile, our head instructor joined the Takeda Dojo instructors for the open Aikido class.
Introductory Aikido class
At 16:00, as the last group activity of the day, everyone laid a hand at taking the mats away and cleaning the dojo. Everyone went home reflecting on full of positive energy and ready to continue developing their skills through diligent practice at their respective dojo.
Yokohama AikiDojo child helping put mats away
We were all very grateful to be able to participate in this event and to have the opportunity to mingle with other budo practitioners, and try out different disciplines.
