Introduction
On the morning of August 10th 2020, we attended Patricia Hendricks Sensei’s IAF (International Aikido Federation) sponsored online class. Hendricks Sensei (Shihan/7th Dan Aikikai) is both our teacher and the division head of CAA Division 1, our dojo’s parent organization. The IAF invited Hendricks Sensei to teach a “live” class during the 2020 IAF Summit (Sept/Oct 2020). The IAF was forced to cancel the summit in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to the cancellation, the IAF organized a series of online seminars, headlined by Hendricks Shihan, in response to the cancellation of the live Summit. Hendricks Shihan being invited to teach marks the first time a female instructor has been invited to teach a class at the IAF Summit. Hendricks Sensei’s class introduces a series of online classes taught by prominent female Aikido teachers. The Resources section, below, includes the URL for the series schedule.
What is the IAF?
The IAF, or International Aikido Federation, is an Aikikai affiliated federation comprised of various national Aikido organizations. The USAF (United States Aikido Federation) is the organization representing the United States with respect to the IAF. The IAF represents Aikido and the IAF member dojos, within the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF). The CAA (California Aikido Association) has a direct relationship with Hombu Dojo. We enjoy a close kinship with the IAF and it’s member dojos.
The Class
We opened the dojo on Monday morning to allow folks to attend and use the mat for practice. As always, Hendricks Sensei taught a great class. Her teaching style is always clear and detailed. We’ve attended quite a few live classes with Hendricks Sensei over the last 20+ years and we’ve been regularly attending her online Aikido class. We find her online teaching style to be fantastic. We attended via Zoom. The IAF simulcast the class via Facebook as well. As well, the Facebook video (linked in the Resources section below) is much higher quality than our Zoom video was., and the live video supports offline playback!
Sensei started with static Tai No Henko. Following a few minutes of basic/static Tai No Henko, she progressed to Ki No Nagare Tai No Henko. Following Tai No Henko, she taught basic Morote Dori Kokyu-Ho. After that, she taught a series of techniques beginning with a Tai No Henko movement. The techniques included Ikkyo, Shihonage, Kaitennage, Kokyunage (Ago Nage), and a Koshinage. Following this, Sensei then used Koshinage as a platform to demonstrate multiple Henka-waza in response to uke countering the Koshinage. Sensei ended the class with Suwari-Waza Kokyu-Ho.
This was an exciting event, and represents a major honor for Hendricks Sensei. Incidentally, without support from both Hendricks Sensei and Yvonne Thelwell Sensei, our dojo wouldnot exist today. We were very happy to be able to support this online Aikido class, and we’re proud to be members of CAA Division 1. We also thank the IAF and the IAF staff that were involved with supporting the seminar. The did a great job as well!
Resources
Aikido of San Leandro: https://www.aikido-sanleandro.com/
IAF Homepage: https://www.aikido-international.org/
Facebook Live Video Link: https://www.facebook.com/InternationalAikidoFederation/videos/663564591170989/
