Fatigue and weariness from a three hour journey melted away as we approached Aikido Toyonaka Shosenji Dojo, the Dojo of Katsuyuki Shimamoto Shihan in Osaka, surprised by two long lines of aikido practitioners who lined the street to welcome our group. As we paraded into the compound overwhelmed by the reception, the greeters bowed deeply.

We were efficiently ushered past manicured landscape, deep into the compound and were led into a magnificent hall on the second storey of the sprawling complex. Each of us was given our rightful place. This, we were told, is where we will be served tea according to Chado practice, a truly Zen invention.

After some kind words from Shihan, interspersed with many ice-breaking funny moments contributed by the translator, the hosts approached methodically to serve okashi (traditional Japanese sweets) and later, thin tea. The ‘thin tea? made from matcha, or finely ground tea buds, was actually rather thick but still regarded as ‘diluted?when compared to ‘thick tea? which is almost paste-like. I had dabbled in ‘tea?or ‘Chado?a few years back but this was the first time I was experiencing it with all the heartfelt warmth and in Japan, Chado’s birth place!            Read more...  

Great news!

Shimamoto Shihan has accepted Philip Lee Sensei's invitation
and will be coming to Shinju-kai from 23 - 27 October 2009.
Be sure you do not miss his classes when he visits!
   

Have you seen our Instructors and Leaders in their annual Frog-jump & Leopard crawl competition? Why did some lady pose as Philip Lee Sensei and appeared with a few " Shihans" at our HQ?

It’s our LEADERS BUILDING DAY!!

To take active steps to bring Shinju-kai's professional standards to a higher level, we have initiated the "Leaders Building Day". This event will be held twice a year for all Leaders and Assistant Leaders.

The first session of its kind was held on 15 February, Sunday, 8am - 12noon, at our Headquarters Dojo. The theme of this debut session was “Challenges in the Dojo? It began with the 8am class by Philip Lee Sensei, emphasising creative techniques that could be used to teach children. Following the class and after the coffee + bee hoon + bread breakfast, there was a lively ice-breaking session. Our Leaders and Assistant Leaders got reacquainted and we welcomed new additions to our team. Some Leaders then role-played peculiar situations they have encountered when assisting while others brainstormed new solutions. Instructor Colin Stuart, armed with his experience with airline passengers, shared ideas to help Leaders improve their communication and professionalism.

In the last part, Philip Lee Sensei and Instructors who were present shared their views on dealing with the many challenges that our leaders face today.

Our first Beginners Express Course started on 23 February with 8 very keen participants of all ages. Their spirits and enthusiasm were extremely commendable! Many of them had their own concerns and fears about doing Aikido which the Instructors tried to address one by one. It gave us encouragement to design more of these courses in 2009. We hope this will give beginners a choice to opt for a systematic foundation building before integrating into our regular classes.

Following the success of the Beginners Express Course, here is the upgraded version: Beginners Course.

If you are looking for a structure programme to transit you from a doubtful onlooker into a confident Aikidoka, sign up for this 15- session course now. The new timings are:

Monday 6.45pm - 8.00pm OR Saturday 8.00am - 9.15am.

Email us to register or find out more.

New programme for pre-schoolers age 4-6!

If you are a parent and instead of enrolling your young child into our regular children class (for age 5-12), you may wish to consider this programme. Our methodology allows the young child to pick up concepts of this soft martial art with profound philosophy in a simple, easy, engaging and enjoyable manner.

Email us to let us know your preferred timing or find out more.

All levels of the Weapon Course are available in this quarter! Don't miss the opportunity to fine tune your weapons knowledge. Check out this year's full course schedule on our members' site.