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Nathan Scott
8th October 2002, 08:23
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James Williams
1st September 2003, 21:09
For those interested in Aiki jujutsu Kondo Katsuyuki will be teaching at the Aiki Expo 2003 In Las Vegas teh 19-21 of September. It is an excellent oppotunity to train with Kondo sensei as well as ask questions as he is a historian as well. http://65.119.177.242/expo/

Regards,

James

Nathan Scott
2nd September 2003, 19:18
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Mark Jakabcsin
2nd September 2003, 22:37
I'll bring the Amerikin Kinjitsu video since I have the best copy, although it would be good if someone brought a back up incase I have a cranial flatulation and forget the tape. See you there.

mark j.

Richard Elias
3rd September 2003, 03:25
Yeah... I can bring the vcr again, no problem.

It should be reiterated that this is not an official function at the hotel... just a "few" friends hanging out in the lounge. :cool:

James Williams
3rd September 2003, 03:47
On another note, for those of you interested in Iai jutsu and kenjtusu, Kuroda Tetsuzan sensei will be teaching every day and giving a demonstration on Friday eveing. He is a true phenomenon and someone that you should see and take some classes from.

James

Arman
3rd September 2003, 18:08
Bad Budo!! Can't wait. And I hope to meet some of you guys that I didn't get a chance to last year.

Gambatte!
Arman Partamian

Nathan Scott
19th September 2003, 05:32
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Tom Douglas
23rd September 2003, 17:36
Feedback from those who were there would be appreciated. I'm considering purchasing the tape(s) and going next year.

Thanks in advance.

Mike B. Johnson
23rd September 2003, 21:52
Tom,

I wasn't able to attend (no money this year) but a good friend of mine did and posted the following on the Aikido Journal website. I e-mailed him and asked if I could copy & post it here.

He said okay.
___________________________

Hi Everyone,

I just returned from the Aiki Expo. Overall I thought the experience was really outstanding. The variety of instruction and topics covered were the best I have expreienced anywhere. Stan Pranin deserves a big hand for pulling this thing together. There were glitches and some things that need to be addressed in the future but in comparison to the overall experience, even the worst problems couldn't dampen my smile at the end of this experience.

I am going to post a list of my likes and dislikes w/comments because Mr Pranin asked several of us to offer our impressions.

____

The Most Memorable / Good.

Facilities / Excellent

Tatami mats / Excellent

Price reasonable for such a wonderful opportunity

So many nice people.

My favorite instructors in order.

Hiroshi Ikeda -excellent teaching skills and personality. Wonderful expression of aikido. His tight techniques were made so accessable thru his teaching style that I will never forget him. Heck, I want to go live in Boulder......

Tetsuzan Kuroda - Unbelieveable! probably the finest martial artist I have ever seen! Certainly the fastest with a sword. This guy was actually teaching stuff so advanced that I couldn't get half of what was happening. I was mezmerized!

Katsuyuki Kondo - Extrordinary teaching skills and a legend! A bit stoic and unapproachable during my session but I later heard he was having serious back troubles. His ability to express technique so that you can understand it was great. Probably the finest technical teacher there.

Kenji Ushiro - I will never look at karate the same again. Completely reformed my impression of hard & soft application of technique. Man, this guys is always smiling & happy!

Toby Threadgill - Skills & Demeanor. Like Ushiro, totally changed my impression of Jujitsu. Killer swordwork and knifework! The most impressive explaination of weapon & taijutsu relationship i've ever heard or seen!

Patricia Hendricks - Another legend! Proof that a woman can play with the big boys. She's fantastic and one hell of a role model to women! Man she's tough!

Vladimir Vasiliev - The "Controversial" guy of the Expo. I found the man quite fun and very casual. I loved the expression of technique, especially the unorthodox way he moves his shoulders and hips. Although interesting, something about this art and many of the students just left me a little cold. Probably just me though.

The Forgettable / Bad

The food offered for sale was okay but too expensive.

Complaining by some aikidoka over practitioners from outside Aikido was embarrassing. There was plenty of aikido instruction available if thats all you desired.

____

Some of the demos were painful to watch and I wonder if there can't be a better criteria used in the selection process. Was a time limit even discussed with the demonstrators?

General rules that I think should be adopted.

Little or no explaination in the demo. That is what the seminars are for.

No distractions on the mat. (A kid w / toys on the mat was not appropriate and was potentially dangerous.)

Cut out the skits! That stuff is just silly waste of time. It cheapens the dignity of the event. This is Japanese Budo not recruiting day at a park festival.

Favorite Demo's

Kuroda Tetsuzan - Fantastic. I was spellbound. Can't wait for the tape! *****

Hiroshi Ikeda - Super Clean & Super Precise. The aikido I hope to someday attain! *****

Yasuo Kobayashi - Beautiful suwari waza. Very slick! Not showy but sooo...slick! ****

Toby Threadgill - Nothing like fast flashing steel at a guys neck or privates to make the place go quiet - How do you do that? Wow! ****

Tony Alvarez - A bit long perhaps but a man that size moving a sword that fast is really something to see. A fitting finale....the real finale! ***

Ellis Amdur - Classical bujutsu kata often leave me cold. Somehow these had something else. Not sure what it was but I liked it very much.***

Katsuyuki Kondo - Very nice and interesting but it was over way too soon! I was just getting warmed up to it. Why so short?

Honorable mention - The Yoshida ha guys. Great and interesting techniques!
***

all the others in between somewhere except these.....the "Forgettable" IMHO

Homma - too long and stop talking!

Aiello - just....way, way out of their league! The kind of weird demo you'd see on ESPN2 at midnight.

Toribio - a seriously overdone promotional salespitch to the wrong crowd

The sword cutting demo's were too long! Why did James Williams come out and cut again? What an anticlimax!

These are just my opinions. If you don't agree with me thats fine. This is just my opinion! I'm just a regular guy.

Mike

______________________


Mike's a good guy. A devoted aikidoka and kendoka but this is just one mans opinion. I'd love to hear others.

BTW .....Mike said that Ellis Amdur, Nathan Scott, Toby Threadgill and Tony Alvarez were cracking people up with some pretty unbelieveable stories. Sounds like hanging with these guys alone would make the trip worth the money to me.

BJ

Tom Douglas
23rd September 2003, 23:30
Thanks, Mike. I'd read glowing reviews by RMA/Systema students of Vladimir Vasiliev (mostly of Vasiliev's demos and classes), and then had seen your friend's review as well. I am just a little surprised that more aikido people haven't given feedback yet, while enthusiasm still runs high. I guess there was a LOT of material covered, and they are still digesting it.

I appreciate the recommendation to attend . . . it does sound like the stories alone would be worth it LOL.

Jay Bell
24th September 2003, 09:39
To echo Mike...Kuroda sensei was unbelievable. His technique was absolutely stunning. I have never seen such skill come out of Japan. Seeing (and feeling) is believing...

The Expo was a blast. Due to time constrants, I attended all of Vlad's classes and one of Kuroda sensei's.

Though there was a lot of "rough talk" leading up to the Expo by some Aiki folks...everyone that attended Vlad's workshops were completely open and incredibly warm. We had an absolute blast sharing ideas and experiance.

There's still so much churning in my mind about this past weekend...I'm still digesting quite a lot.

I wanted to thank Stanley Pranin for such an extraordinary event. Thank you for giving Vlad the opportunity to share his "budo" with many others.

Tom Douglas
24th September 2003, 16:06
Thank you Jay. I confess to some envy of James Williams' training background: Don Angier, and now Kuroda and Vasiliev. Talk about a wealth of experience.

The Expo sounds great. I'm looking forward to going next year.

Arman
24th September 2003, 18:00
Good times, all. I'm still sore, btw. Even with the hurricane, I managed to make it for bad budo night (thank goodness).

Mark, not sure if that's your tape or Nathan's, but I want a copy of that crazy woman screaming and swinging her stick around like a she was a member of pscyho bi-otch ryu on espn2. :eek:

Glad I got to meet more of you guys that blather your nonsense on this BB.

And oh yeah, Kuroda Sensei was impressive, to put it mildly. His jujutsu was interesting, but his iai. . .WOW! That man is something to behold with a sword. Glad I got to see it first hand.

Ok, time to pop some more advil.

Best regards,
Arman Partamian

David T Anderson
26th September 2003, 00:03
I have to agree -- the Expo was a great experience, and I'm already planning to attend next year. This event may be the best reason to go to Las Vegas. Now if Stan Pranin could just change the date to one when it's cold here and not so damn hot there...

Mike B. Johnson
26th September 2003, 16:18
Hi,

Mike and others I know that attended the Expo have all mentioned several really sub-par demo's. Those by by Homma and a karate guy named Aiello stand out in my mind for some reason. Just for grins I looked up this Aiello guy on Google. Guess what floats to the surface!

"The World Head Families Sokeship Council"

How the heck did this guy slip through the net and be allowed to demo at the Expo. Was Mr Pranin sleeping or something!

The WHFSC....the largest conglomeration of budo wannabe Masters anywhere on the planet. I know mistakes happen but.......

.I gotta see the tape.....If he's not "edited" out. Were there really kicks to the groin ala Rod Sachrnoski? Thats what I'm hearing?

BJ

Robert Cheshire
27th September 2003, 04:37
Pranin seemed to give his buddy Patrick Auge a good bit of hype prior to the expo. Did anyone see him and his Yoseikan workshop?

Nathan Scott
29th September 2003, 20:07
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