On Saturday, March 20 Snedigar Recreation Center (location of South Chandler dojo) will be hosting an Open House that will hightlight classes taught there. Both the kids and adult classes will be having demonstrations so that the community can learn more about what is offered at the center.
The Open House begins at 10:00 am and will end at 12:00 pm. The Aikido demonstration will be from 10:00-10:30 with the adult class continuing with regular class until 11:30, which will act as another demonstration in and of itself. We will have students demonstrating a wide range of techniques to help showcase what Aikido is about and hopefully encourage people to come to a class and give it a try.
Snedigar students who are participating, please come dressed in your gi and ready to go by 9:55 am. This will be a great way to get in some extra practice. Once our demonstration is over and while you are there, check out the other classes that will be participating as well. There will be informational flyers, make-and-take activities and drawings for free stuff.
Thank you in advance for everyone who will be participating. It is very much appreciated. Let’s show everyone what a great art Aikido is!
A Sempai is a student who acts as a liaison between the Sensei and the students. It is a student who understands the functions and protocols of the dojo and helps the Sensei teach others how things work in the dojo . We are not Japanese, but we strive to run our dojos in a traditional manner. This means our dojos are not democracies. There is a strict hierarchy to the structure of a dojo. The Kancho is the founder and head of a school. The Chief Instructor is in charge of the school’s instructors as well as running the school. The Sensei at each dojo is in charge of that particular dojo and the Sempai assists the Sensei.
A Sempai is a leader in the dojo because they have demonstrated leadership skills and have enough experience to know what is expected of students. Their main job is to help students learn dojo etiquette and to follow proper protocol of the dojo. They also occasionally hold meetings to review and/or explain things that need to be addressed. The Senseis that teach for Aikido of Phoenix are friendly, open and approachable people, but if there is ever a time when they are not available or if you are unsure if it’s appropriate to ask the Sensei, the Sempai is the person to ask. Lucy, John and myself encourage students to ask questions and we love to discuss Aikido with anyone willing to listen, but generally, if it’s related to the function or business of the dojo the Sempai is the person to go to. A dojo may have a Dojo Cho as well, who is the business manager. The Dojo Cho handles things like registration issues, orders and anything else related to the business of the dojo. If there is no Dojo Cho the Sempai will often take on those responsibilities as well, although it is not expected. The Sensei is always available to help the dojo run smoothly and to answer any questions. But, in the traditional dojo the roles of Sempai and Dojo Cho were created to help run the dojo which allowed the Sensei to soley focus on teaching.
I would like to take this opportunity to formally announce that Jim Magda has been selected to be the Sempai for the Mesa dojo. Jim has been training with Aikido of Phoenix for almost a year and was just recently promoted to the rank of Gokyu (blue belt).
For your information, following is the hierarchy of Aikido of Phoenix:
- Kancho – Fred Mastison Sensei (retired 9-09)
- Chief Instructor; Children’s Instructor – Teresa Mastison Sensei
- Instructor for Chandler – John Scanlin Sensei
- Instructor for S. Chandler – Lucy Mailloux Sensei
- Instructor for Mesa – Teresa Mastison Sensei
- Sempai for Chandler – Daniel Horn
- Sempai for S. Chandler – Thor Mailloux
- Sempai for Mesa – Jim Magda
- Dojo Cho for Chandler and Mesa – Teresa Mastison Sensei
- Dojo Cho for S. Chandler – Amanda Redington
I hope this helps you understand to some degree how our dojo is structured. I know it always helps me to have background information and that was my intent with this article. If you have any questions feel free to ask me.
Teresa Mastison Sensei
(Cue “Mission Impossible” them music)
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to practice using your peripheral vision, act on any information you gather from your eyes, ears, nose or sense of ki, and to be persistent in discovering the source.
So, what does this mean? It means as you go about your daily business pay attention to what you see, hear, smell and sense. If you see something move out of the corner of your eye (peripheral vision) turn to see what it is. If you hear something, find the source of what is making the noise. If you smell something that you don’t recognize search for what is creating it. If you sense something out of the ordinary don’t dismiss it, find out what is causing it and don‘t stop until you discover what it is. If you can’t determine the source just by looking, tell an adult and let them help you. By paying attention and locating the sources of what you see, hear, smell or sense it gives you the advantage of extra time. For example, you’re walking down your neighborhood street when you hear a dog barking wildly. You turn to see where the dog is and notice that he is behind a fence, but jumping up and down aggressively and getting close to jumping over the fence. Because you noticed this you increase your speed in order to get home before the dog gets over the fence. Had you not noticed the dog’s aggressive behavior and how close he was to jumping the fence, you may not have walked any faster. This could have been quite a surprise if the dog got over the fence and came after you. This is just a made up example, but I hope you can see the usefulness of paying attention. What kind of examples can you come up with, real or made up, where paying attention to your surroundings would give you extra time to react and/or avoid a dangerous situation?
Now, here’s an important point for all kids concerning finding the source of what you see, hear, smell or sense. DO NOT GO LOOKING FOR THE SOURCE BY YOURSELF! If you notice something out of the ordinary you might be able to just turn your head and see what it is, but if you can’t identify it immediately tell an adult and let them locate the source. This is especially true if the noise, smell or whatever is outside or in another part of the house. You can be an invaluable help in alerting your parents when you notice something that is not normal. Don’t dismiss those “weird” feelings. Be persistent (don’t give up) in identifying the source or having someone else find the source. Even if it turns out to be nothing, you have to practice paying attention to your senses and it is ALWAYS better to be safe rather than sorry.
Now, go about your business and pay attention!
Teresa Mastison Sensei
Comments Off 
Themocracy