As I drove towards the dojo, my heart sank when I saw the dark Cumulus clouds looming menacingly above and scattered raindrops pelted on the windscreen of my car. Despite fighting a flu which started last night, I had looked forward to an evening of fun and camaraderie.
My heart warmed somewhat after one of the helpers called to enquire about what to do first and casually remarking that there were many people in the dojo already. Many willing hands greeted me as I parked my car and all the plastic bags, containers, pots and a gas-stove were quickly brought up to the dojo 2 floors up a shop-office building.
There were fresh and eager faces, familiar ones and regular die-hards all crowding the relatively small office space which had been converted into our dojo a few years back.
Then, Tony arrived with Bernie Ho, our good friend from across the Causeway, who risked the wrath of his wife’s fury (for not attending a relative’s Wedding Dinner) to come and join us. Shortly after, Low Sensei strolled in with another old friend, Steve Ng Sensei from Melbourne who just happened to know that we have a gathering that night.
At 8.05pm, Ng Sensei started the warm up and took those present through the various aikido techniques that can be used in the event of a mid-level punch. Fortunately, everyone was able to get on the mats even though there was not much space to do falls.
Next Dr Leong used Air-Asia’s motto of “now everyone can fly” to show how one can safely progress to a break-fall by doing a proper basic front row. He also taught on how to get your body to blend with the direction that the nage is leading you. Next, it was ‘show-off’ time for Tony Sensei as he showed how katate tori grabs at different levels could be handled efficiently. Similarly, he demonstrated how yokomenuchi kokyu nage could be executed in 4 different directions. To cap a wonderful night, Low Sensei highlighted the importance of tai-sabaki (in this instance irimi-tenkan) and how it can be practiced to train good and instinctive responses to various forms of attacks.
The picture taking was fun too with students needing to make 4 rows in order for everyone to be seen. After that, it was time for some food and friendly chatter, catching up with friends from other dojos and the guests. It was not until the strings of Negara Ku were heard, indicating midnight that everyone cleared the dojo. What a good ending for an exciting 2006. As we welcome Year 2007, Low Sensei’s words echo in our ears “I want you to train and train; we want to be even better next year”.
Dr Leong Kok Weng
