Aikido Kenkyukai Sydney City
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Hair on fire as maples begin to blaze: Autumn in Japan Surfing the net on my lunch break, I came across one of the most striking photos of Takeda Sensei I had ever seen. It quite literally took my breath away. The lines connecting uke and nage were so beautiful and clear, and both partners at such peace inside the movement despite the enormous power and energy enveloping, evolving and manifesting like magic between them... Straight away, I sent it to my sister with the message, "This is why I train..." Then I picked up the phone, booked a ticket, and told my boss I was heading back to Japan... (Photograph by Takeda Satoshi)                   Late October is a wonderful time for a spur-of-the-moment visit to Japan. The weather is cooling off and the mountains are turning to fire in a spectacular blaze of autumn reds, oranges and yellows. In the two whirlwind weeks I was there this visit, I didn't waste a second, racking up 21 keiko including asageiko with Doshu at Aikikai Honbu, visits to Gunma and Yamagata to train with Daiyu Sensei and Kadoya Sensei, keiko with all our local teachers in Shonan Aikido Renmei, and a gasshuku with Takeda Shihan on the Izu Peninsula. Interspersed with loads of great training were lots of raucous parties and late night abductions by senpai and sake that left me stranded and seeking refuge in the infamous Japanese capsule hotels! After years of longing, I finally managed to get lost for a day in the Okutama region where I climbed to the summit of Mt Otake, stole a glimpse of the elusive Fuji-san, discovered moss-covered shrines tucked away beside hidden waterfalls and played in a forest of autumn leaves on my wrong and very, very long way down the mountain! The trip was capped off with two unforgettable days on the Japan Sea side of Honshu visiting galleries, eating handmade soba, soaking in hot springs and literally flying around the mat inside one of my favourite dojo in the world... This trip was nothing short of heaven! Postcard from the edge (Photograph by Ken Domon)