2017 Review
This year began with a Yudansha course in February, and in addition to emphasising posture and the importance of maintaining ‘centre’ Sensei Riley also spoke about his understanding of Aikido and how this applied to the way in which he expected students to train. After a brief demonstration Faye Clarke was also surprised to discover that she had taken (and passed) her Shodan grading!
Also this month Sensei Riley paid his first visit to Sensei Elphick’s new Dojo in Durham. A number of students from Yorkshire also accompanied him, but were heavily beaten in the travel stakes by Sensei John Pryce who, along with his wife Jane, was visiting from Kyoto, Japan. It was also nice to see another visitor, Roy Bennington, who used to practice in this area many, many years ago and the older students will remember sharing many an enjoyable training session with him in the past.
A group also travelled with Sensei Riley to the Hyde dojo the following month to visit one of Sensei Chapman’s Friday evening classes, and Sensei Sam Wilson (who has a dojo in Stockport) along with some of his students also made the trip and joined in with what was a very enjoyable session.
The middle of March saw the White Rose Spring Course held at Dewsbury, and in addition to Sensei Riley’s classes students were also given the opportunity to learn more about the 13 jo kata from Sensei Heseltine in which he emphasised the smoothness of the techniques which enabled defence and attack to become a single movement.
A special event for Sensei Riley came when he travelled with Karen his partner to Japan for the first time and visited Sensei Pryce’s White Rose dojo in Kyoto. Although this visit was relatively brief, the country was so spectacular and its people so welcoming (including all the staff at Tozando) that it made him determined to return quite soon, and this time we hope that he will take some of us with him. Perhaps in 2019 when it will be the Association’s 40th Anniversary? Sign up now!
Sensei Riley had been invited to instruct at the Fukushinkan dojo of the Hellenic Aikido Association in Greece and a group of 17 students travelled with him, in addition to Sensei Burlingham from Lowestoft. The training was excellent and we were also fortunate enough to meet another Aikido group from the Athens Bushido Centre, which resulted in another, unexpected and excellent training session. All the students who travelled on this trip agreed that it was one of the most enjoyable White Rose events ever, with such a large number of participants enjoying the shared experience of training in Aikido (and all the socialising which went with it) within the very close-knit White Rose family.
Sensei Riley also attended a teaching engagement during May at Grimsby, conducting a course for Sensei John Holroyd, after which he was presented with a portrait of himself demonstrating the well-known pose. I think Sensei’s going to need a bigger wall!
In support of Sensei Elphick’s new dojo in Durham Sensei Derrick also carried out a course at Freeman’s Quay. In spite of it being the hottest day of the year with temperatures rising to over 30 degrees all the students made a valiant effort to train, and at least hopefully learned something about controlling their breathing and their energy levels.
In July Sensei Mark Danford carried out a seminar in the dojo at Huddersfield Leisure Centre, which was devoted to examining uke’s role in Aikido. Although this aspect of training accounts for 50% of a student’s practice it is not always given the attention it deserves. During the course Sensei Danford not only explored some of the finer points of ukemi, but also looked at uke’s job as attacker; giving a genuine, firm and committed attack without being awkward and preventing tori from completing their movement. This is a very difficult balance, being able to maintain a martial attack while still enabling tori to refine their understanding and carry out the technique, and Sensei Danford has developed this ability to high level and was the ideal instructor to pass on some of his knowledge to less experienced students.
July also saw the annual International Friendship Seminar which had been started by Sensei Burlingham many years earlier reaching its eighth successful year, and again drawing instructors and students from the UK, Canada and Singapore. This time, being held in Lowestoft, the instruction from Sensei Obata, Sensei Lee and Sensei Burlingham was again comprehensive and very varied. This was extended further when, although they weren’t on the planned teaching schedule, Sensei Riley from White Rose and Sensei Philip Smith from Ren Shin Kan in the West Midlands also taught individual sessions. The very successful social events which went with the training once again provided an opportunity to renew friendships made with other students over many years from home and abroad. Sensei Riley was also pleased to be presented with a red hat and waistcoat which Obata Sensei had brought with him from Japan. This ‘kanreki’ is traditionally celebrated in Japan when someone reaches the milestone of their 60th birthday, and everyone is encouraged to sign and write greetings all over the jacket.
The next annual White Rose seminar was held in Durham in August and Sensei Riley and Sensei Derrick both taught during the day. Sensei Derrick concentrated on different aspects of Irimi nage and Sensei Riley explained some of the important principles involved in jo dori and tanto dori.
The ‘White Rose tour bus’ once again travelled to Lowestoft in September for a weekend course with Sensei Riley, and this time it was at the invitation of Aiki Zen Ten, Sensei Burlingham’s new association. However – the sea, the ice creams and the good company were much the same as they have been in the past, and the instruction and training was equally enjoyable. The ‘family’ atmosphere was extended this time as some of the participants were actually parents and their children, hopefully helping to guarantee the longevity of the White Rose Association into the future. 
Holding the second Yudansha course of the year in Huddersfield gave Sensei Riley the opportunity to explain to the course participants what he would like to see from all those attending (many of whom are Instructors in their own right) when they return to their individual dojos. Many of these senior grades come from different Aikido backgrounds, but have come together because of a shared agreement about the basic principles in operation within the White Rose, and these courses provide the means for them to reinforce this knowledge and exchange ideas (as well as to enjoy the training practice).
As the White Rose Association grows, so does the need to assess students’ progress, some of whom have been training with us for over twenty or thirty years. Therefore, in October, a special ‘grading day’ was held for Yudansha, ranging from those going for Shodan level right through to Yondan. After an extremely busy and intense day most of the candidates were successful, and congratulations go to them all, but particular mention must go to Ian Tyler who had been successful earlier in the month in gaining his Godan and to Mark Danford who was awarded Rokudan on the day.
This month a number of White Rose students also travelled down to Orcop in Herefordshire for the first visit to Sensei Faye Clarke’s new dojo. This is located in an excellent setting and judging by the response from all the students who trained this certainly won’t be the last time they visit. The day was made more special when Sensei Riley unexpectedly graded Tom Allen and awarded him 6th kyu – Sensei Clarke’s first graded student.
In November Sensei Elphick was once again pleased to host Sensei Riley at his Freeman’s Quay dojo for an extended Saturday morning class, and after an exhilarating session the group once again made their way to a local Chinese restaurant for a well-deserved lunch.
This year our Winter course was held in November and training took place on both Saturday and Sunday, in addition to including two special evening classes. This was because some of the students from the Athens Bushido Centre who we had met earlier in the year (and must have enjoyed Sensei Riley’s instruction) were making the return trip. Although the weather was a bit colder than they were used to in Greece (it snowed!), they got a warm welcome and in between training sessions they even got to take a trip ‘downt’ pit’ when they visited the National Mining Museum. The students also got to participate in sessions taught by senior instructors from the Association as well as those taken by Sensei Riley, and all of the Greek instructors and students showed openness to a different training style and a strong desire to see their Aikido develop. It seems likely that ties with this group will continue and develop in the future.
In the final excursion of the year in December Sensei Riley and some of the students travelled to Sensei Sam Wilson’s dojo in Stockport. This was particularly noteworthy as Sensei Wilson and his group have decided to become a part of our Association in 2018 and Sensei Riley was very pleased to welcome them into the White Rose family. This was a fitting end to a busy and fruitful year where progress has been made in a number of areas and 2018 seems set to continue the trend, with things moving forward and continuing to develop the students Aikido within a progressive and expanding association.
