Article prepared by Russell Pearse, Chihiro Negishi and Jason Wotherspoon
Photos by Hashan Jayawardene
On 15th July 2002 the Takemusu Aiki Association was visited by a special guest, T. Sairenji Sensei, who by request conducted the class at Takayasu Sensei's private dojo in the city, at Surry Hills. For the past 10 years, Sairenji Sensei 6th dan, has been teaching at the Faculty of Medicine at Tottori University, Japan, where he conducts classes twice a week. He entered the Iwama Dojo as a teenager, training from 1962 to 1968, and became the head of the Science faculty's dojo at Ibaraki University. Takayasu Sensei was head of the University's Engineering Faculty Dojo, and during this time Sairenji Sensei was his "sempai". When Takayasu Sensei attended the funeral for Saito Sensei in June, the two met for the first time after many years. When Takayasu Sensei learned that Sairenji Sensei would soon be visiting Australia to attend a conference, Takayasu Sensei invited him to visit Sydney and conduct a class at his private dojo, and Sairenji Sensei graciously accepted.
T. Sairenji Sensei and Saburo Takayasu Sensei at the City Dojo
Sairenji Sensei was born in Tomobe, a village not far from Iwama. "When I was a boy I was always told 'don't fight with the boys from Iwama'. I didn't understand why until later when I heard of the Aikido Dojo." During the mid 1970's Sairenji Sensei trained and instructed at an Aikikai branch dojo at Sendai in northern Japan. In 1979 was awarded sixth Dan. From 1980 to 1992 he was in the USA on academic teaching postings, where he continued intructing Aikido until returning to Japan and taking the position at Tottori University. Here he has been arranging Gasshuku to Iwama, and occassionally travelling and teaching.
On the evening of 15 July there was an exceptional turn out of members from all of the Sydney Association dojos including some fifteen to twenty yudansha and a similar number of mudansha. It was probably the most students we have had on the mat at the City dojo at any one time and space was at a premium.
Sairenji Sensei, special guest instructor has the floor at Takayasu Sensei's private dojo in the City
Sairenji Sensei showed a range of techniques including kokyu-nage, irimi-nage, shiho-nage and ni-nin-gake kokyu-nage from a number of attacks. His Aikido was precise and fluid, and although he seemed a little surprised at first by the strength of the committed Iwama attacks and grips, his free flowing movements soon unsettled the uke. He showed a number of unusual techniques which Takayasu Sensei later said he had forgotten and which reminded him of his early days training in Iwama. One such technique was a shomen-uchi-komi (front strike) irimi-nage which involved an immediate and direct entry underneath the attacker's arm. If uke attacked with his right arm, nage entered immediately underneath the attacking arm with his right shoulder extending through uke's armpit and nage's right forearm extending past uke's left jaw. It was interesting in that nage's arm extended through uke's armpit underneath the arm rather than over the arm towards uke's head as in a more conventional irimi-nage. It proved to be a fast and quite devastating technique when performed at speed. The power of this technique was quite clearly felt by one of the yudansha, who received a solid strike to the jaw and lost consciousness for a few seconds. They revived quickly, and in the tightly packed class, no-one noticed this incident at all.
Another technique was a katate-dori kokyu-nage which involved a large vertical circle of the arm to unbalance the attacker through the dead angle and lead into the throw - and if the circular movement was insufficient to unbalance uke, the nage's hand could collect the outside of the attackers forward knee on the way through to further encourage his journey towards the mat.
Andrew Nolan, 2nd Dan taking uke for Sairenji Sensei
Sairenji Sensei showed another katate-dori kokyu-nage technique with an atemi and throwing action similar to drawing a sword, using tegatana-hand extension. As uke reached to grip, nage withdrew his hand as though gripping a sword handle and immediately extended tegatana and twisted the hips as though drawing a sword across the front of uke. The atemi of the tegatana was aimed at uke's jaw and, if gripped, the throw was through the dead angle.
Sairenji Sensei placed a great emphasis on flowing and relaxed movement. At one stage he requested that we perform an exercise where uke attacked lightly but continuously and nage responded with any of a number of techniques - including irimi-nage, ikkyo, nikkyo ura, shiho-nage and kokyu-nage - with the emphasis being on free flowing movement and the seamless transformation of one technique into the next.
 | On the other hand his technique was also powerful. Ian Thomson, Sensei of the Camperdown branch of the Association, took ukemi for Sairenji Sensei for a number of techniques. He said later that Sairenji Sensei's technique was fast, powerful and direct. He said he was thrown quite hard and was feeling the pinch after only a few minutes. This is interesting in that for an observer the techniques appeared free flowing and almost effortless. Ian took a rest, and young Andrew Nolan, fresh from Iwama took the uke for the rest of the evening. Andrew is a very powerful Aikido-ka, and is capable stopping many of us in our technique, yet he said afterwards that Sairenji Sensei seemed to draw great power from somewhere and throw him quite easily. Ian described how, despite his much smaller size than Takayasu Sensei, Sairenji Sensei's technique felt powerful and overwhelming whereas in contrast Takayasu Sensei seems to be already gone when you attack him. |
After the class, Takayasu Sensei was keen to introduce Sairenji Sensei to a typical Aussie meal and Sydney institution - steak dinner and Australian beer at The Oaks in Neutral Bay.
One of the city dojo students, Chihiro Negishi-san, managed to ask Sairenji Sensei a few questions.
Chihiro Negishi: What memories do you have of O'Sensei?
Sairenji Sensei: O'Sensei liked talking - he sometimes talked for thirty minutes during class. He talked of many things and often included spiritual and religious topics.
Chihiro Negishi: And of Saito Sensei?
Sairenji Sensei: When I was studying in my first year at Ibaraki University, I went to climb Mount Fuji with Saito Sensei and Mr Yokoyama, who now works for Kodansha, one of the biggest publishing companies in Japan. At the seventh station we had an altercation with another group and Saito Sensei hit the leader of the other group. We proceeded to the eighth station but were waylaid and involved in another fight. Saito Sensei was quite hot blooded when he was young. Saito Sensei was very good at cooking. His favourite dishes were Gyoza, a type of dumpling, and Soba, buckwheat noodles.
Chihiro Negishi: Sensei, what advice can you give us students in furthering our Aikido to an advanced level?
Sairenji Sensei: Cherish the Aikido spirit. Practice without doubt - do not doubt Aikido or why you are training. Persevere.