It was harder to organize the seminar this year. Actually it seemed easier to organize the seminar last year when I was in New Brunswick than it was this year. I suppose I am busier now than I was then and that makes the difference. It may have been harder to plan, but it still worked out well.
Kim Taylor Sensei and his Deshi arrived in Calgary two days before the seminar. They managed to catch a ride to my house from one of the Club members and there they woul wait until the seminar. Now, they were not just waiting around my house, they went out to explore and see what Calgary had to offer. I was in Drayton Valley still so I must thank my parents for letting them in.
I tried to put in a few extra hours that week so that when Friday rolled around I could leave relatively early. I made it to the house had a short time so say hello and then we were off for a night of Niten. Due to some scheduling issues we had to change the overall schedule of the seminar, but everything worked out perfectly.
I have never done Niten with Taylor Sensei before but I found it fascinating. He practices a slightly different style than us so it was excellent to see the similarities and the differences. We worked hard and it was an excellent night. I had thought that there might not be any attendees when we were doing Niten, but we were pleasantly surprised when we came to the dojo and there was a group of people sitting on the grass in front of the church. It was a good first night of the seminar.
Taylor Sensei, Pam (his Deshi) and I headed to a small pub for supper and then called 'er a night.
The rest of the weekend was a blur. We were up early, had some quick omelets, and then were off to the dojo. It was time for a full day of Iaido and Jodo. With the schedule changes it was going to be a very full day. We started with Iaido and managed to go through the entire Setei Iai (standard techniques). We stopped for a lunch of pizza and pop, and then resumed in the afternoon with Jodo. We stretched our practice times to get in more hours, and after ten hours of martial arts in one day I think most everyone was ready for a break to absorb some of the knowledge that had been passed to them.
To follow with tradition of these seminars we needed to have a barbecue. A few people headed off to have showers and what not, while most of us piled into my truck and headed to Safeway to get some food. It was a great example of divide and conquer as half of us went for food, and half of us went for booze. In no time we had all we need and were headed home.
It was a good night, as usual. We barbecued some burgers, chatted, and just had a good time in general. Different people left at their own times, but the core of us were up until the wee hours of the morning chatting about martial arts, and just about whatever crossed our minds. It was late when we wrapped up, so the gents who didn't have vehicles crashed on the couches and stole a few hours of sleep before an early awakening.
It was an early awakening, and it was early. We groggily rolled out of bed (or off of a couch) and then crammed into the truck once more. We groggily drove to McDonald's for the breakfast of champions (where we met some more club members) and then headed to the dojo.
We worked hard. Iaido, Jodo, Niten... just every that weekend we worked hard. That morning we trained with Taylor Sensei and then it was time to take him back to the airport.
The hardest part of these seminars is not the training. It is not the getting cracked on a finger with a bokuto (wooden training sword) (my finger still has a bump on it btw), or getting hit in the face with a Jo (short staff) (sorry Keith!), it is the saying good-bye to dear friends that you might not see for quite a while. Depending on timing I might not see Kim and Pam for almost a year when I go to the Guelph Seminar next May. That is a long time...
We said our good-byes, or so longs or whatever. It would not be long until we spoke again, and not too long until our paths crossed once more. With the tsubas I made in his bag, Kim and Pam vanished into the airport.
It was a good seminar... a great seminar; as always.
See you all next year...
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