Reports

Seminar with Maurizio Volpe and Bernhard Boll

On the last weekend of June 2025 the annual summer seminar took place at Christian Veith's dojo in Nuremberg.
From south of the Alps arrived the two teachers car, with Alessandro and Dzenan from Balerna as well as Roberto and Jonnes from Thiene. Maximilian and Mirela came from Vienna, Michal, Karel, and Eva from Prague, and Hans-Jürgen from Trebur. Vera from Fürth also participated on Friday, and Waldemar, Stefan, Hamza, Leon, and Michael from Hechingen, as well as Helmut from Erlangen, joined us on Sunday.

The seminar began on Friday at 6 p.m. with Maurizio Volpe. After Kenkotaiso, stretching, and Aikitaiso, he taught some special Ki tests focusing on the shoulder area. He also explained which arm is the more active one in the Aikitaiso exercises kotegaeshi, sankyo, and nikyo.
This was followed by Tsuzukiwaza 11 (katatedori irimi), in which he specifically explained uchiwanage and demonstrated a way for Nage to effectively guide Uke's arm during Kaitennage by stepping sideways behind Uke, allowing Uke to lower his arm without difficulty.
After training, we went to the Greek restaurant Bienenheim, which is somewhat hidden but has a very nice beer garden under the trees. The food and drinks were very good.

Misogi

Saturday morning began as usual with misogi, led by Michal.
Half an hour of breathing with bokken was followed by a quarter of an hour of intensive To Ho Kami Emi Tame.

Afterward, there was a short break with tea, prepared by Michal, and delicious pastries baked by Claudia respectively Karel.

Katatedori Ryotemochi

Stefan began the Saturday morning lesson with kenkotaiso and stretching, in which he also demonstrated some yoga elements as practiced in Hechingen, and with Waldemar, who performed aikitaiso.
Bernhard had chosen the topic of katatedori ryotemochi. This "attack" is covered in Tsuzukiwaza 3, 13, and 10. Tsuzukiwaza 10 is also called taninzugake (多人数掛), meaning "many people attack." In this Tsuzukiwaza, there are attacks by one person, hitorigake (一人掛), by two people, futarigake (二人掛), and by three people, sanningake (三人掛). The different pronunciations of the same kanji result from the different application of the pure Japanese and the Sino-Japanese readings.
Bernhard began with the difference between the ikkyo techniques in T3 and T10. He had the six Sandan candidates present repeatedly demonstrate the techniques. Maurizio supplemented the explanations, particularly regarding shihonage, in which he guides the outer uke's hand from below.

Tsuki

After lunch together at the nearby "Trat-toria" Maurizio began with extensive Ki exercises for Kenkotaiso.
Afterward, he turned his attention to Tsuzukiwaza 19 (Tsuki) and had the the techniques practiced in various variations. Since it was very warm, it was more pleasant to practice in groups. He also had the forms practiced as Hitoriwaza. There were also corresponding Ki tests. The training was quite demanding, both in terms of content and because we all worked up a good sweat.

In the evening, as almost always on Saturdays, we went to the beer garden at Dutzendteich. This time we dined on the terrace of the restaurant, where the offers are more extensive than at the self-service in the beer garden. Most people chose typical Nuremberg specialties.

Sunday morning

Bernhard led the first training session on Sunday morning. He presented Tsuzukiwaza 13 (Katatedori Ryotemochi), as it is included in the Shodan program. He had the Shodan candidates present, Alessandro, Dzenan, and Mirela, demonstrate the techniques repeatedly.

Maurizio then taught various Ki exercises and demonstrated a series of exercises to strengthen the Irimi element in multi-person attacks (Randori). He explained in detail the strategy and tactics for a convincing Randori and had them practiced systematically. All participants could then try it out.

Sunday afternoon

After a picnic on the tatami with nice food prepared by Claudia, two bottles of the finest Prosecco brought by Roberto, and plenty of delicious cakes from Karel, Bernhard continued the lesson with Tsuzukiwaza 21 (Tantodori 1). Among other things, he emphasized safe disarming.
Maurizio used the remaining time and the remaining fitness of the participants to practice some techniques from Tsuzukiwaza 24 (Jodori) from the 3rd Dan program.

At the end of the seminar, Christian thanked the teachers and participants for their attendance and dedication. The participants, in turn, expressed their gratitude for the excellent organization.

Sunday evening

The seminar concluded with a city tour of Nuremberg's old town, prepared by Claudia and Christian. However, only the aikidoka from south of the Alps participated. The Hechingens had been present only on Saturday, and the Prague and Viennese had already left.
At the Vestnertor, we first refueled at the Hexenhäusle (Witches' House). Then we enjoyed a fantastic view of Nuremberg from the balustrade. We walked through the Burggarten to the battlements above Tiergärtnertorplatz, with a view to the Albrecht Dürer House, supposedly the best view of all of Nuremberg. The tour continued through the Burggarten, over the Kettensteg (Chain Bridge) along the Pegnitz River to the Hangman's House. We crossed the flea market island to the Fleischbrücke (Flesh Bridge), with a view of the historic Heilig-Geist-Spital (Holy Spirit Hospital). In an Italian café on the main market square, we enjoyed espresso and Aperol, and we also marveled at two Venezuelan street acrobats. On the way to the main market square, some couldn't resist the ice cream from a gelateria of Bassano del Grappa.
Our destination was the traditional Nuremberg restaurant "Bratwurst Röslein," where we arrived around 8 p.m. Despite the midsummer temperatures, some chose quite hearty dishes. Meat and fish eaters, as well as vegetarians, were well served with generous portions.
After dinner, we headed back toward the castle, whose towers and buildings were beautifully illuminated. We said our goodbyes and hope to meet again soon at a seminar, for example, in Velebit from July 25th to 30th.