Seminar with Yoshigasaki Sensei
From August 28 to September 3, 2012, the fourth Aikido and Misogi seminar with Yoshigasaki Sensei in Bosco Gurin took place, organized by the Associazione Ticinese Ki Aikido Balerna.
The mornings were devoted to Misogi and Aikido, and the afternoons were free for mountain hikes, sunbathing, excursions, other courses, or free training.
The expanded cultural program included Japanese lessons from Yoshigasaki himself. This was, of course, a truly exceptional offering.
This time, the participants came from Switzerland, Italy, Spain, and the Czech Republic.
Yoshigasaki Sensei unterrichtete taught mainly
A highlight of this seminar was the Japanese class given by Yoshigasaki Sensei. We used the classroom in the old school for part of the afternoon, and in the evening classes continued in the dining room of Casa Pometta.
Yoshigasaki Sensei explained the writing system, kanji, hiragana, and katakana, and had us do some exercises. During the practical language exercises, he emphasized that relationships between people are important in Japanese. These are expressed by the words. For example, you don't address your siblings by their first names, but as "older brother," "younger brother," "older sister," or "younger sister." ("Only the police know my first name.")
Since there are many words that sound the same, Japanese people are accustomed from the the beginning to always considering the context in order to understand the meaning.
He considers these two facts to be a very important difference to European languages.
This year's trip went to Italy. To be precise, 30 meters beyond the Swiss border.
The Bagni di Craveggia are the ruins of a former spa, about two kilometers from the Swiss village of Spruga in the Valle Onsernone in Ticino. The thermal spring has a temperature of around 27°C.
The group was delayed a bit along the way because the road was being paved, but then, in perfect weather, we were able to splash around in the small Isorno stream, right in front of the baths. Some even lay down in the stone troughs containing the thermal water inside the ruins of the building. It was very dark there, with only a few candles providing a dim light.
On the way back, we stopped in the village of Crana, further down the valley, and enjoyed a delicious meal at the Osteria Grotto Cacciatori. Some then made another stop at Ponte Brolla, where the small river Maggia forms large natural pools between impressive rock formations, inviting you to swim and dive.
The 2012 summer seminar in Bosco Gurin was an eventful one.
Yoshigasaki Sensei presented a very comprehensive program in the dojo.
He even taught us himself in Japanese.
And the excursion to the Bagni di Craveggia with a stop at Ponte Brolla was a highlight of the seminar.
We look forward to the seminar in Bosco Gurin next year.
Arrivederci!
