Campos do Jordão, September 25th-27th

4º Encontro de Aikidoístas
(4th Meeting of Aikidokas)

From September 25th to 27th the 4th Meeting of Aikidokas (people who practice Aikido, a martial art) took place in Campos do Jordão, a small and cute town 200 km away from São Paulo. The event started on Friday, with a cocktail at Satélite Hotel, where the aikidokas would spend the nights. There was a pronouncement of Miranda Sensei, who, together with his wife Cris, organized the event, and a demonstration of Ivan Sensei and another whose name I unfortunately forgot.

On Saturday we had training at the Hotel from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. I thought it would be tough to train for so long (I'm used to 90 min classes), but it wasn't. Many Senseis ("teachers") gave short classes and each one made a speech before it started, so we had some time to rest a bit. The hardest thing, however, was to sit on my knees for so long - they kept complaining for a week! XD After the training we had lunch at the hotel and in the evening there was more practice, but I and my boyfriend ran away haha. I thought it would be a shame to travel to Campos do Jordão and not visit the town, so we visited the "horto florestal" (can anyone tell me how to say that in English? I can't find it in any dictionary!) and the downtown. An "horto florestal" is a place near a forest, sort of like a big park, where people take care of the trees and animals. Campos do Jordão's Horto is actually not so worth a visit, but it was a nice walk, and the way there is beautiful. Downtown was the same as I visited it last time: with cute little german-like houses. It was a very pleasant afternoon =].
At night I and my boyfriend had dinner downtown with some friends of our dojo ("school"). I had a lot of fun! We could get to know them better, and they're very funny, so it was very nice ^^.
On Sunday moning there was training again, from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. After it we drove back to São Paulo. It was one of the best weekends I ever had. Not only it was the first time that I and my boyfriend travelled alone, but the teachings we had were very enlightening. I believe I'll always remember them!

Some Senseis we had training with
Kawai Sensei - he's the one who brought Aikido to Brasil. He made a very intersting speech, telling a bit of Aikido history and beliefs. Unfortunatelly, there wasn't time enough for him to say all he wanted, and he tough us one technique. All he said was translated, because he only speaks Japanease.
Reynosa Sensei - he's american (so his speech was also translated, though I think most of the aikidokas didn't need it) and has a self-defense Aikido style. Although, like Kawai Sensei himself said, Aikido is much more than just a way of knowing how to defend yourself, Reynosa Sensei's teachings were very interesting. His way of fighting is very agile and precise, so the opponent has absolutely no chance against him.
Nagao Sensei - he's my Sensei at São Paulo. He opened the event with a very spontaneous and funny speech, which is typical his.
Brasil Sensei - I liked him a lot. He gave a speech about how most fights happen because of misunderstandings, and how we should be friendly to everyone, specially to the ones who are not. His teachings were about using your whole body to put the uke (the one who attacks you) easily down.
Humberto Sensei - he seemed to be very serious, but his training was nice. He agreed with what Brasil Sensei said.
Matias Sensei - I wasn't there as he gave lessons, but he had dinner with us on Saturday. He seemed to be a nice person. He's married to Liuba (I'm not sure this is how it's written), Kawai Sensei's doughter, who is very kind and cute.
Arai Sensei - he's Japanease (or descendent). He tought us the six ways of escaping an attack (this doesn't mean I learned them all, because there was too little time to practice XD).
Hilário Sensei - he's a very serious person, despite his name. In the moment I can't remember exactly what he tought, I think he did the warm-up.
Ivan Sensei - extremely friendly. He did the demonstration on Friday night.
Bueno Sensei - his lesson was about how to be a good uke. It was very interesting and I'm trying to always remember it on trainings since then.
Santos Sensei - a funny person, who seems to have a lot of fun beeing an uke. He also tought us one technique, and I think he's training was the toughest. He called me Nicole-san as I practiced with him = b.

There probably were other Senseis we trained with, but I can't remember them all (it's clear there were many). Another thing I learned with this experience is not to be shy and ask others to practice with me. I am very happy because I realized that being Aikido a way of harmony, people who practice it are very kind. It's difficult to go to a meeting with 100 people you don't know and feeling nice because most of them is kind to each other. I thought this sort of group was something you could only find if you take part of a religious community, and since I'm not religious, I'm very glad to realize I found one in Aikido.

Ai - harmony
Ki - energy
Do - path