Homma Sensei Visits Nippon Kan Wisconsin in Milwaukee.
By Charles Deiro Sensei

Without fanfare he arrived, and after three days of powerful practice, he was gone.

Every time Homma Sensei visits us in Milwaukee, it is like this. No press releases, no flyers, no fanfare, advertisements or hype…just a magical time. Homma Sensei does not ask to be entertained, or even paid for his time and expertise. The only arrangements I needed to make, was to find a place for him to sleep and to arrange the practice schedule. Worrying about our dojo budget, Homma Sensei even made a donation to our dojo to help cover his hotel expenses. Not wanting to burden students financially there were no testing fees or books for sale. Homma Sensei did not even bring his bokken and jo. When I asked him about this, he commented that a mop handle would suffice.

Once practice began however, there was no more time to be low-key. Homma Sensei punctuated his powerful teaching methods with insights into life with the Founder Morihei Ueshiba, and the history of Aikido development in the United States. He surprised everyone with the depth of his knowledge and direct experience. He also talked about A.H.A.N., the Aikido Humanitarian Active Network of which he is Founder.

Nippon Kan Wisconsin has also been involved with community service projects such as those sponsored by AHAN. Nippon Kan Wisconsin is involved on an annual basis doing demonstrations for the Asian American Community. We most recently were involved in a project sorting and distributing food for the local food bank in town. We also put on volunteer Aikido workshops for local Lutheran Churches.

Practice was held over three consecutive evenings. The practice themes were flexible, covering what the students needed to focus on to improve their technique and understanding. Homma Sensei spoke at length about what could be learned through the practice of Aikido as it relates to life beyond the mat. The third evening we spent working on the relationship between bokken, jo and open hand movement; which is major part of the foundation of Homma Sensei’s teaching.

In the United States, it is rare for Homma Sensei to travel outside of Denver to teach. We felt lucky to have him here with us.

Charles Deiro Sensei
Aikido Nippon Kan Wisconsin

Note from Editor.
After reading Charles’s report, Homma Sensei had the following comments.

Dear Charles,

I did not come to Milwaukee only to go to your dojo, I came to meet with you. You have been an important student and friend of Nippon Kan and mine for over 25 years. It is because of support such as yours, that Nippon Kan has been able to grow.

I do receive invitations from different dojos to teach seminars, but it is not a goal of mine to become a weekend Aikido vender. I still concentrate on my own shugyo (life path of practice), and have far to go. The older I get, the more I think about our practice of Aikido and what it truly means. Thank you for the opportunity to learn from all of you.

Gaku Homma