There will be a "Celebration of Life" gathering for Steve the evening of Wednesday, September 7 at 7:00 pm. Our dojo will be closed that evening so all may attend. The gathering will be held at Monroe Community Hospital where Steve lived these last 18 months. If you go in the main entrance of Monroe Community Hospital (on the south or canal side of the complex), there will be a sign directing you to the auditorium.

Steve's family has asked in lieu of flowers that donations be made to Aikido Kokikai of Rochester for a Steve Ridley Memorial Scholarship Fund that will support members attending our annual Camps. Steve never missed a camp and felt it was an important part of his practice and life.

Whether you had the good fortune to know Steve or not, we encourage you to join us in attending the gathering at Monroe Community Hospital and supporting his family in their time of need.

In peace,
Jim Lahue
Judy Warner

P.S. Steve's Mom, Rosalie Ridley, has asked that anyone who wishes to share a story about Steve be invited to speak at our gathering. If you would like to speak, it would be helpful if you would let me know ahead. If you have any questions or thoughts, feel free to call Judy on her cell at 802-9358.

Hurricane Katrina

In the wake of the devastating Hurricane Katrina, Christine Steerman, children's aikido teacher, therapist and local Red Cross volunteer, is heading south to help out. Chris is one of 20 volunteers from the local Red Cross that will travel south to help hurricane victims. Chris left Rochester on August 30 for a two week Red Cross volunteer rotation. We wish her well.

News From Summer Camp

Kokyu-Dosa Contest
by Bob Martini

Yes! You read the title correctly! Now with that said let me explain. We all know that kokyu-dosa is not a contest. Most of us learned this by simply listening to our teachers, a few of us like me were unceremoniously corrected by our instructors while wrestling during kokyu-dosa. No matter how we came to learn this we all understand that kokyu-dosa is not a contest it is more of a ki test. In this case an exception was made in order to raise funds for pediatric cancer research.

How It Worked
The orange belts kicked off the contest. An orange belt challenged all comers. Each contestant paid $5 for each attempt. Each attempt consisted of the best of five challenge. The defender first holds, then pushes, then holds, then pushes, then holds. If the challenger wins he then becomes the defender. Whoever was left sitting after all white and orange bells were done then accepted challenges from blue belts. The blue belt that was left then accepted challenges from brown belts. On Saturday at 1:30 pm the defender from Friday was challenged by all black belt. The process was the same except black belts were asked to pay $10 for each attempt.

Contest Rules
These rules were written remembering what Maruyama Sensei says "cheating is technique and kokyu-dosa is not about technique." Therefore the following rules were strictly enforced by judges:

• Distance-sitting about 2-4 in. apart, feet flat.
• Arm position- the person pushing should invite with arms extended (> 90 degrees) and pointed toward their partners shoulders. May not invite wider than their partner shoulders, nor narrower than their partners armpits, nor higher than the shoulders, nor lower than the armpits. The person holding should hold wrists at sides and the not under the wrist. Their arms must not bend to less than 90 degrees.
  
  
• Default ( your out):
  • Person pushing may not push outside the range described above. He must stay in the shoulder zone.
  • Person holding may not push up or back toward their partner.
  • Person holding it may not slip his hands under the wrists during the event.
  • Neither person may bend their arms.
  • Need a person may change the direction of the pushing hands.
  • Neither person may use the head forward to bump or intimidate their partner.
  • Neither person may allow their legs to slide backwards on the mat.
  • Pushing must be straight toward the shoulders.
  • Pushing must be smoothed, not jerky, no back-and-forth motion.
• Do over:
  • Holding person may not allow grasp to slip.
    
  • Person pushing must allow contact at least two seconds before pushing.

Who Wins
If the holding person cannot be pushed over within 15 seconds he or she wins. If the person pushing successfully pushes over his/her partner within 15 seconds he or she wins.

Members of the Rochester the dojo participated in this unique event. Judy Sensei helped write the rules, Jim Sensei was one of the judge's and our own Tim Van was the blue belt champion! The overall winner was Gary Snyder Sensei.

There are two kinds of camps: Those where you will be learning. And those where you will be learning-and testing.

For a select group of Rochester students, Summer Camp 2005 not only represented a chance to learn from the very best Aikido practitioner on earth-Shuji Maruyama Sensei. It represented a chance to display their best in front of that same teacher. As you might imagine, this creates a tantalizing mixture of excitement and anxiety.
Despite the pressure, Rochester students put on a good display of Aikido technique-and the mind/body state that underpins it.

Testing for 2nd kyu ( first brown belt) were Bobby Stearns and Tim Vann. Both did a fine job in technique demonstration and in freestyle against three attackers.

Testing for 1st kyu (second brown belt) were Bob Martini, Carroll Wilcox and Christian Haacke. All three made significant progress since their last tests and represented the dojo extremely well.

Testing for shodan (first black belt) were Harold Leve and Marianne Beck. Harold has been practicing with us since the beginning, while Marianne splits her time between the Rochester and Wilmington dojo. Harold's progress in the last year has been impressive. His posture, technique and composure have grown dramatically, making his test a clear departure for him into the dan ranks. And Marianne displayed grace and expertise with her typical aplomb. Her eye for detail and enjoyment of Aikido produced a fine test-and will make her a fine teacher when she returns to Germany this fall.

Testing for nidan (second black belt) was Mark Grey. As I told my classes, it was not so long ago that Mark was just a bystander when the dojo had our annual Halloween parties at his home. (His wife, Christine Steerman, has been a student for several years longer.) But now, Mark has learned and grown so much. His test was a fine example of the calmness, relaxation and expertise that a student gaining the rank of nidan must attain.

We're very proud of all of you, and look forward to your continued progress. Congratulations to all!

Congratulations All Around
by Marcella Mosher

Recent Testing in the Dojo
Congratulations to Ann Marshall who recently tested and was promoted to 4th kyu (first blue belt). Though I did not see Ann's test I heard good things about it and had the pleasure of seeing her prepare on Sundays at Open Mat. Great job Ann!

Weddings
Congratulations go out to Steve Perino who got married in June and to John Christensen who is getting married in early September.

Calendar Changes
by Judy Warner

Beginning in August you may have noticed a few changes on our calendar. We added a new set of general classes at 7:00 pm on Mondays that will be open to everyone. In fact, if you check the calendar you will notice that most classes our dojo offers are open to everyone, reflecting a long standing tradition in aikido to have all ranks practice together. The only adult classes that will be 'select', that is, limited to particular ranks, will be a new set of classes on Monday evenings at 8:00 pm and once a month when a black belt practice will be scheduled at an 8:00 pm time on rotating days of the week. We will be testing this new configuration through the fall. Let us know how you like it.

Labor Day Class Cancellations-
Sunday, September 4, 10:00 am Open Mat and Monday, September 5, 5:45 pm and 7:00 pm.

Celebration of Life for Steve Ridley - Wednesday, September 7 at 7:00 pm at Monroe Community Hospital

Black Belt Practice - Thursday, September 29 at 8:00 pm