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Aikido of Petaluma, Petaluma, CA Division 3 |
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My first exposure to Aikido came through my involvement in western boxing and Kenpo Karate through a student of Ed Parker's, Harvey Clary. He had a school in Menlo Park, where I was living and going to high school. Because of my interest in martial arts I began reading Black Belt magazine. They had ads in the back for martial arts books. One ad was for a book by Koichi Tohei, Aikido in Daily Life. There was something in the ad that was intriguing even though it did not really say much about Aikido. This was in 1966, when Aikido was all but unknown even in martial arts circles. The interest from the ad caused me to look up schools in the area, which were also listed in the back of the magazine. Robert Tann's school in South San Francisco was the closest one. I called them and they referred me to the Mountain View Aiki-kai on Castro St. I visited the school and watched a class. The school had classes in Aikido and Danzan Ryu Ju Jitsu. After watching one class and even before the class started, the atmosphere in the school said this is HOME. I began training in Nov. of 1966. The two teachers in the school at the beginning were Sig Kufferath, who was also the chief ju jitsu teacher and highly ranked in Judo, and Ed Riggs a retired army major who trained in Japan. They took in an uncoordinated, unsure teenager who needed to believe that change and growth were possible if you wanted it badly enough and trained hard enough. They did everything to foster and support this belief. Shortly after I started, Robert Nadeau returned from training in Japan under O'Sensei, who was still alive at that time. He became the head Aikido teacher, and was the only full time teacher on the West Coast. I vividly remember my first class with Nadeau Sensei more than 35 years ago. We worked on shomen uchi ikkyo. The feel of his technique and the depth of his commitment to the growth aspects of Aikido were apparent even to a young beginner. I started Aikido of Petaluma in April 1983. Until last year I rented space from the Petaluma Kenpo Karate School. The 18 years I was there was a great experience of a sharing the benefits of two very different but complementary approaches to training. We continue to have joint trainings. Last year the school moved to shared space with the Petaluma School of Ballet. It is located on the corner of Western Ave. and Howard Streets in downtown Petaluma. We have about 20 adult members. Classes meet on Monday. and Thursday nights from 7-8:30, Tuesday night from 6:30 to 8:00 and Saturday from 11:30 to 1:00. We also have an energy class and a T'ai-chi class on Saturday morning. Visitors are always welcome. My most Memorable Aikido Experience That first class with Nadeau Sensei is still my most memorable moment because the experience of that class confirmed in a deep way that training in Aikido could actually help me make the changes in myself and my life that I had hoped were possible. It was a feeling that all the fragments, conflicts and challenges of life do fit together. I felt that there really is an underlying wholeness that is our truest self. The experience fueled my belief in the value of training and where it could take you. My training with him since then has continued to deepen this belief. |
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