Spotlight - Matt Tebbs

The Riai Wellington dojo was founded by Sensei Henry Lynch in the early 90's and grew steadily under his leadership. Sensei Lynch encouraged all members to participate in the organisation of the dojo, and that strong sense of ownership and committment helped the dojo to continue when Sensei Lynch moved on. We currently have about thirty active adult members. We run four adult classes a week, a kids class and an intermediate class. We share the teaching, I take the majority of the adult classes, while others teach the kids and intermediates and at least one adult class a week. Our dojo continues to enjoy strong committment from members who contribute in a variety of ways on and off the mat. The result is a sense of shared ownership and committment that makes it a real pleasure and a privilege to occupy the role of Dojo Cho.

My most Memorable Aikido Experience
It's pretty hard to pick a 'most' memorable Aikido experience, but I've shared this story a few times. I'd been working long hours on a big project for a number of months. The project was on rocky ground and stress levels were high. One of the guys on my team who was obviously harbouring an unfavourable view of my contribution decided to let me know, using gutter language and in a public forum. I was pretty close to breaking point myself and for the first time in my adult life seriously considered decking the guy. He was entitled to his opinion, but his choice of delivery style and venue almost pushed me over the edge. Fortunately I resisted that initial impulse and made a conscious effort to apply Aikido principles. Sensei Richard Moon's 'three easy lessons' came to mind: I ignored the tirade while I took several deep breathes and experienced my own emotional response (feel where you are); I calmly asked him to take a seat and discuss his concerns with me (harmonious relationship); and I proceeded to outline the various constraints I was working under and the effort I was making to contribute to the project deliverables (share who you are). On the surface this was a great success, my response illicited a sincere apology and we enjoyed a better working relationship as a result of the incident.

All was fine on the surface, but the problem was I couldn't sleep that night, I still wished I'd thumped the guy! It became a real effort to keep that resentment at bay in the days that followed at work. I was fortunate to attend a seminar with Shihan Nadeau very soon after that event. When I got an oportunity I asked Sensei, after running through this story, how come I still feel this way? Didn't I do everything right? I don't know what answer I was expecting but I was perplexed when Sensei asked to see my basic kotegaeshi defence and proceeded to attack munetsuki, he continued attacking until I got over my nerves and started to perform a reasonable technique. He then told me to imagine he was the guy in the story. The next technique was a disaster, we clashed shoulders and the technique fell apart. I don't recall if Sensei said anything more, I was too surprised at how he had read me and predicted how the anger I was harbouring would affect my Aikido. I realised at that point it no longer had anything to do with the other guy, it was something I was carrying in myself and it wasn't doing me any good. I let it go.

	Featured Dojo-cho, February 2005

Matt Tebbs, 2nd Dan Riai Aikido, Wellington, New Zealand Division 3
I went to my first Aikido class in Wellington, New Zealand in 1992, after seeing an advertisement in a community newspaper. I'd tried a couple of other martial arts earlier, Karate briefly and a little Kendo, but hadn't got any traction. It certainly helps to enjoy the training for its own sake if you are going to last any distance, and that was missing for me until I tried Aikido. I knew nothing of the shape of the Aikido world back then and don't recall what my first teacher 'Tunji' told us of his Aikido background, but the introduction he provided was sufficient to inspire me to set out on my Aikido journey. Tunji stopped teaching Aikido about two years later and for a brief while I trained under Sensei Ralph Pettman, a student of Sensei Yoshinobu Takeda, who had just arrived from Australia and who currently teaches Aikido at Victoria University in Wellington. Late in 1994 I moved to Auckland and started my continuing association with Riai Aikido. Senseis Mike Ashwell and Danny McIntyre welcomed me into the Riai Ponsonby dojo and by the time I returned to Wellington in 1997 it was an easy choice to join the Riai dojo under Sensei Henry Lynch. I obtained my Shodan under Sensei Lynch in 1998. Sensei Lynch returned to Auckland around 2000, leaving the Wellington dojo in the capable hands of, first, Lyn Meachen, and then Vance Karena. I obtained my Nidan from Sensei Lynch in 2003 and assumed the role of Dojo Cho in 2004 when Vance headed for Australia. I feel privileged to have had the exposure to a variety of different teachers through the various dojos where I have had the opportunity to train regularly during my chequered Aikido history. I am frequently surprised to find that I am still learning from teachers and seminars I attended years ago, as my developing understanding of the Art allows me to recall and reinterpret ideas that had seemed bewildering at time. The Riai Wellington dojo was founded by Sensei Henry Lynch in the early 90's and grew steadily under his leadership. Sensei Lynch encouraged all members to participate in the organisation of the dojo, and that strong sense of ownership and committment helped the dojo to continue when Sensei Lynch moved on. We currently have about thirty active adult members. We run four adult classes a week, a kids class and an intermediate class. We share the teaching, I take the majority of the adult classes, while others teach the kids and intermediates and at least one adult class a week. Our dojo continues to enjoy strong committment from members who contribute in a variety of ways on and off the mat. The result is a sense of shared ownership and committment that makes it a real pleasure and a privilege to occupy the role of Dojo Cho. My most Memorable Aikido Experience It's pretty hard to pick a 'most' memorable Aikido experience, but I've shared this story a few times. I'd been working long hours on a big project for a number of months. The project was on rocky ground and stress levels were high. One of the guys on my team who was obviously harbouring an unfavourable view of my contribution decided to let me know, using gutter language and in a public forum. I was pretty close to breaking point myself and for the first time in my adult life seriously considered decking the guy. He was entitled to his opinion, but his choice of delivery style and venue almost pushed me over the edge. Fortunately I resisted that initial impulse and made a conscious effort to apply Aikido principles. Sensei Richard Moon's 'three easy lessons' came to mind: I ignored the tirade while I took several deep breathes and experienced my own emotional response (feel where you are); I calmly asked him to take a seat and discuss his concerns with me (harmonious relationship); and I proceeded to outline the various constraints I was working under and the effort I was making to contribute to the project deliverables (share who you are). On the surface this was a great success, my response illicited a sincere apology and we enjoyed a better working relationship as a result of the incident. All was fine on the surface, but the problem was I couldn't sleep that night, I still wished I'd thumped the guy! It became a real effort to keep that resentment at bay in the days that followed at work. I was fortunate to attend a seminar with Shihan Nadeau very soon after that event. When I got an oportunity I asked Sensei, after running through this story, how come I still feel this way? Didn't I do everything right? I don't know what answer I was expecting but I was perplexed when Sensei asked to see my basic kotegaeshi defence and proceeded to attack munetsuki, he continued attacking until I got over my nerves and started to perform a reasonable technique. He then told me to imagine he was the guy in the story. The next technique was a disaster, we clashed shoulders and the technique fell apart. I don't recall if Sensei said anything more, I was too surprised at how he had read me and predicted how the anger I was harbouring would affect my Aikido. I realised at that point it no longer had anything to do with the other guy, it was something I was carrying in myself and it wasn't doing me any good. I let it go.