Unfortunately this years summer seminar in Velebit, Croatia has been postponed. The logistics of getting things prepared in the current climate have proved too demanding but they hope that the seminar will run next year.

There is a possibility that this year’s Velebit seminar with Doshu in Croatia will go ahead as planned. If you are interested in going please contact the Zagreb Aikido club directly so they can work out whether it was still feasible. Their contact details are aikido.drustvo@gmail.com

Here is the email from Marijan fully explaining the situation.
Dear aikido friends,
we are happy that the pandemic situation is deteriorating and life seems to be going back to normal.It was a hard time for all of us, for some even harder, but hopefully everyone came through and now the sun is shining again.We are looking forward to going back to normal aikido life as well and seeing all of you in seminars, like we used to.
We spoke to Doshu regarding our upcoming summer seminar in Velebit that was supposed to take place from July 31 to August 5, and he is willing to come and hold it if there are enough participants interested.That is why we would like to conduct a survey to see how many aikido people from our country and region, as well as from other countries in Europe would be interested to come to the seminar.If there are enough participants to cover the costs of the tent, transportation and fee, we would be more than happy to organize it and be with all of you on the tatami again!
Therefore we kindly ask you to let us know if you would be willing to come and participate if your circumstances allow it of course. We also kindly ask you to give as a response as soon a possible so we can start to organize the seminar in time to make it comfortable for everyone.
Please let us know:- if you are willing to come- how sure are you that you will come and stay for the whole seminar and what are the problematic circumstances that would stop you from coming- your accommodation, transport & food needs if you decide to come
We are looking forward to finally being together in real life, not only virtually…And we hope only good days are ahead for all of us…Take care and hope to see you all very soon!
Kind regards,Marijan

Doshu has written a few articles which can be found here He is welcoming any questions you might have through an email which can be found on the site and will try to answer them.

To a visitor to our club there are probably two characteristics to our training which stand out:

• Our acknowledgement that the technique practised in the Dojo will not be the same as those that would be used in real life.
• The emphasis on practising by oneself (Hitoriwaza)

With the current restrictions that most of us are experiencing at the moment with social distancing and self-isolation, Hitoriwaza has become the only way to continue practising.

To aid this practise, we will be continuing our classes virtually via video conferencing with Zoom. We will be sticking to our current teaching schedule but will be focusing on Aikido and Kenkodo that can be practised by yourself.

Following the Government’s announcement on Friday, we are suspending all classes until further notice.

Unfortunately we have suspended the City class.

The adult’s class on Thursday and Children’s class on Sunday in Ruislip will continue as usual

Yoshigasaki Sensei has written a small essay on Meditation in Japan. It can be found here

He has also written a small essay on listening which can be found here.

All of Sensei’s essays can be found here on British Ki Society website.

We’ll be taking a couple of weeks off during Christmas and New Year. The last class this year will be on 17th December in the City and 19th December in Ruislip. The children’s class will run until the 22nd December.

We start again in the 2020 on the second week of Janaury. So the 7th January will be the first n the City and 9th January the first in Ruislip. The children’s class start again on the 12th January.

Congratulations to Sensei Roy Cliff who received his Nanadan (7th Dan) Certificate at the Scottish seminar this weekend.

This was one of the highlights of the weekend which included visitors from the Zagreb club this year.

Doshu Yoshigasaki has been coming to the Highlands for over thirty years now and, as usual, hasn’t disappointed with this year’s seminar. Everyone had an great weekend, abliet a little tired and are looking forward to next year.

There are very good reasons why the Aikido Summer Seminar in Croatia is probably the best attended course in the whole of our international Aikido calendar.  Yoshigasaki Sensei’s teaching (in English) is, of course, the main attraction and there are three classes a day for everyone for most of the six days and the good mixture of men and women, of all levels, among the hundred or so students regularly attending, makes for a really varied and enjoyable practise.

The dojo is in a very large marquee which can be opened up on three sides to the fresh air and the countryside of the Velebit National Park.  Practise sessions are in the cool of the morning and the evening. So, for the whole afternoon, you can enjoy the mountains, woods and nearby seaside in reliably warm, sunny weather.  

Our local Croatian friends extend their really warm and practical hospitality to all comers, who arrive from a wide variety of countries: Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Italy, Croatia’s immediate neighbour countries, the U.K. and more.  Accommodation is offered at the nearby campsite and hostel as well as in the hotels and apartments of the local small seaside town of Karlobag. This provides a good range of affordability. Look at the photographs and watch the short video for a reliable impression of the course.  It is a popular and enjoyable course attracting the same students back again year after year. I am already looking forward to my own fifth visit in 2020.