Grand Rapids Aikikai to host Aikido Seminar with Elmer Tancinco Sensei

April 1st (12 PM – 4 PM) & 2nd (9 AM – 12 PM) at Kyoseikan Dojo.
Registration form here.  Donations accepted here.

 

 

Dave Mata Sensei, Chief Instructor at Kyoseikan Dojo, recently visited Cuba and trained with fellow aikidoka of the Cuban Federation of Aikido.  This experience has inspired Mata Sensei to return to Cuba, and to raise awareness for the needs of our friends there.

To that end, Grand Rapids Aikikai will be hosting an Aikido Seminar with special guest Elmer Tancinco Sensei, Chief Instructor of Alameda Aikikai.

In Mata Sensei’s words:

Our goal is to help our friends who are members of the Cuban Aikido Association. The CAA is recognized by Aikikai and a member of the Sansuikai under the direction of Y. Yamada Shihan. The CAA is made up of about 35 dojos spread throughout Cuba. The USAF has been active through the efforts of Peter and Penny Bernath Shihan(s) (along with many others) in funding Dan registration with Hombu Dojo for the CAA. This is a monumental task and those involved with these efforts deserve our appreciation.

Now for our part. As we all know, the financial situation for the people of Cuba is limited. Statistics show that the average income is about $30. US each month. Many students are training with home made weapons and some only had sticks of bamboo. We celebrate and respect their dedication to training and the mindset that training is what’s important so you do whatever you have to do to train. Now is time for those of us with a little more to give to our cousins in Cuba.

We are not asking anyone to take sides on the political situation in Cuba. We are asking our friends, family members and fellow Birankai members around the world to help us share with strong, passionate and talented Aikidoka.

We hope those who are able to attend the seminar will be here and train with us. For those who can not attend and those who are not Aikido students we hope you are able to make some small donation towards our efforts. Here is a link for donations.

Donations and funds from this event will go toward outfitting as many CAA Dojos as possible with quality Bokken and Jo.

Donations may be made through our GoFundMe fundraiser project:
Aikido 4 Everyone, Funds for Cuba
You can indicate there if you would like your donation to remain private.

An on-line registration form for this event can be found here.

We would like to extend special appreciation to our friends at Nippon Budogu for helping to sponsor this event.