----------------------------------- Family Celebration '09

To celebrate the holidays and the year's success, we hosted a potluck and technical demonstration for family and friends.

We practice to improve ourselves and our art.  Great teachers of the past have provided material for us to work with, including kata that incorporate formal representations of fundamental techniques. Hapoken is one kata that has been handed down to us as part of our aikido. Our teacher Lau Sensei developed a variation of that kata, for extracurricular practice with the bo staff ...

It will surprise some, that a teacher would develop a new version of a kata, but an art should evolve, not just preserve a static tradition. If we practice for years we may get better and better, or we may get bored, lose focus, and just repeat mechanically. It is fun to find something new. It is good to look for something new inside the old.

Our tradition is to change, to grow.