Grading Essays

5th Kyu

Kwok-Wo Bong

Aikido – one of the interpretations of the name is “The Way of Harmoney of Spirit”.

It is an art that does not seek to meet violence with violence yet maintain its martial origins

In my journey of Aikido from beginner to being awarded 5th Kyu in 17th July 2024, I have reaped many benefits and they are:

  1. Physical Fitness – the combination of exercises help me to maintain my physical condition
  2. Discipline and focus – the training help me stay persistent to achieving my goals
  3. Self-Defense – the techniques focus on redirecting an opponent’s energy, making them highly effective.
  4. Conflict Resolution – utilizing redirecting opponent’s energy technique help to settle disputes
  5. Community Spirit – working together to master the techniques

In conclusion, I would like to express my gratitude to Peter, Tony and Hayley for their patience and dedication in helping me to achieve the 5th Kyu. I also want to extent my thanks to the rest of the group for their community spirit.

4th Kyu

Richard Kotey

First and foremost, I would like to thank all the senseis for my 4th kyu grading success, not forgetting the uke and all my fellow kyu trainees that have in one way or another contributed and enhanced my Aikido practice over the past months and years. Thank you all!

Following the trip to Seibukan Kobe, I developed a passion for Aikido. My steady progress has been inspirational and I hope to maintain that momentum over the foreseeable future. However, one of my challenges relate to the inability to understand and/or match the Aikido technique names in Japanese to its demonstration and indeed, a constructive feedback given and received accordingly after my grading.

In addition to the Aikido technique names, I will be learning actively to improve my posture and demonstrate the techniques in a relaxed and flexible manner. I wish to attend keiko regularly to enable me to achieve my Aikido ambitions.

Seibukan Milton Keynes is indeed an enjoyable club with experienced and friendly senseis that clearly have a genuine desire to teach and impart their Aikido knowledge and skills to all trainees at all levels. It is important for me to capitalise on that opportunity, to learn and improve my Aikido.

Thank you all once again.

2nd Kyu

William Ameyibor

I would like to say a big thank you to Bryan for travelling all the way from Scotland to make our grading possible. Thanks as well to Peter, Hayley, Tony and Joe for all their efforts in training and preparing us for our gradings. 

When Bryan moved to Scotland I was wondering how training was going to be like but Peter really stepped up after taking over from Bryan making training very enjoyable but serious as well. Always encouraging and pushing us during training. He lets you know if you are not getting a technique right and let you repeat it few times then praises you for getting it right just like Bryan has done for all these years. 

I have been doing Aikido for years now and keep telling myself I must wear that black belt one day. I got to know as time went on that it takes hard work and dedication to get there. I always tried my best but sometimes get muddled up with the commands in Japanese. Recently, I’ve been working hard trying to memorise the commands before my grading which helped a lot. You might be good at practicing but you need to know what the commands are to enjoy it more and be able to flow freely without slowing down in your grading. Peter keeps trying to catch me off guard asking me what some techniques are that he knows I’m not confident with, like Kubi nage lol. Because I knew Peter will be asking I tried hard to remember everything, which paid off in my grading. 

It’s not been easy practising Aikido, managing a football team and helping out my sons in their football activities. But I got to learn that you can do whatever you set your mind to when you try your best. I’m enjoying my Aikido and my boys are doing well in football, my youngest, Jacob got scouted by Luton FC recently so it’s a win win for Aikido and football. 

It hasn’t just been about Aikido, but the socialising like the going to the cinema, restaurants and whiskey nights especially have been fantastic 🤣. I’m also lucky to find myself in a club where everyone is amazing. I’m looking forward to enjoying Aikido for many more years to come. Thank you.