“If you are willing to learn, he is willing to teach”
2009
I have been practicing Aikido since 1988 in Guelph, Ottawa and Calgary. The past five years or so I have been practicing with Ben Sensei and my only regret practicing at Masa Kokoro is that I didn’t find Ben Sensei sooner.
I never fail to be impressed with Ben Sensei’s skill and insight and the man is incurably good humoured! There hasn’t been a practice where Ben Sensei was in a grumpy mood or not in the mood to teach. He is always respectful of students, no matter what their level of skill, and he is always respectful of other teachers.
The effectiveness of a technique is foremost in Ben Sensei’s mind. He encourages his students to practice at other dojos so they can see a technique performed slightly differently or with a different emphasis. You have to make a technique your own. You may be taller, shorter, stronger, weaker or differ physically in other ways from the person demonstrating a technique. You may have to subtly alter the technique to make it work for you. The final arbiter on whether you are doing a technique correctly is whether it is effective for you; can you actually throw this person whether he wants to fall or not… Ben Sensei is always willing to spend time with you to perfect a technique. If you are willing to learn, he is willing to teach.
It has been a pleasure to practice with Ben Sensei. I hope to practice with him for many years to come. Thank you Ben Sensei.
Rudy Gelderblom
Kokoro