Seminar Feedback:

DS ~ Over the years, I have participated in seminars taught by world-class martial artists such as:   Koichi Tohei, William Cheung, Remy Presas, Dan Inosanto, Al Dacascos, Jesse Glover, , Emin Bostepe, George Xu and Master Chai Sirisute (AJARN CHAI).  Recently I encountered another teacher that I would consider “world-class”.  His name is Allen Beebe.  Allen is an Aikido teacher, but his teachings and principles are universal in the martial arts.  He has extensive knowledge of body mechanics and can pinpoint where the student needs improvement. He teaches exercises that improve stability and the relaxed application of force.   If you have the opportunity to attend one of Allen’s seminars, I would highly recommend it.

Juan Luis Durán Benjumeda~ In wonderful spring weather, the first seminar of Allen Beebe in Mainz (Germany), took place during the first weekend of April 2017. Allen is a good-natured man, accessible, and reluctant to any type of protocol or hierarchy. This, combined with his enormous teaching skill, makes him an excellent transmitter of knowledge. His goal was, in his own words, that each and every one of us would end the seminar achieving the keys needed to begin to develop Aiki. And, as he confirmed to us, his expectations were exceeded.The size of the group, the desire to work, and the positive curious attitude of the audience created an incredible learning atmosphere. Thanks to this participative atmosphere and the numerous questions formulated by the seminar attendees, there was no doubt unresolved. Along with the theoretical basis, Allen provided us with numerous solo exercises and ways of testing them with a partner, including among them the first Tandoku Dosa and the first technique of Rinjiro Shirata’s teaching system. An Aiki Body is a tensegrity structure, which is dynamically stable because all its parts move in unison in three axes, that is to say, creating spirals. This spiral movement creates tangents to any force we encounter, making us control them without resisting or avoiding. In order to create such a structure, we use gravity and normal force. It is a process of reprogramming our neuromuscular inertia, learning to do less, learning to not use concentric muscle contraction, and to not to go against these opposite forces. Actually, the theory is simple. The real question to be answered is whether we will have the courage and perseverance to make it ours, to commit ourselves to forge an Aiki body.I would like to praise the presence of many veteran Aikido practitioners who had no problem leaving all their conceptions aside to learn as if it were their first day. Allen told us that the heart of Shirata’s teachings is humility as the first necessary step for learning, and the participants demonstrated that virtue. Finally, I want to express thanks to the Aikido group of Mainz ’ s University and its instructors and friends, Bardo and Till, for their help with the preparation of the seminar and generosity to opening their doors to us. I hope that next year we will see each other again.

Ander (Chen Taichi) ~ I just wanted to say thank you for the seminar. It was very inspiring to train with you and to learn –although superficially– your basic exercises.