Recommended! Any seminar with Roy Goldberg

Hi TrueAiki readers!

Recently, I received an email inviting me to virtually participate in a live seminar featuring Mr. Roy Goldberg.  Having, unfortunately, missed the opportunity to attend the last live seminar here in Oregon, I jumped at the opportunity to virtually attend this one.  A few training friends were generously allowed to attend so that we could be together live, while virtually attending the seminar featuring Goldberg sensei. I obviously cannot share any “hands on” experience due to the method of my participation. Nevertheless, I do wish to share my impressions of Goldberg sensei from my virtual participation in the hope that what I share may inspire people to attend a Goldberg sensei seminar in the future.

First, I’ll provide a bit of background context so that readers can know where I am coming from.  As you know my sensei learned Daito Ryu from Ueshiba Morihei.”  I also had the pleasure of training with Okamoto sensei (Roppokai),  Popkin sensei (Ginjukai), and Dan Harden (BodyWorks).  All of these individuals have a training connection traceable back to the Kodokai which is the tradition in which Goldberg sensei trained for so many years.  I knew of Goldberg sensei since the early 1980s when he certainly made a favorable impression upon me as I began my Aiki studies.  We became “Facebook” friends not long ago.  And this year I had the pleasure of having Goldberg sensei call me and we spoke for over an hour even though the time seemed much shorter than that.  I was excited to spend quality time live with sensei, but then life intervened, and my plans were scuttled.  So it was with pleasurable anticipation that I joined the latest seminar virtually.

First off, it became immediately clear that Goldberg sensei is accessible to his students.  While they obviously love and respect him, there isn’t a barrier of stuffy formality creating a learning barrier.  Students are encouraged to ask questions and seek feedback.  Also, it was apparent that Goldberg sensei sincerely wanted people to learn.  Once a question is asked, he jumps into both demonstration, and explanation.  He then asks if his explanation was clear.  In two hours, he always showed an eagerness and enthusiasm for wanting to meet everyone’s needs.  He also took no umbrage at being asked to move to a different angle, repeat and example, or give further elaboration.

Sensei easily and willingly jumped from explanation of waza to examples of impromptu application, to illustrations of concepts using jargon familiar with students and illustrating the meaning of the jargon when asked.  He also used models taken from other areas outside Daito Ryu, thus demonstrating that everything can “become” Daito Ryu with a Daito Ryu developed body/mind.

While sensei could easily jump from topic to topic and example to example, he kept things related to a bigger “picture” so that students didn’t get lost in minutia.  So, despite the limitations of a virtual venue, I certainly thought that the seminar was a success.  Of course, now I just want to participate in a live seminar all the more!

It is almost an over – used “trope” to say “It has to be felt” these days.  And I’m certainly unabashedly guilty of encouraging my readers to get out there and get hands-on with those that “can do.”  There really is no other way to learn.  Blogs and videos are useful tools, like a whiteboard or even seeing and listening during live seminars. But, there is NO substitute for feeling hands on.  And the more hands on, the better, IMHO.  Feeling won’t teach you, but it sure as heck improves the odds of learning!

That having been said, Roy Goldberg sensei is on my (very) short list.  Given the opportunity, I’d recommend you put him on yours too!**

Follow the link below for more information:

https://daitoryuaikijujutsu.net/roygoldberg

*Yes, other names besides Daito Ryu were used before finally landing upon the name Aikido.  But then again, even Daito Ryu practitioners that had no connection with Ueshiba Morihei also used to use the term Aikido to casually refer to what they practiced. Historical researchers all know that while a variety of names were used while Ueshiba Morihei taught and even while Ueshiba Morihei continued to be an active student of Takeda Sokaku, the nomenclature “Daito Ryu,” “Aiki Jujutsu,” as well as direct copies of Daito Ryu curricular “paperwork” were all part of everyday operation.

**Sensei requires proof of vaccination and all individuals wear masks at his lives seminars.

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