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Aikido training in France (July - Nov 2008) |
For the past 5 months I had the pleasure and honour of training again under my aikido teacher in France, Christian Tissier. My training with Christian Tissier started in 1999, when I was sent to Paris on a work assignment. Since then I have returned to the France occasionally for training seminars and an extended ten month training period in 2002. When I left France to work in other countries I always had the problem that it was impossible to find aikido schools where I could train at the same level and in the same intensity as I had become used to in the Cercle Tissier. It was for this reason that I started researching the chinese internal arts in greater detail. Aikido was always on my mind, but my practice was devoted more to the Neijia. So I returned to France after a period of three years in which I had not practiced much aikido.
 Chistian Tissier and students in Belgium
My experience of training at Cercle Tissier this time round was as exciting and invigorating as ever, and I feel that I have made some progress in my understanding of aikido. My level has changed and this might have changed my perceptions, but I have the impression that Christian Tissier’s style has mellowed and matured (if I may say so) from the last time I trained with him. He seems to be constantly evolving. His senior students have also matured and they have come into their own, each with their own style of teaching, but all distinctly products of “Tissier aikido”. The senior students are sharing a greater responsibility in the running of the dojo and teaching, giving Christian a bit more time to recuperate from his demanding teaching schedule.
As a teacher Christian Tissier has been an absolute workhorse for the last 30 years and he has devoted his life to establishing aikido very firmly in Europe. He has been getting busier as the years progressed. In recent years he has been jet setting around the globe and especially in Europe, on a teaching schedule that has him booked up a year in advance! He has been teaching regardless of fatigue and injuries and this has resulted in some joint problems that bordered on being chronic. So when he takes a break it is very well deserved and I believe also very well appreciated by his students who would like him to continue teaching for at least another 20 years!
July and early August are always an exciting time for aikido in France, as Christian gives training seminars for 3 consecutive weeks, 2 weeks in the South of France and one week in Belgium. The training in the south is the toughest because of the heat. It is like training in a sauna (Bikram aikido?) and it takes a few days to get used to it. After every session (two hours in the morning and two in the afternoon) I could wring the sweat out of my kimono. The result of this kind of training is that one gets into a rhythm and the body becomes really cleaned out.
The cooler training in Belgium is luxurious by comparison and the accommodation too (living in the Vegimont Castle and not in a tent!).
After the seminar month I returned to Paris to commence training at Cercle Tissier. The Cercle Tissier is one of the most famous and the busiest martial arts dojo’s in Europe. It was started by Christian Tissier after he returned from his 8 years of training in Japan. Cercle Tissier consists of three martial arts training halls and one fully equipped weight training gym. The training schedule and courses are offered in aikido, shotokan karate, judo, Brasillian jiujitsu, kendo, katori Shinto ryu kenjitsu, tai chi chuan, hapkido, dancing and more… but the dojo is most famous for its aikido.
When I arrived in France my training was very free and enjoyable and I could feel the benefits of the Neijia practice in my aikido. But I realised that my aikido was much more free-form and much less structured than that of the regular Tissier students. I felt that many of the regular students are caught up in a structure “box” and that they could really benefit from practising in a more free way, but as for myself, I realised that I would have to reel in my freedom and seriously try to learn the structure of Christian Tissier’s aikido if I was going to make the best of my stay in France. So I took a break from “freestyle” practise and tried to learn the structure of Christian Tissier’s aikido. I started to prepare for my second Dan grading where all techniques are expected to be precise, correct and structured. This learning curve was frustrating at times but in the end it was very rewarding and I learned a lot.
I now realise that Christian Tissier’s true gift to the aikido world is the clear structure of his system. I have the feeling that I have to learn and understand this structure completely and then I will have the knowledge foundation to progress in any direction I choose. Structure comes first and freedom comes second. If the structure is not grasped before one becomes too free, the freedom will be watered down and without quality. It’s a bit like jazz- one has to master the scales before one can play freestyle. But in jazz the freestyle is the true test of the quality of your music. I feel that in aikido practice it is the same - there comes a time when the structure has served its purpose and the aikidoka can start to explore his freedom. The bird can leave the nest. I feel in the aikido world in general there are many birds who are ready to leave the nest but do not. Well, if the nest is as good as the Cercle Tissier its understandable! ☺
I look forward to returning to Paris in July 2009!
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