Aikido Shinju-Kai, Singapore
I had a business trip to Singapore, so I called in at the headquarters of Aikido Shinju-Kai, the best-known dojo in the country, and trained under Philip Lee Sensei.
Despite COVID, they gave me a very warm welcome as a visitor from Japan, and after practice they even invited me to join them for brunch.
Philip Sensei’s Shinju-Kai is the largest dojo in the region, with more than 50 dojos in Singapore and over 10,000 students across Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and elsewhere.
In his younger days Philip Sensei apparently spent a month every year living and training at Hombu Dojo in Tokyo, and his technique was truly Aikikai aikido in the Japanese style.
He said it was a pity he could not show me the place where they trained before COVID, which was about three times the size of the current headquarters, but it was still a very impressive dojo.
Visiting dojos abroad is always a great pleasure because you get to feel the “Japan” that lives there, and this visit was especially enjoyable.
My thanks to Philip Sensei and everyone at Shinju-Kai.
This post was translated from the Japanese original. この記事を日本語で読む