Visit to Thai Aikikai (Renbukan Dojo)

I had the chance to go to Thailand on a business trip,
so I joined a practice at Thai Aikikai.
(https://thaiaikikairenbuka.wixsite.com/renbukandojo)

The well-worn tatami
have been there unchanged, I was told,
since an Australian who once trained here donated them.

Fukakusa Sensei, who founded Thai Aikikai,
has a bad knee and was not at the dojo that day,
so I was unable to pay my respects.
I was able to greet Nishimura Sensei, the assistant chief instructor (shihan-dai),
but as it was not one of his class days, I hope to visit again on another occasion.

The class that day was taught by Suwanee Paekhao Shihan, 6th dan.
Suwanee Sensei
spent two years in Tokyo studying aikido
during Japan’s boom years in the 1980s.
I was moved to hear that Suwanee Sensei steadfastly keeps to the teachings received at Hombu Dojo 40 years ago.

I had assumed there would not be many people since it was a weekday evening,
but apparently many people in Bangkok are still wary of COVID and have not yet returned to practice.

The dojo has no air conditioning,
so eight electric fans run constantly.
Given Bangkok’s climate and the lack of air conditioning,
it struck me that much of the practice consisted of slow, deliberate technique work.

If you are ever in Bangkok, do pay them a visit.