ACNJ Friendship Tour 2004

Tim Vazquez (ACNJ-Manasquan)
tim@dtpro.us

In the summer of 2003 members of Aikido Centers Of New Jersey* (ACNJ), embarked on a grand journey to foster the Aiki Spirit with fellow USAF dojo affiliates throughout the state of New Jersey (NJ). I titled the journey the ACNJ Friendship Tour. At each dojo we were met with open arms and warmth. At times we were even able to socialize with the local dojo members at the local eatery. Needless to say, we all had a great timeŃsome with a little help from the local spirits! (Ya know what I mean! Ha! Ha!)

I knew a tour such as this would be a challenge since we are very fortunate in NJ to have a variety of quality chief instructors spread throughout the state. I considered it a great opportunity and I took on the challenge to schedule, map, and explore how to best achieve this goal.

I continued our ACNJ Friendship Tour to non-USAF dojos in NJ this year. NJ has a great selection of different instructors, from different organizations, and also independent. Ironically enough, after conducting my research, I was able to make a list of approximately forty five (45) dojo's operating in this state. Now that's a lot of Aikido!!!! As you can imagine, my task in scheduling the visits became more difficult than in the year 2003. I also had to take into consideration the ACNJ members traveling schedule, and their physical ability to train in different dojo's. Last year I had scheduled the dojo visits too close and I ended burning out all the members enthusiasm. This year I scheduled a different dojo visit approximately every 2 weeks. Needless to say, we will not be able to visit all of them this year. We will finish some time next year in 2005!

The non-USAF dojo's in NJ are very diverse. We have NJ Ki Society, Aikido Association Of America, Nihon Goshin Aikido, etc... If you really want to see how many there are, run your own search on the AIKI-WEB and I am sure you will be amazed!!

At each dojo we were met with open arms and warmth. What is amazing to me is the way Aikido can be explained/interpreted in so many different ways!! One thing for sure, we all feel so good to meet and train with other Aikidoka that are not used to training in our (USAF) venues. In the same process, we are able to develop a new outlook on our beautiful art called Aikido.

The dojo's that we have been able to visit to date are as follows:

	NJ Ki Sociaty Shin Shin Toitsu Chief Instructor Terry Pierce Sensei Riverton, NJ 08077 (856) 829 7323 www.njks.org
	Aikido School Of Self Defense Nihon Goshin Chief Instructor Edgar j. Mendez Sensei North Bergen, NJ 07047 (201) 869 1566 www.aikidoinc.com
	Tetsu Kemuri Aiki Dojo Independent Chief Instructor Robert Hamilton Sensei Egg Harbor Twp, NJ 08234 (609) 927 8185
	Community Aikido Independent Chief Instructor Joseph Knight Sensei Ocean City, NJ 08226 (609) 398 5750
	Aikido At NJIT-Newark Aikido Schools Of Ueshiba Chief Instructor Fred Little Sensei Newark, NJ 07102 (973) 642 7576 web.njit.edu/~vxv7605/aikidoweb

I feel the ACNJ Friendship Tour further connected all of us together. It is a fulfilling and enriching experience for all of us who participate. Please look forward for future articles on our continuing visits to the remaining dojo's on the list.

*Aikido Centers of New Jersey is under the direction of Chief Instructor Greg O'Connor. ACNJ has five member dojos including Morristown, Clifton, Brielle, Newton and Hoboken.