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More than 90 participants descended on beautiful little Poulsbo, Washington, on the weekend of August 10 Ð 12 to attend Yamada Sensei's annual Pacific Northwest Seminar. Friday evening's class was co-led by the host, Dan Delaney Sensei and Shidoin Gordon Wormser who had traveled all the way from Aikido of Park Slope in Brooklyn.
The real fun started Saturday morning with Yamada Sensei livening up the Poulsbo Middle School Gym with his charm and excellent instruction. The highlight of the day was a rare public demonstration led by Yamada Sensei. Sensei called out chief instructors from San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Bainbridge Island, Vancouver Canada, and Minneapolis to illustrate principles he outlined to the audience. Local media was wowed by the event. A traditional Suquamish tribe salmon picnic finished off the day at a nearby park. The members of Kitsap Aikido, the hosts, presented Yamada Sensei with a king salmon to take home with him on Sunday, hoping he would return to "little Norway" on Liberty Bay someday.
Search 'yamada poulsbo' and 'yamada gift' to see some short video clips on Youtube.com.
