For information on annual Seminars with Sensei Michele in New York or the on-going adults Iaido classes at Suigetsu Dojo contact Dara Masi Shihan at suigetsu@aol.com

Sensei Michele in the middle and her student Dara Masi Shihan to the right with her students / Feb. 2011 – after a long weekend seminar

29 children of Suigetsu dojo came out on a cold snowy day to attend a 9am morning sword class with Sensei Michele

From Ashley Mullan

I was just thinking about how the sword seminar was and here is a little paragraph I wrote on it. On Saturday, there was a big event at Suigetsu Dojo, Shihan Masi’s sword teacher flew in from California to instruct at a yearly seminar for adults, children, and Iaido students to learn the art of the sword. I went to the children’s seminar and learned a couple of basics such as the draw. At first, I was quite scared to hold and use a sword for the very first time. To my surprise and delight, I was comfortable with the fact that I was holding a wooden replica of a dangerous weapon my hands and was learning a little bit about using it. When us kids got the hang of our grips (right hand over left), we learned a basic cut. We raised our swords up high over our heads, tilted them towards the small of our backs, and levered them down so fast that they were brownish (or tannish in my case) blurs. Then we learned how to draw. I must say, most of the kids with long swords (such as me for the first half) kind of struggled with the long blades that we had to tug out of our belts. At the end, we all got to watch Sensei Michele do a few katas with a real metal sword! I would love to learn how to do that! This seminar was AWESOME!!!!!!!

Michele Benzamin-Miki Sensei speaks on Aikido and non-violence

Michele Benzamin-Miki Sensei demonstrating an Iaido Kata at the closing of the People of Color Meditation Retreat July 2009 at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, California. Michele was a teacher on the retreat.