On 4th May 2006 the Dojo Head Paritos Kar Sensei left for Tokyo, Japan, to train in the Hombu Dojo.

Manisha writes:

A fortnight’s over, a month-and-a-half more to go and we miss him already. That’s how long it will take for Paritos Sensei to return from his two-month long trip to Tokyo, Japan.

Of course, Sensei was as excited about his leaving, as we were not! The reason for his excitement – he intended to practice four sessions per day at the Aikiki Hombu dojo, each session being an hour long. But a recent email mentioned five sessions!!

And while Sensei’s away, everyone, but everyone, is trying his / her best to keep things running as smoothly as possible. The evening classes are being taken alternately by blackbelts Ken, Jean and Taka. Hats-off to them. The morning classes are being taught by our dear Julia. She’s always there for us to fall back on, thank God.

Guess who else is putting in an effort by being more regular? Good ol’ Rana Dutta! (Poor Sensei tried so hard to make this happen in his presence.)

Well, all in all, if students are willing to go out of their way to take classes; if Rana is suddenly more regular; if Yulia and Manisha are trying to keep the dojo free of dust (and intruders) so that Sensei doesn’t faint when he returns, its all because of our love and respect for him. Its because we all know that he’s giving us so much more than we’re giving him, and its not just aikido I’m talking about. Thank you Sensei.