Sensei Garcia,

All of us in Midland are really looking forward to meeting Kato Sensei for his seminar in Corpus Christi this weekend. I'm a bit unclear on whether or not you will be there as well.

Will you be attending the seminar in Corpus?

Sensei Riggs himself will be there along with Sensei John Couch, Lan Powers and myself (John Boswell). Along with us, Sensei Randy of San Angelo will be at the CC seminar and is bring 3 or 4 of his own students.

We received your e-mail a few days ago explaining Kato's hand position and the demonstration he was giving. This has been GREATLY informative to all of us! Speaking for myself, some things regarding Irimi-nage have really come to light and it has become much easier and dynamic as a result. Sensei Riggs looks like a "kid in a candy store" now that we have more of an understanding of Kato's tai sabaki and we're all looking forward to getting some first hand instruction to confirm and/or correct confusions... though I think we're very close to what he teaches and am looking forward to seeing more!

Thank you EVER so much for all your efforts in bring Kato Sensei to Texas. I hope to be sending a little help your way... what little I can do. But again... thanks for all your efforts and I hope we have the opportunity to meet in Corpus Christi!

Domo arigato,
John Boswell
3rd Kyu, Midland, TX.

Sensei Garcia,

Many thanks again for all your efforts in bringing Kato Sensei to Texas! It was truly a pleasure meeting Shihan as well as yourself, your son, Sensei Joel and Sensei John Fallon (sp?) the karate sensei who also attended. Shihan showed a great deal of respect to him and I personally learned a great deal in his interactions with him regarding atemi and how aikido techniques transfer over to karate. Sensei and I had a lot of fun learning from Shihan.

I can't thank you enough for all you did. All of us learned so much over the weekend... we have a great deal to work on over the next several months and can not wait for Shihan to return to us again next year!

Domo arigato!
John Boswell
Midland, Texas

PS: I plan to look into information regarding the Carlsbad Caverns as well as Big Bend National Park in the event that Shihan would like to explore "the Great Southwest" on one of his upcoming return trips. I will send pamphlets and such as soon as I can gather them.

Thanks John,
I had a great time meeting you all. This will be a fun and challenging time to learn new things. Your help made all the difference in the world and I thank you for it. I hope to see you all soon again.
Sensei Jorge