Welcome to our Website. The Aikido Tenshinkai Federation of Canada has operated since the early 1980s. It has been in operation in Northern Alberta for more years than any other Aikido Dojo. It is the Aikido Dojo in this region with the most experience in teaching the art. It has produced several senior students who have gone on to open their own Dojos.

• What is Aikido?
• Information about the Tenshinkai style
• History of the federation
• Master Tran-Hiep-Hoa’s philosophy of teaching
• Results of training
• Lineage of the Tenshinkai style

What is Aikido?

Many people are aware of Aikido as a martial art characterized by graceful circular movements and the effectiveness of its techniques. To explain, in depth, what Aikido is involves elements of the founder’s history and consideration of other influences.

Morihei Ueshiba (O-Sensei) was born in Tanabe city, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan in 1883. By the time O-Sensei reached his early 30s, he had studied over thirty Martial Arts, had served in the Japanese army during Russo-Japanese war and was known for his great physical strength and stamina. At 32 years of age he settled in Hokkaido and it was there that he happened to meet the Grandmaster of Daito-ryu Aiki Jujutsu, Sokaku Takeda (1859- 1943). Takeda was the last of the ancient style of warrior, known throughout Japan for his fierceness and devastating martial skills. After this meeting Ueshiba became a student of Daito-ryu Aiki Jujutsu under Takeda for the next four years. At the end of this time he received the news that his father was near death. Ueshiba left Hokkaido to Tanabe. On his way home he made a detour to meet with Osinaburo Deguchi a priest of the Omoto-kyo sect of Shintoism. After the death of his father Ueshiba returned to the headquarters of the Omoto-kyo and spent the next several years practicing and developing both his martial and spiritual abilities. This process involved the modification of Daito-ryu Aiki Jujutsu as influenced by the spiritual practices of the Omoto-kyo. The addition of O-Sensei’s own insights during this period culminated in his eventual creation of Aikido.

Aikido can be summarized as the way of harmony. Practitioners of Aikido seek to prevent conflict rather create it. In most Aikido Dojos, practitioners train WITH each other not ON each other. The training format does not include contests of ability. Practitioners are taught to work positively with their own shortcomings helping to create more centered and adaptable people. This is perhaps Aikido’s greatest power, the ability to accept or ‘blend’with the ‘self’and convert or ‘turn’weaknesses into strengths.

Information about the Tenshinkai style

There are a number of different styles of Aikido practiced both in Japan and abroad. The style practiced by our Dojo is closest to Aikikai or Hombu Dojo style Aikido, with a few differences. The Aikikai style is a three-generation legacy of the Ueshiba family. It began with Morihei Ueshiba and currently the Aikikai is lead by his grandson Moriteru Ueshiba. Tenshinkai style has the additional unique influence of Nakazono Sensei, who was a direct postwar student of O-Sensei and a master in his own right.

History of the Federation

The Aikido Tenshinkai Federation of Canada founded in the early 80’s by Sensei Tran-Hiep-Hoa. He had the help of his three brothers, Sensei Tran-Hiep-Hung, Sensei Tran-Hiep-Huu and Sensei Tran-Hiep-Hao.

Tran Sensei started learning Aikido in 1965 under the tutelage of Sensei Dang Thong Phong and Mutsuro Nakazono Sensei. During the 60’s and the 70’s, Nakazono Sensei and Tamura Sensei went to Saigon (former capital of South Vietnam) on a regular basis to help train and teach first generation Vietnamese Aikido instructors.

Sensei Dang Thong Tri who is Sensei Phong’s older brother was the one who brought Aikido to Vietnam in the 50’s. He is the father figure of the Vietnamese Aikido Federation. In the mid 60’s he left Vietnam to pursue his studies in California State University leaving the Dojo to his younger brother Sensei Dang Thong Phong. In the U.S., he is the founder of Sacramento Aikikai in the 70’s. In addition to Aikido, he also taught Kungfu, Taichi, Pa-Kua and Hsing-I until the day he passed away in 1997.

Tran Sensei’s father was a Lieutenant General of the South Vietnamese Army and a diplomat. In 1964, he was stationed in Tokyo for 18 months as the military attaché for the South Vietnamese Embassy in Japan. At that time, he learned about Aikido through a special demonstration by the founder. Tran Sensei’s father was very impressed with the new Japanese martial art called ‘Aikido’and by the founder’s charisma. He did some research about the art and decided to register Tran Sensei in Aikido training. His three younger brothers joined later.

After returning from Japan the Tran brothers continued their training at the Main Dojo of the Vietnamese Aikido Federation until the fall of Saigon on April 30^th, 1975. Tran Sensei’s father was captured by the communists that day and detained in forced labor camps for 14 years. After 8 attempts the Tran brothers escaped to the west and arrived in Canada in the early 80s as political refugees. Upon arrival in Canada Tran Sensei contacted the offices of the Canadian government and other international organizations. With the assistance of Amnesty International, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the International Red Cross he succeeded in having his father released from the camps. The eight members of the family reunited in Canada in 1989.

In the beginning, Tran Sensei had to overcome many adversities to establish the Aikido Tenshinkai Dojo in Edmonton because of his origins as a non-Japanese instructor. Nevertheless, with good heart, courage and strong determination, he and his three younger brothers succeeded. They established a strong Aikido Tenshinkai Federation in Canada before the arrival of Sensei Dang Thong Phong in the United States five years later.

Master Tran-Hiep-Hoa’s Philosophy of Teaching

Master Tran-Hiep-Hoa currently holds the title of Shihan (senior instructor) and is a Rokudan or sixth degree holder. He has over 30 years of experience in the Martial Arts and has practiced many arts. In his teen years, he had the good fortune to train with talented high-ranking Martial Arts masters from all around the world. Aikido has been his primary field of study in the Martial Arts. Master Tran obtained a Masters Degree in French Literature. He was a schoolteacher for 11 years specializing in French and Social Studies. He speaks seven languages: French, English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Italian, Portuguese and Japanese.

Master Tran’s general approach of teaching Aikido is simple, gentle and compassionate. He does not hurt or injure his students, or allow his students to be injured. His ego is not the focus of his concern when teaching. Aikido is a way of harmony and Tran Sensei brings this harmony to his every interaction with his students. He knows that when you damage your student’s bodies and spirits to satisfy your own ego you destroy the essence of Aikido. Students are in a vulnerable position as they place their trust in the instructor and can be severely hurt if the teacher is not gentle with the students. When they are injured by their Sensei, students may never completely heal, emotionally and/or physically. Any lapse of concern by the Sensei for a student’s total welfare while in the Dojo can affect their entire life outside the Dojo. This attitude and practice is taught directly at the Tenshinkai Dojo. All students learn that if you want others to respect your body and spirit you have to do the same to them. When an Aikido instructor damages his/her students, he/she breaks the law of harmony preached by O-Sensei. This goes against every word of the founder. When Master Tran teaches a technique he takes time to teach his students how to land or how bear that technique in a safe manner to avoid injuries. As the teacher, his job is to ensure his students train in a safe and harmonious environment. Because of this humanistic approach, his school is the most popular and successful Aikido Dojo in the community!

Results of Training

Regular practice of Aikido will aid you in becoming physically, mentally and spiritually fit. With commitment and perseverance in regular training you will develop:

- Physical Fitness - Flexibility

- Mental Alertness - Quick Natural Reflexes

- Self Discipline - Good Body Posture

- Self Confidence - Determination

- Stress Reduction - Spiritual Growth

For people with demanding jobs Aikido practice can reduce stress and anxiety. The practice of Aikido will lead to the union of the Mind and Body. You will improve your harmony with yourself and the circumstances of your life.

"Aikido is the gentle art of self defense, the objective of which is not to conquer, but to harmonize, not to dominate, but to unify". As O-Sensei said, Aikido is not just a martial art whose goal is to overcome or to eliminate the opponent it is the way to harmonize with your self!

As part of the spiritual practices associated with Aikido Master Tran spends the last 10 to 15 minutes of the Sunday’s class teaching his students the essence of Zen Buddhism. The essence of Budo is that Zen and the Martial Arts are linked together as Body and Mind. The tradition of Zen can be traced to the 6^th century A.D. when Bodhidharma Bodisattva traveled from Northern India (now called Nepal) to China to spread Mahayana Buddhism. When he arrived at the Shaolin Buddhist Monastery, he realized that the monks there needed physical exercise as well as meditation and the study of the Dharma to restore spiritual, mental and physical balance. If we trace the lineage of Oriental Martial Arts, we can connect them to Bodhidharma Bodisattva, the first Patriarch in the history of Mahayana Buddhism. After that, they evolved differently according to the local situations and conditions.

The serious practice of Zen can lead to self-awareness, self-mastery and ultimately spiritual enlightenment.

Lineage of the Tenshinkai style

The Tenshinkai style of Aikido can be traced back directly to the founder, Morihei Ueshiba or O-Sensei, as Aikido practitioners know him.

Founder of Aikido:

Morihei Ueshiba O-Sensei

President of the Aikido World Headquarters:

Moriteru Ueshiba, Sandai Doshu

Grand Master:

Mutsuro Nakazono Shihan, 9^th dan

Head of Tenshinkai Lineage:

Master Dang Thong Phong, Shihan, 6^th dan

Founder of the Aikido Tenshinkai Federation of Canada:

Master Tran-Hiep-Hoa, Shihan, 6^th dan

Vice President of the Federation:

Sensei Tran-Hiep-Huu, 4^th dan

Chief Instructor of the Federation:

Sensei Tran-Hiep-Hao, 4^th dan