In a fantastic atmosphere with dynamic training and wonderful friendships ended the seventh consecutive seminar titled “Kenjutsu under the stars of Lipac VII”. Immediately after the end, the participants shared their impressions on the Forum of the Organization “Taiyou e no Michi”, so we are presenting a small part of them, instead of a classical Report.
We will start with Stefani Manevska, the newest member of Daito ryu Macedonia – Koryu Dojo, who for the first time took part in this seminar in nature:
“You are all wonderful to a man, from first to last! All different and special in their own way and at the same time connected all in one with the same goal. The LOVE, DEVOTION, HONESTY, LOYALTY, BRAVERY, SELF-SACRIFICE and DISCIPLINE that is in each one of you. Surrounded by so many wonderful people, with so much positivity and humor there was no need for fear. I got my hands on a boken for the first time, and the happiness to be practicing this school with so many Great people is incalculable. For a moment I took myself to a battlefield and have to give it my best and to forget about these ‘blisters’ on my hands because they are nothing compared to your hands who have gone through thick and thin through all these years. And lets me say a little bit about guard duty. I took it as a serious task which in fact it was.
Although I had a fear of the dark, I didn’t want to complain and I said to myself if I don’t defeat it now I will NEVER defeat it.
I found my courage and decided I have to defend and protect these warriors because they deserve to sleep calmly.
Now I felt a bit on my own skin how thorny this Way to the Sun is, but as difficult as it is you know that your soul is full and your heart is laughing. And there is no end and there are no words that will describe these moments and these impressions.
In the end all that remains is to apologize if something wasn’t right from my side, I hope we will get to know each other better in the future and to thank you for everything and to tell you to continue being what you are. You are not ordinary people, you are special Warriors. Only the bravest will feel that one day.”
“I was filled with joy when we started towards the monastery on the top of LIpac. We went through a lot of beautiful sites. The place was filled with our cries while we practiced. When we were done with the first training, from a faraway land arrived our dearest Sanja. Then my mosaic was complete. Everything was in its place. One of my greatest wishes was to climb the mystical mountain of LIpac. My wish was granted on the second day. After the rain that hit us, we set out on a new adventure. We went downwards through a road that doesn’t exist. We made it ourselves. Sensei went ahead and cut a path with the machete. A new unusual adventure that cannot be found in a Skopje café. That why seminars in nature are special. That why they should be visited. It was like a wonderful movie, and we had the lead roles. All of that bring us closer to each other. It enlarges the love for the dojo and the love towards martial arts. It raises the will and steels the spirit.”- Taki Gakovski
“Is it Monday already? Did these two days really pass? After so many seminars, trainings and other events, two days like these, although they were special, pass like they are everyday. The climb wonderful, the training wonderful, the friendships wonderful, the people wonderful, the kidney beans wonderful, and after beans… And how amazing this school is, it’s really weird. How is it possible for something to return to you all though you have practiced it exactly a year ago. And it is weird how you can be soaking on top of a mystical mountain, and to be sitting through it calmly while laughing. It is possible, because you are soaking with people you love. And if next year we decide again to go through the unknown, than let’s leave the machete behind its better we bring a chainsaw and a trimmer. We arrived fifteen and we left sixteen. The mountain gifted us with a friend. And the feeling when you are coming back to Hombu and when you take the heavy backpack off your back – priceless! But in the end it must be concluded and witnessed how selective life is to people. Some must site at home or go to summer vacations, and some will enjoy the training in nature.” – Todor Angelovski
“Every seminar in our club brings with itself a special story. You can’t go to one and say: Yes, I know how it was, I was last year. No, we don’t know. You never know what awaits you and which doors you need to open and which filters you need to pass, which stairway upwards awaits you, will you slip or step determined… you don’t know with what kind of external cruelty you will face or which worm will star eating you from the inside out. Improvement happens only when you walk the Way, and not while standing still. I had great luck in being able to participate this year, to practice and to hang out with my martial family. The training was enjoyable to the last second, the beans I tasted for the first time, although I have it served to me for four years – top mastery, the nature around us spared us from the heat, but made it up to us with a good soaking to the bone at the top of the mountain. The adventure of climbing down was something that will be remembered forever, as our leader said, Sensei Dovezenski – this is the way a unbreakable spirit is built, this is the road with no quitting, fortitude, facing yourself and facing the unpredictable nature. We went through a new chapter in which Sensei, only and unyielding leader, lead us through the thick thorny untrodden ways through the mystical mountain LIpac. At the same time he was creating, shaping and refining the leader in each and every one of us.” – Sanja Simonova
“The seminar this was. They don’t talk it up for nothing. This was my first participation in “Kenjutsu under the stars of Lipac” and the experience was unforgettable. The road to the monastery was an adventure of its own, with beautiful nature on all sides. Ono ha Itto ryu is a powerful samurai skill, but that is all I can write about it for now. What I understood is that I have a long way to go. The rain on LIpac was short, but strong and it made us ‘dripping wet’. Sensei decided that we must make a tactical withdrawal. We fought our way step by step through the thick forest, actually sensei smashed the way forward, and we followed and tried not to die” – Damjan Serafimovski
“Since I was accepted in the arms of the family ‘Taiyou e no Michi’, my life simply changed because I did so many things for the first time. I was changed by the motivation, support and love which were given to me by them and they made me a better human being. In these two days thanks to all of you I learned an important lesson. If you try, if you beat fear and if you open your heart – you will succeed. Up to this moment I heard about this seminar from the other comrades and impatiently waited to feel it on my own skin that which others have felt before me and finally it happened. Honestly, my body and spirit suffered a lot of ups and downs this weekend, but because of the beauty of this seminar – I kept myself alive. If I try to describe the beauty of LIpac and the art of Ono ha Itto ryu and even if I write the prettiest most describing words – I will still fail. You must simply take the boken in hand and feel the spirit.
The pots of beans on the quiet fire, under the eye of Shidoshi ho Zoki, were boiling away at the end of the first day. I can still feel the taste in my 
mouth, it was something amazing. And like a good night story, the jokes from the veterans. On the second day we got our backpacks and straight to the top we went, towards the Sun. And there to greet us and to officially open the training first little grey clouds, and soon after icy drops that came as a nice refreshment. Everybody piled up, everybody drenched, but what is important everybody smiling and ready to continue the training. But it continued in a different direction, this time through bushes and forests. It was something incredible. It truly cannot be described. All I can say is a big thank you to Sensei and to everybody who were part of this seminar. I truly love you all, although we all are different characters, nonetheless one thing joins us all together. TAIYOU E NO MICHI! Love!” – Tamara Gjorgievska
mouth, it was something amazing. And like a good night story, the jokes from the veterans. On the second day we got our backpacks and straight to the top we went, towards the Sun. And there to greet us and to officially open the training first little grey clouds, and soon after icy drops that came as a nice refreshment. Everybody piled up, everybody drenched, but what is important everybody smiling and ready to continue the training. But it continued in a different direction, this time through bushes and forests. It was something incredible. It truly cannot be described. All I can say is a big thank you to Sensei and to everybody who were part of this seminar. I truly love you all, although we all are different characters, nonetheless one thing joins us all together. TAIYOU E NO MICHI! Love!” – Tamara Gjorgievska
“I was thinking what to write and if I should write at all about something that cannot be described. How can I describe the road from the Hombu to the monastery, and afterwards the training under the harsh sun. How can I describe all those jokes and that whole friendship when before the supper we asked sensei questions, to which he had answers. How can I describe the struggle and slaps to stay awake while I was on guard duty. How can I describe the cleaning of the monastery and its surroundings and all that organization in accomplishing that task. How can I describe the return to the Hombu and all those natural beauty that cannot be described by pictures and video, let alone words. How can I describe the rain on the top of Lipac in the middle of training. All I can say is that if someone really wants to see all of that and to capture the power of this seminar, he should come next year.” – Filip Trajanovski
“When life slowly, but surely, fills up with commitments and your free time slowly gets shorter, then you must decide what are your priorities in life. How can you rise further, where to learn, to create, to upgrade yourself as a person, which people are worth the short time you have. I decided a good part of my time to be spent with you and I have no regrets yet about that decision of mine and I don’t want to lose you ever! On the way back to Hombu, we had a conversation with Riki about how many days of this past year we will remember for the rest of our lives. This weekend is something that will definitely be remembered, every second, every drop of sweat, every hard step to the top, every raised sword and pain in the arms, every bite of beans, every joke and every smile of all of us that were there. Also remembered will be all that impassible nature and every drop of summer rain, all the faces from the photographs put up on Facebook, because according to the new ways that’s where we put our memories. I will remember also every second spent on guard duty, as well as the hardship of trying to keep the beans ‘inside me’. The seminar is over, but the fire will always be lit and I will never put it out. And I don’t want to and I must not, and I can’t.” – Vladimir Antonovski
“For the seventh time this seminar has been held in honor of the shihan Antonino Certa, our teacher for Daito ryu Aikijujutsu. Every swing with the sword under the heat of the hot sun, every drop of sweat and every spilled drop of blood on Lipac, bring us closer to our goal. To improve ourselves and to become better people. To be individuals who won’t easily quit during the challenges with witch life will relentlessly face us. After the end of the seminar we could have descended fast and easy through one of the two roads that I use every week while wandering through the peaks of Lipac. But, how will I discover the weakness of my students if I take them on the easy way? How will I bring them face to face with their fears, with their insecurities, with their indecisiveness? How will I make good warrior out of them? Don’t expect, while studying under me, that you will go through the shortcut. That road in the end is always lost in the labyrinths of lies and illusions. The long way is hard, but in the end will always face you with the truth. You will be able to lean on your experience built while trying to fight through the hardships facing you. I have past thousands of kilometers and know exactly what I am talking about. It is up to you to open the door and bravely step through it.” – Igor Dovezenski