February 21, 2009 – 4:22 pm
I finally go the footage from my Yondan (4th degree black belt) test up on YouTube. You can check it out here.
Also, Mary Stein, an amazing student at our dojo and an absolute inspiration recently turned 80, and blogged about that in conjunction with aikido on Aikido Journal Online. You can read it, [...]
January 28, 2009 – 3:39 pm
I have been training in Aikido for just over twelve years, and have been teaching regularly for about six. Having the kind of mind that I do, I constantly question why I am doing what I am doing in practice, and come up with as simplistic distinctions as I can for anything that I [...]
November 19, 2007 – 3:04 pm
It’s National Novel Writing Month, and I just eeked across the half way mark this morning. I’m a tad behind, but this weeks pep talk from the NaNoWriMo admins came from Neil Gaiman, and it put me back in good spirits. I was thinking about that while teaching Aikido this morning.
There’s a saying [...]
Consider the ebb and flow of the tide. When waves come to strike the shore, they crest and fall, creating a sound. Your breath should follow the same pattern, absorbing the entire universe in your belly with each inhalation. Know that we all have access to four treasures: the energy of the sun and moon, [...]
Ukemi is, in Aikido, the art of receiving a technique and falling without harm. It means to fully attack your partner, continue the attack during the technique, and when thrown to fall well. One key to this is Surrender.
In the moment you are thrown, the other person is (hopefully) dedicated to the idea [...]
