January 2011
16 posts
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The Stillness After the Seminar
So about that seminar, finally… I had a great time at the Aikido Bridge Friendship Seminar a couple of weeks ago. Doran, Ikeda, and Tissier Sensei taught again, and this time each also did a tanto (knife) class. I got to train and hang out with some really nice folks I met there last year, several of my Aikido rock star heroes, and some new friends I hope to see again soon. I even got to...
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WatchThis video, from MocaEnBoca.tv, in Spain (with English subtitles), is one of the best I’ve seen for introducing Aikido to friends. Enjoy.
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Aikido Bridge 2011 - Sunday
Wow… What a fun day. Started to get a few things. I really enjoyed Tissier Sensei’s class, which was all about connection and honest ukemi. I got to train with several people who were very good, and also gave me a few very helpful pointers. We got to stick with the same kinds of exercises for quite a long time, which allowed for some experimentation, and a few light-bulb moments. I got...
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Day Three - Whew!
An intense day today. Not physically, hardly broke a sweat, in spite of the heat. But a lot to assimilate. On the mat I compared a few of techniques to sounds that aren’t present in your native tongue - it’s hard to even perceive them, never mind pronounce them correctly. But I did get a lot of it - at least managed to grasp or improve some aspect of what was demonstrated each time we...
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Friendship Seminar
I just got to spend the lunch break chatting with some of my favorite Aikido people, and listening to a few great stories. :-)
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Saturday, 6:30 a.m.
This is the point at which it feels like we’ve been doing this for a long time, but it’s only been one evening and one full day. There are two full days and one morning ahead, plus a big group dinner tonight, and a mixer at the dojo tomorrow.
Now it’s the weekend, so there will be many more people, and lots of new faces today.
Time to get moving!
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At the Aikido Bridge Friendship Seminar 2011
I’m very fortunate that the Aikido Bridge Friendship Seminar is held in San Diego at Jiai Aikido, where “travel” for me involves only a 40-minute commute. It starts this evening, and goes through Monday morning.
I’m sure I’ll be writing up some blog posts here afterward, but during the seminar I’ll be posting little bits and pieces from my phone each day, but...
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Uke and Schoolmasters
There is a very good discussion on the AikiWeb forums, about uke collusion in practice/training. It’s particularly relevant for me, because I will be participating in the Aikido Bridge seminar later this week, where Ikeda Sensei will be teaching, and where there will be lots of opportunities for refining my own ukemi, and observing the ukemi of others.
One of the comments there, about how...
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Happy New Year, 2011
I hope everyone’s holidays were peaceful and happy. Mine were laid back, no big deals. Some family, some friends, a great hike on New Year’s Day… And we adopted two kitties, after being catless for a few months. All in all a nice time.
It’s a new year, but there’s nothing really new. The rhythms of seasons, work, and the dojo continue like heartbeats and breathing,...