Hi, my name is Linda Eskin. In May of 2009, at age 46, I came to Aikido to improve my horsemanship. It’s become about much more than that for me. I train with Dave Goldberg Sensei at Aikido of San Diego. Everything I say here is just what I say. Don’t believe me. Find out for yourself. Like my blog? Let people know: BROWSE POSTS BY SUBJECT Aiki | Books | DVDs | Exams | Fitness | Goals | Horsemanship | Humor | Injuries | Learning | Poetry | Reflections | Seminars | Training | Video Posts | Weapons Browse All Posts, By Date ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AikiWeb AikiWeb - Home PageAikiWiki - Aikido InformationAikiWeb - Dojo SearchAikiWeb - Discussion ForumsAikiWeb - AikiBlogsMy AikiBlog on AikiWeb Dojo Aikido of San Diego - Dave Goldberg SenseiAikido of Mountain View - Robert Nadeau ShihanAikido of Berkeley - Kayla Feder SenseiAikido Montreux - Patrick Cassidy SenseiAikido of Petaluma - Bob Noha SenseiAikido of Tamalpais - Wendy Palmer SenseiAikido Eastside - George Ledyard Sensei Books, DVDs, & Supplies Bu Jin Design - Weapons & SuppliesSDK Supplies - Weapons & BagsZanshin Art - Fine Art & Weapons BagsKnot-Working - Jewelry, Stringing, & Chimes Horsemanship Mark Rashid - Horseman, Writer, & AikidokaJane Savoie - Dressage & Sports CoachRobin Shen - Equine Training Solutions Let’s Connect Follow me on TwitterFriend me on FacebookAikido of SD on FacebookView my YouTube channelMy photos on FlickrRainy The Horse’s blogFollow Rainy on TwitterMy personal Web siteMy fitness blogMy professional siteMy LinkedIn profileMy Aikido del.ic.ious bookmarks Linda Eskin is a fan ofAikido of San DiegoCreate your Fan Badge A LITTLE ABOUT ME Most of the posts here are duplicates of my posts from my blog on AikiWeb.com, a very active and friendly community of Aikido students and teachers. If you are a member of AikiWeb, and would like to comment, please do so there. I am a beginning student of Aikido, a martial art that, like horsemanship, takes a lifetime to master. These posts are only my own observations on my own experience. You should not rely on anything I say here. Any inept or incorrect information is my own responsibility, and should not be a reflection on others. I am grateful to Dave Goldberg Sensei for being an extraordinary teacher, and for creating an engaged, thinking, and compassionate community of students and teachers at Aikido of San Diego. If you are in the area, visitors are always welcome to observe classes. If you are a student at another local dojo, keep an eye on our dojo calendar for upcoming seminars and other events. Copyright 2009, 2010, 2011, Linda Eskin. Please feel free to share any of my poetry, online, or in print, keeping my name and any other acknowledgments with it. I will almost certainly be happy to let you use anything else I’ve posted here, with proper attribution, but please ask first. Contact me via e-mail Linda Eskin MORE AIKIDO READING Web Sites AikiWebAikido JournalAikido World Blogs Blogs on AikiWebDave Goldberg Sensei’s BlogAikido JournalAll Things Aikido - George Ledyard SenseiFrick Out - Carlos FrickMark’s Meanderings - Mark De SouzaQatanaAikido Arts of Shin-Budo Kai - Mark Abrams SenseiAikido for Beginners - Dunken Francis Sensei Newsletters Aikido of San DiegoAikido Journal var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www."); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); try { var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-6496211-2"); pageTracker._trackPageview(); } catch(err) {}Tumblr (3.0; @grabmywrist)http://www.grabmywrist.com/<p>On Saturday night at the lodge the Internet went out, so no post since then. Then on Sunday after class we hid the road, with no time to hang out and post. Now it&#8217;s Monday morning, and we are at the Holiday Inn Express in Santa Curz getting ready to hit the road. My fiend and dojomate, Oya, is traveling outh with me. She is great company, and a very handy navigator. </p> <p>More later&#8230; For now, time to get showered and enjoy the breakfst and coffee downstairs.</p>http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23479897273http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23479897273Mon, 21 May 2012 07:22:40 -0700Retreat2012<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4awrpQcD81qa5ysdo1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>Movie night at camp. Happening now. :-)</p>http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23390830629http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23390830629Sat, 19 May 2012 20:09:25 -0700<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4aur25ASv1qa5ysdo1_500.png"/><br/><br/>http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23388277120http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23388277120Sat, 19 May 2012 19:25:50 -0700<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4aq0cVgX11qa5ysdo1_500.png"/><br/><br/>http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23382576441http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23382576441Sat, 19 May 2012 17:43:24 -0700<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4a2ho8VMu1qa5ysdo1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>The view from the mat this morning. </p> <p>The first session, at 7, focused on breathing. Next class starts at 10. Time to go jot down some notes, and stretch.</p>http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23354902930http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23354902930Sat, 19 May 2012 09:15:24 -0700<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m49b54EcW11qa5ysdo1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>Midnight snack. Or maybe “Still Life With Peanut Butter.” This camp is not a fancy resort, but it’s pretty new, and they are taking great care of us. Dinner was very good. I had an awesome salad and some rice, plus hard-boiled eggs I brought. The lodge is dark, except for this one corner with some snacks left out for us. It’s quarter to midnight, and there are two of us on the mat taking advantage of the WiFi. I’m having peanut butter on apples for a treat. </p> <p>I will probably be posting a little barrage of posts once or twice a day. We start early tomorrow - 7:00 - with bokken. Class tonight ended at 10:00, and I got showered right after, so all I have to do is roll out of bed, throw on my gi, and head down the hill to the lodge in the morning.</p>http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23337409198http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23337409198Fri, 18 May 2012 23:24:00 -0700Retreat2012<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m49axjhyYK1qa5ysdo1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>Home, sweet home, for the next two days. There are eleven of us here from Aikido of San Diego, in addition to Sensei. We have two cabins, with enough bunks that we get a whole one each (top and bottom). The cabins are very simple, but new and clean. The mattress looks pretty minimal, but really I’m so tired I done care. :-)</p>http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23337278868http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23337278868Fri, 18 May 2012 23:20:00 -0700Retreat2012<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m49awwQRKu1qa5ysdo1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>This is inside the main lodge. We have it set up with about 2/3 mat space, and 1/3 dining area. </p> <p>Today Nadeau Sensei taught most of the time, with Elaine Yoder Sensei teaching a bit before dinner.</p>http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23337267725http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23337267725Fri, 18 May 2012 23:19:00 -0700Retreat2012<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m49aw6jou91qa5ysdo1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>The drive here was two days of flat farmland, and rolling grassy hills dotted with oaks. Suddenly, just a few miles before the camp, there are trees. The camp itself is densely forested. This circle of Sequoias is along the path from our cabins down to the lodge. It’s a beautiful place!</p>http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23337254796http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23337254796Fri, 18 May 2012 23:19:00 -0700Retreat2012<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m49auoR8Lm1qa5ysdo1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>We don’t have many toll roads in San Diego, and none that I take regularly. For some reason toll roads freak me out. They don’t tell you very far ahead how much the toll is, and I never know whether there will be people who can make change, or if you have to toss coins into a basket thing. This one was $5, which I had handy, and it was staffed by really nice people.</p>http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23337228546http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23337228546Fri, 18 May 2012 23:18:00 -0700Retreat2012<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m49avekM9Q1qa5ysdo1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>This was just off 580, on the way from Livermore to Napa, but it’s pretty typical of a lot of California. The wine country up here looks just like the Santa Ysabel and San Pasqual valleys in San Diego County. </p> <p>I took half a dozen wrong turns on the way here. I figure each one cost 20 minutes, to figure out where I was, which way I really would have been going, and how to get back on track. There are few places to turn out, and traffic is really fast on winding roads, so when you see an intersection or fork in the road that you didn’t expect, you just have to choose one, and then pull over 2 miles later to regroup. Oh well. Even with that, I got to camp right at 2:00.</p>http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23337241237http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23337241237Fri, 18 May 2012 23:18:00 -0700Retreat2012<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m49atzHIPI1qa5ysdo1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>This is my friend Lisa, who I have known for ages, but this was the first time I had gotten to see her ranch. It’s a nice place, with lots of roomy pastures, beautiful little barn swallows glittering around, adorable dogs, and of course many lovely horses, including several new foals, and a few very friendly beasts who were very happy to get a good back scratching. </p> <p>Lisa is the friend who handled selling Rainy for me, the horse who inspired me to start training in Aikido. Lisa met me for breakfast, and we finalized the paperwork for his sale. I’m very grateful for all she did to find him an appropriate home. He is stalled at night, and turned out with buddies during the day, which he never had the opportunity to do when I had him, plus he get ridden on trails. Beats the heck out of standing around in my backyard. </p> <p>Last night I dreamed someone was trying to give me horse. He was a sweet little pinto, well behaved, but needed a little training. I turned him down, saying he sounded too much like Rainy, and besides, I’m not looking for a horse. So I guess that was my subconscious, agreeing with my choice to be horseless. </p> <p>We had a good visit, and it was nice to finally really close that chapter, to make room to move on.</p>http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23337216521http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23337216521Fri, 18 May 2012 23:17:00 -0700Retreat2012<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m47g6svoJO1qa5ysdo1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>Just for fun, here’s a map of the camp. I can’t wait to see it!</p>http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23279257976http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23279257976Thu, 17 May 2012 23:18:27 -0700<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m47ffvvLlV1qa5ysdo1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>The schedule for this weekend’s seminar.</p>http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23278796945http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23278796945Thu, 17 May 2012 23:02:19 -0700<p>Well, heck. I got a late start, and the drive took longer than I thought it would, so I completely missed the class with Saotome Shihan. I actually arrived in Livermore thirty minutes after it ended. The drive up was exhausting! Gusting crosswinds the whole way. </p> <p>The hotel is awesome. My plans include a hot bath and a good night&#8217;s sleep. A friend is meeting me here for breakfast in the morning, and then we are going to her place to see some brand new baby horses. :-) After that I hope to meet another friend for lunch, and then get to the retreat center by 2:00. Supposedly the cell service there&#8217;s is poor, but the ATT site shows good data coverage. We shall see. If I go silent, you&#8217;ll know what happened. </p> <p>I&#8217;ll post the seminar schedule shortly, just for fun. <br/> Good night!</p>http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23278092993http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23278092993Thu, 17 May 2012 22:38:00 -0700<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m475l7vY5C1qa5ysdo1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>Reach for the moon!</p>http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23269060841http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23269060841Thu, 17 May 2012 19:29:31 -0700<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m470wxZJSL1qa5ysdo1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>Here.</p>http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23261818697http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23261818697Thu, 17 May 2012 17:48:33 -0700<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m46rsz1laJ1qa5ysdo1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>Iron Skillet restaurant, Wheeler Ridge, CA, I-5 northbound. Lunch.</p>http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23248468218http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23248468218Thu, 17 May 2012 14:31:47 -0700<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m46j81o1WC1qa5ysdo1_500.png"/><br/><br/>http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23238118372http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23238118372Thu, 17 May 2012 11:26:24 -0700<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m46dy1P2581qa5ysdo1_500.png"/><br/><br/>http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23233417391http://www.grabmywrist.com/post/23233417391Thu, 17 May 2012 09:32:25 -0700