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new class starting!
2012-07-08 01:07 lyonesse
hi! i (and two other instructors) are starting a new class. we will be practicing in porter square, cambridge, massachusetts, on sundays at 11:30 am, starting in the middle of august. our style is kokikai with ki-society influences, by which i mean i will be teaching kiatsu as it comes up along with the throwing arts :)

anyone interested in participating, drop me a line!

Chicago Dojo and Hi?
2011-12-31 10:54 aikikatie
I'm stupid as I lent my copy of Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere to a Jujitsu student who wants to take up Aikido when he goes to college and I haven't seen him since (it's been a little more than a month). I'll have to get Tashi Anthony or Sensei Mike to get it from him when he comes back because it was an expensive book and it'll make sense to me at some point (I doubt it made much sense to him).

I guess I should probably introduce myself. My name's Kate. I started Chendokan Aikido back in April (http://chendokanaikido.com/ --the link to the main dojo in Miami) and I'll be going for my orange belt in February. The dojo's pretty much home to me (and one of the dojos in Miami is too--I went there for a seminar last month and they greeted me with open arms) but I'll be graduating high school in June and, as much as I'd love to go to school in Miami and continue my training with Doc [Doctor Chenique] and all of the other amazing people, it's not going to happen due to me not being able to drive (it's beyond my control, at least until this time next year possibly), so I'm looking into community colleges in big cities like Chicago.

Finding a new dojo is important for me. The dojo I attend now has helped me in so many ways. I actually somewhat like people now and I've met some of the most amazing people, all of whom I consider family. I've learned to push myself harder and gained a lot of confidence. I've done demos in front of crowds of people before and I enjoy it. For once, there's no fear of being laughed at due to my lack of physical abilities (which I'm working on; when I get lazy and don't go to the dojo it all goes to crap) and instead there's people laughing at me in a joking way and my main instructor who uses a lot of tough love while the other instructors are encouraging. I consider Grandmaster Leo like dad (and he considers me like a daughter) and his son like a brother while I have two other dojo brothers and I'm friends with instructors from the other arts (Atemi Ryu Jujitsu and Yang style Tai Chi). I wasn't big on family til I started there and, even now, I'd rather spend time with them than my extended family--if you met my actual family you'd understand.

If I liked this town I'd stay and keep studying here but I don't and you need a car to go anywhere here (the public transit isn't reliable and my dad is retiring then relocating with my mom in September).

I'm just now starting to really get into the weapon part of Aikido. I can do one of the katas with a Jo staff somewhat well on memory but I screw it up if I think about it as I do it (as it tends to happen in everything when it comes to this martial art). I'm spending Christmas money to order a Jo staff and bokken from my dojo and it'll help with not looking like a freak practicing out in the front yard as much, hopefully (I was working on my tenkans on the driveway once and some kid asked if I was doing yoga). I'm okay at randori but I could be a lot better. Technique-wise, it entirely depends; shomenuchi ikkyu omote and ura are two of my favorites though.

Does anyone study in Chicago in a family-friendly dojo? I don't care what style just as long as it's family-oriented and accessible by public transit. I do have family in the city but I've met them once when I was ten. I've tried a little to do my own research, although I haven't gotten very far, and I'll ask GM if he knows any good dojos in the area (he's done a lot of seminars in the US and a few in other countries) but I could use you guys' help too, if you can.

I'm okay with training with a bunch of guys too; there's only one high ranking female at my dojo (she's going for her blackbelt in March, although all of the senseis and GM said she should have gone for it a lot sooner) and she's my mentor but she's not at the dojo often (she's an ER nurse). The majority of females stay for a week or two then you never see them again and I'm not sure the only one of those new people I've seen that has stayed will be around much longer. 

I apologize for rambling so much.

Thanks.

-Kate

aikido-finally catching on?
2011-12-26 03:33 randomdiversion
After a year of flailing on the mat, something must be soaking in. I find myself "stepping off the line" whenever Chuck Norris advertises "World of Warcraft".

What aikido is for
2011-12-24 09:34 randomdiversion
I think its pretty common among martial arts beginners to occasionally have fantasies of being a ninja or kicking some would-be-attacker's ass. Fortunately we live in a world where incidents that require an ass-kicking are rare. So if we're probably not ever going to physically fight anyone, what is aikido for?

A few weeks ago I was walking home from a yoga class as it got dark, along a relatively busy street for my quiet town--busy enough that there are sound-walls lining it behind the houses--but fairly quiet for that sort of street engineering. Between the ivy-laced sound-walls and the road is an area of tanbark studded with human-tall cone-shaped junipers, then the sidewalk running along the curb.

Something moved suddenly amongst the junipers. At first I thought it was a dog, then it made a startled noise and stood up.

It was a homeless woman. She looked to be about 60 years old, with scraggly unwashed grey hair roping down her face, and tattered clothes.

"Hi," I said. "I'm sorry to have startled you. Are you going to be safe there?"

She looked at me with an astonished expression. "What?"

"Are you going to be safe there?"

"I think I'll be okay," she said.

I asked her if she knew where the homeless shelter was; she didn't. I wasn't sure if it was open yet, as it only opens in the winter, but I described where it was (about a mile away). I also pointed out there was a church about a block away where she might be able to use the restroom in the morning and get more information about homeless services in town.

She reached out cautiously as if to hold my hands, so I held her hands. She almost broke down crying, saying it had been so long since anyone had talked to her or just held her hand.

I didn't have any food or money I could share. All I had was a kind attitude and my directions where she might find more help. She seemed mildly demented or possibly schizophrenic, so when I arrived at home I called the police to ask if the elder-care facility two blocks from where the woman was sleeping had lost anybody. The police said they'd had no reports of any missing residents. I think the cop expected me to ask them to roust the poor lady, which I didn't--in any case he told me about the city's homeless resource flyer I could download and print from the city's police website, to give to her if I saw her again.

The flyer was in small print that I'm sure the woman would not have been able to read, if I had been able to find her again. The following morning I had to pick up my car from being repaired, and when I drove past the woman's spot, there was no sign of her. I hope she found some help at the places I described.

I think this is what aikido is for. Before starting aikido I think I would have been either too afraid or too indifferent to talk to this woman. Even though I couldn't do anything to materially help her situation, I'd like to think she got some emotional comfort at least for that one particular evening. Even my low-level of skill made me feel I'd at least be able to get away if she had done anything dangerous, and that confidence gave me "room" in which to be kind.

This is probably old news to you, but its new to me
2011-12-08 11:06 randomdiversion
...so...a 1935 film of Osensei:

grading
2011-11-21 17:56 bondagewoodelf
nidan! Also, was uke for a short while of the sandan gradings and sensei asked the yudansha about our opinion about the kyu gradings' candidates.

So, now we have 4 freshly minted shodans, and 1 nidan and 3 sandan promotions!

less-than-optimal-nikyo owie
2011-09-29 05:18 randomdiversion
My wrist still hurts 6 hours after an unfortunate experience with nikyo today.

Debating whether to see a doc about it. Does nikyo have much record of causing actual injuries?

It felt like the radius and ulna, or possibly the lunate and one of its neighbors, were grinding together when it happened.

"Anatomical snuff box" is only vaguely tender so I don't think it is a scaphoid fracture.

(btw, the nikyo was actually done right what was done sub-optimally was me getting out of the way by falling fast enough)

aikikai and kokikai
2011-09-18 08:39 randomdiversion
My dojo is aikikai. An internet friend goes to a kokikai dojo.

Has anyone studied both and, if so, can you give a comparison as to how these two approaches differ? (I mean, they must differ otherwise why give them different names...?)

Iaido
2011-09-13 09:14 randomdiversion
My dojo may start offering Iaido soon. Anyone here studying that as well? I'm thinking about learning it to improve my ability to center quickly.

awesome real-world ukemi
2011-09-05 02:10 randomdiversion
Ok, it's a silly clip, but it really *is* awesome ukemi...

http://tumblr.com/x2w33uljyt

Grip?
2011-08-13 16:59 darkshadow316
Anyone have particular methods of strengthening their grip?

Aikido and The Dynamic Sphere- Organization and Practice of Akido.
2011-08-05 21:41 darkshadow316

Greetings True Believers,
Sticking to my guns on this and actually doing what I said I will do. Read the book in total and notate my thoughts on the each chapter.  I share this on my personal blog and the Aikido group I belong too.  Please, feel free to comment on either one. That now out of the way, moving on.

Continuing from my readings inAikido and the Dynamic Sphere, I move on to Chapter 3 and Chapter 4.

Chapter 3- Organization

Now I study at a old school Aiki-Jujutsu dojo.  Before that I was taking Ninjistu and some Aikido classes while I was attending police academy. Not that they were teaching formal classes there by no means, it was something I took the initiative to do on my own, reach if you are friend on my LJ list you can read about by clicking the martial arts tag on this journal entry.Before that I took Shaolin Kung Fu.

Prior to studying at the Budokan, I had never really been to a school outside of the Shaolin dojo which adhered to a real set structure.  I must confess I tend to gravitate towards order as opposed to chaos when I can. Perhaps one of the reasons I got into law enforcement, who knows.  After academy, I had back problems from an  injury sustained during Aikido class, which I am now over finally ( several yeas later and acupuncture reatment ) so I floundered for a bit.

I signed up for classes at a Knuckle Up Fitness center, hoping to get some ground based BJJ training. I did not like it in the least bit.  No strucutre to the class and just didn't feel right to me.


Which is one of the reasons I like the Budokan I attend.  Very well done, very old school.  But again I digress.


Belt Ranking-
In traditional Aikido schools, you find the ranking system in line with those used by almost all major martial arts systems.   Students are divided into two categories: kyu ( prior to black belt ranking) and dan (black belt and on).

The book talks about how in most schools, if you are not a dan  then you do not wear anything but a white belt over your gi. In my school that is the case  up until I think  2nd and 1st kyu, in which cases the students wear a brown belt.   This is in contrast to the schools which have every color of the rainbow up to the earning of your black belt.  There are pluses and minuses to that approach. In my dojo, only the childrens classes have the rainbow colors and I feel that is best.

Promotions-   You are encouraged to test for your next belt after you have had x amount of hours in the dojo practicing. In th book it lists the Hombu Dojo Grading System. Since I study Aiki-Jujutsu, our schedule is slightly different and what we are required to know is also different then the traditional schools. Still I found it interesting to read on what a traditional Aikido school requires for their testing.

On a personal note, I have had the chance where I could have tested twice by now but I haven't. The reason being is going too many months between classes. Problem with my career is it doesn't always lend itself well to a formalized routine. I just wrapped up our Field Training Program to go out on the road and did not attend classes at the dojo after the first month of training. Partly because of the schedule and partly because of concerns for injury. I had hurt my knee in Ninjistu class once before when I was about to go through the FTEP program and it hampered my ability to quickly get in an out of the patrol car, not to mention chasing people, for quite some time ( the accpunture treatement cleared that up btw).  In my third month, I had hurt my neck ( strained it more then anything) and I just didn't want to risk getting injured when I was so close to finishing the program. 

 

Then once I finished the program, I had the hard time of getting back into the grove of things.  Now I am attempting to do that so I can test for my next belt in a few months.

In the example given in the book, to test for your 5th kyu , you must have 40 hours of practice, be able to demonstrate the following basic techniques.

standing: katate tori shiho nage
               shomen uchi irimi nage-  if you have seen any Steven Segal films, you have seen this.
               shomen uchi ikkyo
               
sitting: kokyu ho

The Practice Hall-

The book details what a typical practice hall entails going as far as to describe the office space. 

Etiquette and Classes-

The art of proper bowing ( ritsurei) is discuessed as well as sitting ( seiza).



Chapter 4

The Pratice of Aikido


In this chapter, the author devles once again into the philiosphy of Aikido and the how it is applied in the application of this art.   The author reminds us " aikido can be many things to many people depending upon the degree of their personal development"n (pg 45).   For some it is " an efficeient art of self defense" while at the higher levels  it is " a Discipline of Coordination, a continuing, ever expanding method whereby a man works toward that fusion of mind and body..."

Aikido in application is basically taking a series of movements, presenting alternatives to how one reacts based on the desired outcome of the practicioner and the implementation of a certain response.  It's almost scientific to me.  You have an incoming force, like a beam of light , coming at you.  You, acting as the prism can bend and alter the force( light) however you see fit to achieve certain results. This is my understanding and not the author's.

The author states the very first requirement in aikido is to "know the enemy".  Not necesseraily know their quirks and habits, but to understand energy dispersion, projection of force, reaction and cause and effect.  In a nutshell, you program yourself, your mind and your body ( perhaps even your spirit it you so believe) to react to a stimuli in a certain way through practice and training.  The author reminds us, that " aikido is an art of reactivity" ( pg46) .  Without a stimulious, there is no Aikido. In Aikido, it really takes two to tango.

Along the lines of knowing the enemy, is the importance of studying the attack, which the author descripes as " that attempted dynamic intrusion which will be neturalized by one or more aikido techniques.".

The Theory of Attack-

In the book, an attack is defined as " an unjustified, unprovoked attempt to destory or injure another person, of even interfer with his freedom of action". (pg48).

In an attack, there are two factors : Inner factors ( mental/psychological) and Outer Factors (physical/functional).  The psychological factors incoporate the desire to actually do harm to another, as conveyed by ones attitude or gesture. This may actually only be revealed prior to the moment of the actual assault.

The physical factors are the parts of ones body which can be used a natural weapons in an unarmed attack, not to mention other items which can be used as an extension of the body ( knives, bats, guns , goats...etc etc).


In Aikido, the strategy of defense is based on how little damage is done to the attacker. To cause significant  and long lasting physical harm to ones opponent is to be un aiki. In other words, the level of skill you  have  ( plus control of self) is reflected in how little pain and or damage you inflict in the applicaiton of your art.

Dynamic Factors-
 In an attack , there are two stages. dynamic stage and technical stage.

The dynamic stage, is the movement stage.  The attacker, unless he/she has a gun, must close the gap to get to you.  Even with an extension of themselves such as a sword or spear, there has to be some sort of movement involved.  This movement creates force and if anything Aikido is about controlling force. The author points out something that I took the time to highlight in my actual copy , as I found it very profound: "the faster a man moves, the less control he has over his movements and the easier it is to unbalance him. Conversely, the more slowly he moves, the more control he has and the harder it will be to unbalance him."  WOW.  On a metaphysical level , I found that to be a very profound thought.

In life, how often do we not find ourselves rushing into things, only to feel afterwards as if we had no real control of ourselves and the actual outcome? As opposed to a measured and thoughtful response?

The author states it is important to never meet dynamic momentum head on.  Don't stand there and take the force. Move! Blend with it, control it. Again, one of things I really love about Aikido, is how well it can translate into other aspects of life. Trouble comes at you, you can choose to stand there and take it, but unless you are the Juggernaught,  
that is probably not the smartest thing to do.



The rest of the chapter goes into the the basic forms of responding to an attack both armed and unarmed.  The book has nice sketch drawings detailing several of basic attacks, holds and combinations employed in the art.


Well that's it for now. More to come.

Heaven and Earth Throw
2011-06-24 21:46 orgdotnews
Hi - Aikido newbie here - just started training with the Oregon Ki Society last week.

Last night a throw was demonstrated that kind of blew my mind. I would like to find a video of it, but my searches on YouTube aren't getting me there.

It's called the "Heaven and Earth" throw, and there are several variations. The variation I'm specifically looking for can be described like this:

An attacker runs up to you intending to grab both of your hands. Before he gets there, you scoop your arm straight up and then straight downwards, thus knocking him backwards. He falls to the ground without you ever touching him.

Can anyone find me a video of this?

Thanks!

Akido and The Dynamic Sphere. Thoughts Pt 1
2011-06-24 13:04 darkshadow316
So I am reading Akido and The Dynamic Sphere, and thought I would jot down my thoughts as I go through the individual chapters.

Chapter 1 talks about what Akido is. Aikido , in essence is " Discipline of Coordination, a way of strengthening the mind and body, of fusing the individual's physical and mental powers so that he or she will emerge as a more fully integrated human being. " It is a purely defensive style martial art created for self defense and the preservation of life.

It talks about the importance of fusing ones mind and body into a whole being.  A person who has practiced Akido enough can react instinctively to an attack in such a manner as to defend themselves and disable their attacker with hurting them greatly.   The author puts forth the ideal that the Aikidoi is a higher form of martial art, in that it stresses being so in control of yourself and your environment that you  can dictate how an attack will end without resulting to brute force. 

This of course is brought forth by a lot of repetition, which I can tell you already, Aikido is anything, a lot of practice and a lot of repetition to develop a strong mind-body connection to allow you to react quickly to an assault without lashing out in a blind panic.

Chapter 1 talks about Ki or as the Chinese refer to it as Chi. It is literally the whole, mind-connection. I have seen it in effect so I am a believer but one of things I have not seen yet at the dojo is the "Unbendable arm".   Any martial arts which incorporates Ki/Chi discipline in it will cover this exercise (Tai Chi, Kung Fu, but not Krav Maga or MMA). 





The author writes the key is being totally relaxed. If you are doing it right, you should be asserting no actual physical force.  I will have to speak with my sensi about this and see if he can show me it, maybe cover it  in class some day.

Chapter 2- The Foundation of Aikido.  Aikido was founded by Master Morihei Uyeshiba in the 1950's. Master Uyeshiba  desired to blend the highest ethics of mankind with the practice of the martial arts.  In this chapter the author talks about the " Ethics" of Defense.

To illustrate his point, he gave an illustrated series of examples. In example A, a man without provocation  attacks another man and kills him.  This ranks the lowest on the order of ethics in martial arts.

Example B, the man does not directly attack the other man, but he provokes him with words or bodily language into attacking him and in kills him.  The author writes " there is only a shade of difference ethically..." between A and B.

Example C, we see the man neither attacks or provokes but when attacked  defends himself in a manner which protects him but ends up killing his assailant. Ethically  speaking this is a more defensible action.  Still his defensive tactics , while keeping him safe, resulted in the death of another.

Example D, We see the man attacked but using his attackers own energy against him, he is able to disarm his opponent and walk away.   This is considered the highest of ethical self defense.

High ethical standards and self defense.   Something I have never really given much thought too before reading this.  In a fight, the idea is to win.  That's what I have been taught for years and something that was stressed to me in all my self defense training at academy and in remedial training at work.  The goal is to win, not just to survive.  You can survive in a wheel chair, pooping in a bag but I would not consider that winning.

So how do I reconcile  that with the ethics of Aikido?   I would have to say that is the ideal situation, period.  Ideally , you want to end the fight/ aggression as quickly and as peacefully as possible. However, I know I must be willing and mentally prepared to perhaps cripple or kill someone to be able to go home at the end of the night.  That is not the ideal situation to be certain. Perhaps with years of training the need to go to a more aggressive method will not be there, as I will react instinctively  in a effective, highly ethical manner.

Something to think about for certain.


More to come.

Self-introduction
2011-05-16 12:08 craftdragon
I thought I could introduce myself here.
I have practiced aikido since september, and really want people to talk to about aikido since there is a lot I don't understand. Also it would be nice to just talk about the things surrounding aikido as well.
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu~

Introductions.
2010-09-25 16:34 darkshadow316
Greetings all,
I am new here and just wanted to pop in and say hi. I took Aikido and Ninjistu about two years ago when I was going through police academy and now I just started back up with Aiki-Jujutsu.  Been enjoying my classes and started looking for more online forums so I can discuss my journey with other martial artists and get their feed back and thoughts.

About to head off to class so I am loading up on some carbs before I go.  Hope to have a mutually enlightening time on here with you all.

Aikido in behavioral economics?
2010-06-18 22:20 jbarros
"The tendency of the organization is to apply as much force as possible... the tendency of the person is to be influenced in reverse proportion to the amount of force being applied"

I saw this and had to laugh after having a 15 year old I can lift up with one arm show me what I was doing wrong with ikajo. My ongoing battle in coming to Aikido after years in other martial arts, has been to stop trying so hard, and applying so much force, as it always results in people taking a step and regaining their balance, so I can't actually perform the technique. So when I saw this TED Talk, I had to laugh. This is, I believe, what I'm struggling with in Aikido, to a t.

Monday is the big night
2010-06-07 11:21 lrc
When I got laid off and returned to the dojo last fall, Glen Kimoto sensei practically grabbed me by the collar and told me to start training for my 2nd kyu exam. I suspect that he's a little embarrassed that I've been his student off and on for nearly 38 years and am still a blue belt.

It took me a while to build up the stamina, but for most of the past 7 months or so, I've been training 5-7 days a week. At the beginning of May, I went to Chicago for the opening of a show that one of my photos is in. I didn't make it to a dojo out there, and actually enjoyed pretty much a week and a half off of training. When I returned to the mat, the rest seemed to have done me a lot of good, leaving me well rested and refreshed for a very intensive three weeks, polishing up the (many) remaining rough edges for my exam. A few days later, on the night that I was going to take my practice exam, my back went out. I don't know what I did, but it was almost certainly a combination of things. A week later I was able to gingerly return to the dojo.

I finally took my practice exam and did miserably. While my back was a lot better, it was still sore, and my right hip and knee were also a bit sore. This did not help either my suwariwaza, nor my hanmi handachi. I hadn't had a chance to practice koshi, etc. etc.

In the past week, I was able to polish up a lot of the things that did not go so well on my test.

However, yesterday Alan Holiday sensei gave a seminar to celebrate his promotion to yondan. (Pictures of the seminar here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ellarsee/sets/72157624211586764/ )

I was in agony all day. My back, legs, and knee all hurt. I had a headache, I was hot and tired. I don't think I ever wanted class to end as much as I did yesterday during the afternoon session. I did not train today. Nor did I help with either gardening or scrubbing the mat today. I didn't think my back would like either one. I stayed home and repaired a lens that I'm buying from a friend. Taking it easy seems to have helped a lot. At the moment, I barely hurt.

I'll try and take things easy tomorrow, maybe do some stretching, and go over techniques in my mind. At this point it may do me more good to work on relaxing than trying to cram in a bit more review. I'm pretty confident that I'll pass my test. I had really wanted to do much better than just pass the exam, but maybe humility is a lesson I need to work on as well.

Dojos in Chicago?
2010-04-25 10:35 lrc
I'm heading to Chicago May 6-10. One of my photos is going to be in an exhibition of photos from this book:
http://www.robertstech.com/pdmlbook/

And it's a great excuse to meet net.friends from several continents, eat chicago pizza and generally have a good time.

I'm going to be pretty busy, and if I miss out on training for a few days it won't be cataclysmic, on the other hand, if the logistics work out, it could be fun to drop in on a dojo halfway across the country. Does anyone know about aikido in and around Chicago. It looks like I'll be staying in Evanston, and don't know if I'll have a rental car.

Mommy and Me Martial Arts classes
2010-04-07 17:46 grumple_soup
Hi! I recently had an offer from a group to take on a small Mommy and Me-style martial arts class with kids ages 2-5. I don't know if they are actually going to go through with it but I've started doing some research on how to run a class like this. I have a general idea of what it will look like because I have taught kids classes (in kenpo and aikido) to students 6 and up and I've been to a Mommy and Me ballet class with my daughter for the last year. But since I've never seen or heard of a Mommy and Me class for martial arts in my area, I thought I'd check in here to see if anyone here teaches or attends a class like this and might be willing to share your experience or advice. Thank you!