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Ukemi, Posture, and Life
More about posture in Aikido… This week during Aikido class, I watched people do ukemi. Ukemi (oo-KEH-mee) is what we’re doing when we fall or roll or get taken down into a pin. It is also the initial...
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O’Sensei
O’Sensei Today, April 26th, is the anniversary of the death of Morihei Ueshiba, O’Sensei. Morihei Ueshiba created the martial art Aikido. Although O’Sensei is no longer with us, his art lives on in all...
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The Practice of Peace
“The choice between love and fear is made every moment in our hearts and minds. That is where the peace process begins. Without peace within, peace in the world is an empty wish.” -Paul Ferrini...
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Aikido and Dance
**I wrote this in 2011 when I was preparing for my second degree (nidan) black belt test. If you’d like to read the essay for my shodan test, it’s here.** “Move like a beam of light; Fly like...
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Responsibility, Teaching, Training
Bowing in to class.–Photo by Joe Buglewicz **This is the latest of the essays I wrote before a black belt test. I wrote it April of 2014.** Lining up to bow in to class one afternoon, the teacher (a...
View ArticleWhen the Song Fits the Mood
Every time I tested for a dan rank, I listened to one particular song or one particular band every time I drove to the dojo. This went on for the three months or so that I prepared for my test. I’m not...
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True Emptiness
“If you have not Linked yourself To true emptiness, You will never understand The Art of Peace.” ~O’Sensei, The Art of Peace I’ve been contemplating what the phrase “linked yourself to true emptiness”...
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This is Where You Live
Hitch and Albert In the movie Hitch with Will Smith and Kevin James, Hitch, played by Will Smith, is the ‘Date Doctor,’ a man who hires himself out to help other men get dates with women, often...
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Energetic Batteries
Aikido is energy training. The name itself speaks of this energy; the ‘ki’ in aiKIdo means energy or life force. Put together, the word Ai-ki-do means ‘the way of joining energy’ or ‘the way of...
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The Circle and the Spiral
I often think of Aikido in philosophical terms. When a teacher gives advice about how to do a technique physically, I sometimes translate it into advice on how to live my life. It doesn’t always...
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