Intellectualizing on the Aikido Mat
“As soon as you see something, you already start to intellectualize it. As soon as you intellectualize something, it is no longer what you saw.” ~ Shunryu Suzuki-roshi (1905-1971). In my Aikido...
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Intensive Training
Rolling around… My Aikido dojo is holding an intensive training seminar called a Gasshuku. Intensive means all day and without much time for breaks. 7 am to 5 pm–1/2 hour for breakfast and 1/2 hour for...
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The Circle and the Spiral
This is something I wrote a few years ago about my Aikido practice… I often think of Aikido in philosophical terms. When a teacher gives advice about how to do a technique physically, I sometimes...
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In the Presence of a Master
Not only is he an excellent martial artist, he’s got a great smile too! I went to an Aikido seminar a last weekend and was completely blown away by the teacher. Saotome Shihan (shihan is an honorific...
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Aikido and a Garden Hose
“Spiritual power. Not muscle power” ~Saotome Shihan Morihei Ueshiba, founder of Aikido Aikido is not about physical power. At least, it is not supposed to be. When you watch a high level teacher...
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Posture in Aikido
In just three weeks, Mary Heiny, an amazing and highly respected sensei (teacher), will be visiting my dojo to give a seminar. I’m excited about it! Mary Heiny Sensei demonstrating kokyu ho throw Heiny...
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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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Anticipation–On and Off the Aikido Mat
Anticipation. We often think of it positively, like a child getting excited for a birthday or Christmas, or an adult looking forward to a big event. But there is a downside to anticipation—prediction....
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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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Dermatology and martial arts…
Image via MyWANA Commons, courtesy of Lynn Kelley I went to the dermatologist recently and had several spots removed from my face. I had one spot frozen off, which BURNS, by the way. Two other spots...
View ArticleIntellectualizing on the Aikido Mat
“As soon as you see something, you already start to intellectualize it. As soon as you intellectualize something, it is no longer what you saw.” ~ Shunryu Suzuki-roshi (1905-1971). In my Aikido...
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My Aikido Path
I wrote this in 2007, when I was up for promotion to shodan (first degree black belt) in Aikido. My teacher asks all of us who test for dan rank to write an essay about how Aikido affects our lives....
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The ‘Sho’ in Shodan
Shodan kanji I recently hung the certificates that I received for earning my first and second level black belts. They are beautiful certificates, filled with Japanese kanji, and look like artwork. As I...
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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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