Aikido Club Party, Hotdog Roast

Aikido Club Party and Hotdog Roast
Saturday, Oct. 29th, 12:30 PM
Come to Jeff's house. Go to 400 W. & 1000 S. Orem
just north of Mountainside (East) Campus Entrance.
Take the left jog in the loop to 457 Palos Verdes Dr.
Text Jeff at 801-494-4793 if you get lost.

Education of the shoulders

It's the greatest thing on the world to have someone get right in your face.
You get this urge to tense and hold your breath and stare right back into their eyes and glare like no one has ever glared at anyone before, or will ever again. 

A piercing glare that cuts them right down to the...
And then...

You drop your shoulders, allow weight underside to pull your arms and even your fingers down and you breathe.  A great big deep breath that the other person can even hear.  You back your vision up to see the whole person and realize that their hostility would go away if you didn't give them a place to hang it. 

Yes, the shoulders can teach you a lot and show the whole world that you aren't even bothered by the interaction of someone tensing up around you.

So, drop the shoulder and smile.

2011 Club Rush

Greetings All,
The semester Club Rush is upon us.  Please spread the word and stop by the courtyard.  The OrgSync site will be posting more information for joining the club.

Seminar in Logan.

Greetings All,
We are happy to pass along the upcoming seminar in Logan.  Nakayama Sensei will be leasing the sessions and it promises to be amazing.
Please use the comments here or at the OrgSync site to coordinate rides and lodging information.
Hope to see you all there.
Here's the Flyer with signup sheet.

redirect to a post ...very interesting question

http://blog.aikidojournal.com/blog/

06.28.11 - Weapons Practice Day

Greetings All,
Just a quick reminder that practice tomorrow will be with weapons.
As we haven't cut the jos down to size yet, we will be using bokken.
Hope to see you all there.
John.

Shugyo

The quote that I found this evening by O-Sensei got me thinking. There are various aspects of life at which we, human beings, are imperfect. Ok, maybe ALL aspects are ones at which we are imperfect. O-Sensei's quote reminded me of the concept of shugyo. Some have defined this as "conducting oneself in a way that inspires mastery." Basically, what I think it means, is that throughout Aikido training, we are constantly trying to improve upon our imperfections. Every roll should be better than the previous. Yonkyo should require less effort and time to find every time it is applied. Side rolls shouldn't be nearly impossible for me every time I try them (so frustrating). In any case, you get the idea.

Life in general is no different. For example, I don't always respond to my children's disobedience as patiently as I should. After seeing this quote tonight, however, I will be making an effort to change myself. Even if that change is small at first, the important thing is that, over time, I make improvements.

One thing I love about Aikido is that it's not about what happens on the mat, but how you can apply things that you learn on the mat into your daily life. Or should I say your daily shugyo?

And there was much rejoycing...

Greetings All,
For those of us who made the seminar, we had a great time having bokken and jo practice on the grass in the afternoon sun.  We did miss those who couldn't make it. 
We are looking to have a club meeting to discuss weapons purchases, both for the club and personal, talk about plans for practice, the possibility of the room being unavailable for a time this summer and potential club trips and projects. 
We need to have some feedback to know what times will work best for everyone.  Lunch, dinner, just after practice, some dark alley, Haiti, you know...what fits your schedule?
Please leave some comments here and we can begin to coordinate.
See you on the mat,
John

Aikido Seminar @ U of U, May 21-22

The Ganshinkan dojo at the Univ. of Utah led by Veera Sensei is hosting an
AAA-sanctioned seminar featuring Stephen Toyoda Sensei May 21-22. Cost is $70 for all sessions. See the flyer at http://aaa-aikido.com/Seminars/2011/May%202011%20-%20Salt%20Lake,%20Utah.pdf

Summer Practice Same Time

We are still holding practice every Tues. & Thurs. @ 4 PM in PE 221. Same bat time, same bat channel.

Thanks to all who acted as Uke during the recent Kyu tests.
Here's a picture of Robert and Tyler:

With knowledge

We sometimes feel that skills alone will take us where we want to be. Skill without experience or application is nothing more than academic. We hope that some skills we never have to utilize, just practice and keep them ready.

Something to make us smile

"BOOT to the HEAD"
Click the link above to
hear the wisdom...

Straight ahead...

Last week, Sensei talked about entering in a straight line.
I kept this thought and saw it repeated in the strangest place.
In the Hagakare, the book of the Samauri, it reads:

"When one has made a decision to kill a person, even if it will be very difficult to succeed by advancing straight ahead, it will not do to think about going at it in a long round about way. The way of the Samurai is one of Immediacy and it is best to dash in headlong."

Not that we're looking to hurt or kill, but the sentiment becomes the same. Forward, entering.

HiDriTex Aikido Uniforms in stock again

Ebogu.com has the HiDriTex Aikido uniform back in stock: $57 + s/h I really like. Whatever size their chart says, get the next larger size. You might also consider the double layer uniform for $85. These are real quality gi's that will last years.

Japan Earthquake - Dojos Damaged, No Reports of Injury

Hey everyone! This morning, I started wondering about the status of Aikido practitioners in Japan following the large earthquake last week. This is what I've been able to figure out from various sources:

• The roof and walls of the Iwama Dojo, built by Morihei Ueshiba, have collapsed. No injuries have been reported. Moriteru Ueshiba (doshu), will be visiting the dojo shortly and will decide on the next course of action regarding the dojo.
• The home and dojo of Hitohiro Saito Sensei, son of Morihiro Saito Sensei, have been damaged as well. Saito Sensei was visiting Florida at the time the earthquake struck and he has been unable to return thus far.
• Hombu Dojo, headquarters of the Aikikai Foundation, has been able to continue operations and does not report any damage or injuries.

Just thought you might all like to know.

Bokken Practice for Tomorrow

Hey all you ukemi fans,
Tomorrow will be bokken practice.

Weapons day make-up

Alas,
We let the month slip by and left out weapons practice. To remedy this, next Tuesday will be weapons day and we will have one at the end of the month as well...providing Sensei does not object.

Kyu test coming April 12th

Sensei says there will be a test for belt advancement on Tuesday, April 12th.

Things to remember...

As we were practicing today, I thought about the seriousness of why we train. Are we envisioning the actual instance when some "big dude with an attitude" gets in our face? Maybe we should...
Here's what O-Sensei though about being in the dojo and the attitude we should maintain.

• Aikido decides life and death in a single strike, so students must carefully follow the instructor's teaching and not compete to see who is the strongest.
• Aikido is the way that teaches how one can deal with several enemies. Students must train themselves to be alert not just to the front but to all sides and the back.
• Training should always be conducted in a pleasant and joyful atmosphere.
• The instructor teaches only one small aspect of the art. Its versatile applications must be discovered by each student through incessant practice and training.
• In daily practice first begin by moving your body and then progress to more intensive practice. Never force anything unnaturally or unreasonably. If this rule is followed, then even elderly people will not hurt themselves and they can train in a pleasant and joyful atmosphere.
• The purpose of aikido is to train mind and body and to produce sincere, earnest people. Since all techniques are to be transmitted person-to-person, do not randomly reveal them to others, for this might lead to their being used by hoodlums.

Morihei Ueshiba (ca.1935)

I note the second one...Sensei even mentioned it today. Be aware of everything, but deal with just one thing.

And on that note, sensei did mention a certain test that seems to be scheduled for April 14th!!!

Okay ladies and gentlemen...time to put on the sankyo and practice

Utah Aikikai Saturday Session

There will be an informal seminar session this coming Saturday at Utah Aikikai.
Dyer Sensei, I believe will be leading the session.

Christine Dyer

Visiting Sensei (AAA Certified Senior Instructor)

Chuskinkan Dojo

Godan (5th degree black belt)

AAA Western Regional Director

AAA National Teaching Committee Member

The dojo is located at 3474 South 2300 East, Suite 12 in Salt Lake City
Here is a link to their site. Utah Aikikai
Hope to see you all there.

The Way of the Dragon?

My wife will be the first to admit that I am not merely a geek, but a truly geeky geek.
If a show has explosions, spies, or aliens, it passes the WATCH IT? test. I am a fan of many things including all things Star Trek-y, old war movies, and Bruce Lee Movies. Last night G4 happen to play Way of the Dragon. My wife would say that I've seen all of these "kinds of movies" a dozen times, so why not hand over the remote? Not true, but maybe a few a times--so possession of the remote will remain 9/10ths of the law.

What I noticed was in this movie, Bruce Lee literally answers the question: "How can you punch and kick so hard?" Bruce Lee explains you have to do so from the hip. Bing! went the little light in my head. Isn't Sensei always saying the power of the Aikido technique comes from the hip? Isn't the hip kind of physically about where your center of gravity is? Hmmm, perhaps Bruce Lee knew an abiding principle, also prominent in Aikido. I better watch that movie one more time just to be sure. ;-)

Aikido Club practice back on schedule.

Club practice is back to Tuesdays/Thursdays 4-5:30 PM in PE 221. Welcome to new and old club members.

Look for some new digital signage for the club across campus.

If there's nothing on TV, check out When The Last Sword Is Drawn (2003) on
Hulu. 2 hrs. 17 min. In Japanese with English subtitles.

Jeff