We’re from 43 Countries! (Drink After Keiko #6)
And Here Comes Our First Poll
Hello everybody!
Aikido: Art for Life is here for almost one year, sharing articles about Aikido practice, teaching, organizing… the time really flies.
But let’s save the birthday party for next month. This post is about you!
When I started to post articles here, I had the feeling that Aikido people don’t read too much. You proved me wrong, because every post we publish is read by 500 to 1,000 people.
What amazes me even more: four hundred of you are subscribed, and you’re coming literally from all around the world.
Just have a look at the map:
You read us from 5 continents, 43 countries and 25 US states: we really are an international bunch of people.
Thank you very much for being with us — your interest gives meaning to all this work.
So tell us more!
We know that you come from many corners of this planet, sometimes we know each other personally. But very often we don’t know who you are and what your interests and roles in Aikido are. We wonder… are you a beginner in Aikido or an experienced practitioner? Do you teach, assist, or lead a dojo?
Thus we created the first poll for this publication. Please fill it in and make it a bit more interactive here. We want to hear from you and know that you’re there, on the other side of this monitor 😉
Thank you! And if you want to say hello and share a bit more about yourself, write it in the comments:
June Summary
We started this month with another article from the Aikido as... series. This one is about the Dō—the path that leads us through peaks, plateaus, and valleys:
Aikido as a Way / Dō
We often speak of Japanese martial arts (budō) as a “way,” especially when we want to highlight just how noble and spiritual our activity is. And everyone knows that dō—the “way”—isn’t a road for cars, but a way of life, a journey toward mastery, a movement toward higher goals, the realization of human potential...
Then came a playful interview with Heidi Grot, organizer of the unique Aikido Summer in Berlin. Want to know more about this Aikido fiesta that comes every August?
After her first article Overcoming Dizziness in Aikido Rolls, Cheryl Whitelaw shared another ukemi-inspired piece from the Feldenkrais Method. Her insights and videos can bring new depth to exercises we already know and practice:
Friendly Rolling, not Falling
After article Overcoming Dizziness in Aikido Rolls, Cheryl Whitelaw brings another ukemi inspiration from Feldenkrais method. Her insights and videos can bring new quality to the exercises that we already know and do. Enjoy:
The Summer holiday starts in our country this week, we wish you beautiful summer!
Hi all! I started Aikido in 1983 with Frank Doran Sensei at Stanford University. Within a few months I told myself this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I would come to class as an anxious college student, and leave class with a calm and equanimity that would last for days. Aikido is powerful medicine. I trained for several years at the Turk St dojo in San Francisco with Doran Sensei, Bill Witt Sensei, and Robert Nadeau Sensei as well as with Doran Sensei at Aikido West in Redwood City. In 1989 I moved to Kyoto, Japan and trained with the Kyoto University Aikido Club, where I received my shodan. Soon after returning to the US, work, life, and injuries got in the way of consistent training and I really didn't take up regular practice again until 2010. For the last 15 years I've been training with Hoa Newens Sensei, a student of Saito Sensei, in Davis, California. I am now a yon dan, 64 years old, and am one of the regular teachers at the dojo. I am so grateful for the role Aikido has had in my life, for the discipline, the community, and the tremendous physical benefits.
Hi. I started Aikido in earnest in 1986 training daily for many years Iwama style in San Diego (though I was first introduced to Aikido in 1973 at University while studying Japanese Karate in Philadelphia). My Iwama years included many seminars with Saito Sensei and I did spend some time in Iwama itself in 1988. In 2008 I moved to Golden, Colorado where I began training with Ikeda Sensei at Boulder Aikikai and have trained. I have trained now for 39 years. I turn 71 this year and hope to continue my practice until I die.