Aikido as a way of life.

Just when you think the dojo can't get slammed again, Ron and I have come down with the flu. It is going on 2 weeks now. Our dojo has been effected by Covid, an aging student base, dropouts, winter and now the flu. It is a good thing we have been doing this for so long. Our plan is to keep training so we will be here for the Aikido renaissance. There is sure to be one. Recently,  we started doing a short work out everyday. First we do 40 techniques and then we do ki excercises. We invite our students to join us on zoom. Participation  has been good. We still have 2 classes a week. Hopefully  some students will be coming back to class when the weather inproves and flu season abates. Hope to see you on the mat soon.             

 Fall is such a great name for a beautiful season. We fell a lot in class today. I had an interesting experience. Ron had us do many movements without falling. He then had us just blend with yokemens. His idea was to move and flow. When I did an abrupt entering movement, he said “No, do more blending. Less confrontation.”   I kept moving but noticed that I started to feel queasy and tired. Then I noticed that I was near tears. He then told us to get bokkens. I had to sit and rest for a minute. When Ron asked what the matter was, I told him I was feeling queasy and tired. That helped me feel a little better. I got up and practiced the short bokken kata he demonstrated. After class I still felt a little queasy. I told Ron and Dora that I thought I was doing the technique correctly and when I found out that I was not, I was very hard on myself. Ron assured me that I was doing fine but he wanted me to flow more. I told him I understood but that sometimes my hearer is broken. ...

  Aikido training when I feel deeply upset is a challenge. I accept.  I have the disease of alcoholism. Some mornings I wake up feeling fine. Other times I wake up to a voice in my head telling me I am a terrible person and not worthy of being alive. No matter which way I wake up, I have a set practice that I do, no matter how I feel or what my brain has to say.   Yesterday we heard from a family member that he was very disappointed in us and was choosing not to be in a relationship with Ron and me.  I felt very sad and frustrated because I know that saying or doing anything will not change another person. I slept poorly as my mind poured over all my wrong doings over many years.  I felt heavy and discouraged this morning.  I prayed as I do every morning. I asked for help, then got up and acted like a woman who has asked for help.  I found one aikido thought: keep moving. I got up, got dressed, did my bathroom stuff, and went upstairs to see how R...

Last class we practiced kata tori ikkyo, kata tori kote geishe, kata tori irimi nage and kata tori kokyu nage the traditional way first. Then we envisioned holding a large ball in our arms and practiced those techniques again, concentrating on extending energy and weight under side. Training with an invisible uke has made us dig deep to find ways to strengthen our aikido principles. Ron and I are blessed that we can train together but some of our students are practicing with their own invisible uke.  Some techniques like ushiro tekubitori kokyu nage are harder to visualize and feel than others, like, tsuki kote giesha. Most of the folks that train with us are very experienced and rise to the challenge. We have one student who is an orange belt and  is just thriving in this practice. I am grateful we still are gathering and training with the circumstances that are presented to us in this now.