Aikido as a way of life.

When uke and nage speak different dialects of the same language can communication and deep listening still be accomplished? This summer we have had a few visitors and a couple of new students. We had a young man who a brown belt in Karate come to a few classes. He was so busy in his head I don’t think he heard or saw anything new. He kept talking and explaining and apologizing. We both are fluent in English yet little communication has occurred. I heard him yet he can’t hear me. He hasn't been back. Another youngish man has been training regularly since the beginning of the summer. He is very quiet and good humored. He had trained for a few months in an aiki jujitsu style, so he knows how to fall and is very open to rolling. His native language is Spanish so our communication is technique and ukemi and body movements with a little language. I feel like I can hear him and he hears me through aikido. We had a visitor from Japan from very traditional dojo wh...

Recently I was told I should be spanked for a comment I made to a man on AikiWeb. I found that really offensive. Would he have said this to a man? I think not. I am not a child or a second class citizen who trains. I have been training for 25 years, teaching for 21. My commitment to Aikido is solid. I am going on record in my blog to say that saying a woman should be spanked because you don’t like what she said is sexist and ignorant.

I greet the world with open hands on this day, ready to receive. A point that we touched on during the seminar was not using the fingers tips to throw. Not grasping or grabbing just letting and guiding. Ron suggested to me the other day when I was griping about my ukes that I needed to go more inside. I have been thoughtful about that for many days. At the seminar we did a ki test where I could feel my partner directing me without moving because she was moving my center by moving her center. Thanks, Dora, now I understand a little better what Ron was talking about. I see I have a lot to work on. Yay! It has nothing to do with my ukes. I knew that in my heart yet without the chat with Ron I wouldn’t have known what to do next. Growth spurts can be hard. I throw too hard; get impatient with people, think I need to drive to Texas….and any other distractions could fit in that blank. Really, what I need is an honest chat with a good friend or in this case, husband and then imp...

Our summer seminar's theme is "Let's Wrap the World in Peace. For me the inspiration has come from my newest grandson Vinnie. When I hold him, he looks up at me and tells me the secrets of the universe.  I feel at one with what is. I feel at peace. It seems to me that peace is all around us... accessible at anytime if we but look and feel and let. Let's!

The picture of Vinnie’s foot inspired me. He has fresh feet that have taken no steps, kissable feet, soft, free from the calluses of life. I wish my little grand boy a splendid journey on his sturdy little feet, filled with the ups and downs of life as my feet have traveled. My feet have never failed me; through a childhood filled with backyard games of hide and go seek, kick and the can, tag, baseball, kickball etc, through high school and college basketball, and various other sports, not to mention years of waitressing. On my feet I tended babies, played with tweens and chased my teens. Now I get to repeat it all over again albeit much slower, with my grand boys. Aikido has been a special project for my feet. I have developed tough soles from years of training. My big toes got broken, little toes dislocated, my big toe nail torn off too many times. All of the above can be trained through when properly taped. I hope little Vinnie’s feet serve him half ...

I was at a meeting in a church basement the other day. There was a low table and several rows of flimsy folding chairs. The small narrow room is usually used for the church’s preschool classes. I was standing behind the low table looking at the front of the room…there were doors on either side of me and the main door was at the other end directly in front of me with the length of the room between me and it. Most of the chairs were between me and the door. There are cabinets and shelves along the walls. The furniture provided a path way that would limit any physical attack to a very small area. If someone tried to hit or grab me they would be limited in their movements by the smallness and cramped conditions of the space. I would be less limited because of my awareness and my willingness to use my environment to my advantage. In my last 2 classes I set up conditions similar to the church basement  room (as best I could in the dojo). Nage started down the pathway ...

Vinnie is perfectly centered, relaxed and content...I want to be like him....like I was once. It will be an interesting process watching Vinnie unlearn his naturalness...maybe he will be the grand boy that wants to study Aikido!