Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Sakura Sunday
This past Sunday was the annual Cherry Blossom Festival, or Sakura Sunday, in Philadelphia. Every year our dojo participates in demonstrating aikido for all the festival goers. Basically it's the one time we get to show the public an otherwise pretty private art. This year the weather was a bit cooler, but nonetheless, a beautiful day. The cherry trees were in full bloom, the demonstration went wonderfully and the company and training of my fellow aikidoka, marked the start of a wonderful spring. Hope to see you there next year!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Graditude
First, if you're reading this (which you obviously are), I thank you for sticking with me (or checking in periodically) through my wishy-washy, much to be desired in terms of dedication, stints. I love you and I apologize if you've felt neglected. I want to say I'll get better, and I hope to. Really. Ok, enough shmoop.. onto the topic at hand. And a small forewarning, this is a somewhat personal (introspective) blog entry.
Recently the topic of a possible job relocation for my husband has been surfacing. It's a somewhat sensitive topic in the household, mainly because from the beginning I was pretty adamant about wanting to stay put-at least for now. Don't get me wrong, I'm totally an adventurous girl at heart, but with family here, and my son having so much time with the family, and add my aikido family to the mix, well, it's tough to pack up so easily. But I try to be supportive and open-minded.
Recently we took a trip out to the West Coast, the location where we could be pointing the U-Haul in the future. I think I was on GREAT behavior...went through model homes, checked Trulia for houses under 1million in every new town we explored, and even found the local Yoshinkan dojo. Yep. I did a TON of research beforehand and found-and contacted-the West Coast Sensei's of the local school. I inquired about visiting and being a guest on the mat for a class, and of course, they welcomed me with open arms. I don't know if you have had much time training in another dojo, or if you remember your early days of training. But I stood on the mat feeling that old feeling of being a newbie (a feeling I hadn't had in a handful of years now), a bit awkward and unsure but soon class began and off we went.
Let me first say that this was my first time visiting another dojo, doing aikido, training, on someone else's mats. I was amazed. I was amazed that we spoke the same (or very, very similar) language. Both literally (Japanese) and figuratively. And what completely humbled me and simultaneously swelled my heart with pride was how much I felt that my training, both past and current, have shaped me into a great aikidoka. I don't necessarily mean ability-wise, but mindset. Ability to learn, to adjust, to blend with new people, new teachers, a new place. I felt SO grateful that I have had the years I've had, training where I have and with the people I have. Not just the amazing teacher I have had, but all the senior students, all the instructors, all my fellow juniors. I never take it for granted.
That night, while the warm West Coast air was blowing through my hair as I left the dojo, I was thinking about so many things-where I had gone, where I was going, what was in my future as an aikidoka. I felt immensely gracious for everything and hoped that no matter where I would be bowing in for class, that I always remembered the feeling I had this very night.
That I am one lucky, lucky gal.
A special thank you to Aikido Del-Mar for allowing me to be a guest and train with you guys. Osu!
Recently the topic of a possible job relocation for my husband has been surfacing. It's a somewhat sensitive topic in the household, mainly because from the beginning I was pretty adamant about wanting to stay put-at least for now. Don't get me wrong, I'm totally an adventurous girl at heart, but with family here, and my son having so much time with the family, and add my aikido family to the mix, well, it's tough to pack up so easily. But I try to be supportive and open-minded.
Recently we took a trip out to the West Coast, the location where we could be pointing the U-Haul in the future. I think I was on GREAT behavior...went through model homes, checked Trulia for houses under 1million in every new town we explored, and even found the local Yoshinkan dojo. Yep. I did a TON of research beforehand and found-and contacted-the West Coast Sensei's of the local school. I inquired about visiting and being a guest on the mat for a class, and of course, they welcomed me with open arms. I don't know if you have had much time training in another dojo, or if you remember your early days of training. But I stood on the mat feeling that old feeling of being a newbie (a feeling I hadn't had in a handful of years now), a bit awkward and unsure but soon class began and off we went.
Let me first say that this was my first time visiting another dojo, doing aikido, training, on someone else's mats. I was amazed. I was amazed that we spoke the same (or very, very similar) language. Both literally (Japanese) and figuratively. And what completely humbled me and simultaneously swelled my heart with pride was how much I felt that my training, both past and current, have shaped me into a great aikidoka. I don't necessarily mean ability-wise, but mindset. Ability to learn, to adjust, to blend with new people, new teachers, a new place. I felt SO grateful that I have had the years I've had, training where I have and with the people I have. Not just the amazing teacher I have had, but all the senior students, all the instructors, all my fellow juniors. I never take it for granted.
That night, while the warm West Coast air was blowing through my hair as I left the dojo, I was thinking about so many things-where I had gone, where I was going, what was in my future as an aikidoka. I felt immensely gracious for everything and hoped that no matter where I would be bowing in for class, that I always remembered the feeling I had this very night.
That I am one lucky, lucky gal.
A special thank you to Aikido Del-Mar for allowing me to be a guest and train with you guys. Osu!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Zanshin
Last night's Gakushu class was focused on Zanshin, literally a Japanese word describing a relaxed yet alert mind, a 'remaining mind', or 'finishing.' We discussed the importance of being mindful, of having a sense of self-control. Sensei used the analogy of sleeping to explain the importance of Zanshin. "When one is asleep, they are not here, (unconscious), they are physically present but not mentally. When someone is awakened, they are suddenly present. Mindful, alert."
Whatever it is you do, be mindful, be alert. Finish. Zanshin.
It is no wonder that all aikido techniques end with shite's zanshin. We are finishing, focusing the mind through the throw, until the very end.
This is a pretty deep concept in Aikido, so I thought I'd leave you with that to marinate in. Or leave you with a remining mind on the concept... and turn to something a bit lighter...
Thinking about Zanshin lead me to a cool blog, Zanshin Art. And to a fun little blog. I am in no way meaning to show disrespect, and hope you all enjoy it. Also, I am not in the habit of 're-blogging', but this was too fun not to share.
Enjoy! Osu! :)
"Make your own O'Sensei"
(for the printout/cutout page: http://aikidoargentina.org/osensei_oaa.jpg)
Whatever it is you do, be mindful, be alert. Finish. Zanshin.
It is no wonder that all aikido techniques end with shite's zanshin. We are finishing, focusing the mind through the throw, until the very end.
This is a pretty deep concept in Aikido, so I thought I'd leave you with that to marinate in. Or leave you with a remining mind on the concept... and turn to something a bit lighter...
Thinking about Zanshin lead me to a cool blog, Zanshin Art. And to a fun little blog. I am in no way meaning to show disrespect, and hope you all enjoy it. Also, I am not in the habit of 're-blogging', but this was too fun not to share.
Enjoy! Osu! :)
"Make your own O'Sensei"
(for the printout/cutout page: http://aikidoargentina.org/osensei_oaa.jpg)
Monday, November 29, 2010
Guest Blogger: Male students and how you should treat a lady on the mat.
During the long holiday weekend I was honored when one of my best friends asked if it would be ok if he penned something for my blog. Considering he is a huge role model on the mat, a dear, dear friend and is totally a kick-ass dude, of course I said YES! (Not to mention it doesn't hurt that he's been on the mat 3x as long as I have and is a Sandan, and therefore has good vantage point.) This also led me to thinking about female uke's and some of the most well-known aikidoka using a female as their uke. I remember watching a video of Takeno Sensei early on in my training and not realizing until I watched the video a few times that the person he was throwing, beautifully-mind you, was a woman. I remember being somewhat shocked. I went back and dug-up that video to rewatch it and see if my perspective has changed in the 4 years I've been training. Below is my friends' thoughts and following, the video I referenced.
After eleven years of aikido training, I’ve met many people. It always astonishes me that there are so many men in the world that really have no idea how to work with women. I’m told that women make up 51% of the population of the United States and yet still so many of my fellow male aikidoka are completely clueless.
Let me give you a hint. Treat them EXACTLY as you would treat a man on the mat. That’s all there is to it, treat them the same. Show a woman no more deference than their rank deserves. If they are a black belt, hit them as you would hit any other black belt. If they are new to a martial art, take your time and be gentle, but no more gentle than you would if it was a man’s first day. No woman walks into a dojo and expects to be at a Debutante Ball.
In aikido and many other martial arts, everyone wears an identical uniform when they train together. This is in part to remove distraction from training and promote a spirit of camaraderie, but it is also designed to mitigate the human tendency to prejudge on another. This seems to work well enough for people of different ethnic or religious backgrounds, so why the tendency to misogyny? Let their rank, determine how you treat a woman.
I train with women who are smarter, stronger and more talented than I can ever hope to be in aikido and I have learned that to be most respected by them all I have to do is hit them really hard. Might go against certain sensibilities, but the harder I swing at the women I train with, the better all of our aikido becomes.
Osu!
(see approx: 2.30sec)
After eleven years of aikido training, I’ve met many people. It always astonishes me that there are so many men in the world that really have no idea how to work with women. I’m told that women make up 51% of the population of the United States and yet still so many of my fellow male aikidoka are completely clueless.
Let me give you a hint. Treat them EXACTLY as you would treat a man on the mat. That’s all there is to it, treat them the same. Show a woman no more deference than their rank deserves. If they are a black belt, hit them as you would hit any other black belt. If they are new to a martial art, take your time and be gentle, but no more gentle than you would if it was a man’s first day. No woman walks into a dojo and expects to be at a Debutante Ball.
In aikido and many other martial arts, everyone wears an identical uniform when they train together. This is in part to remove distraction from training and promote a spirit of camaraderie, but it is also designed to mitigate the human tendency to prejudge on another. This seems to work well enough for people of different ethnic or religious backgrounds, so why the tendency to misogyny? Let their rank, determine how you treat a woman.
I train with women who are smarter, stronger and more talented than I can ever hope to be in aikido and I have learned that to be most respected by them all I have to do is hit them really hard. Might go against certain sensibilities, but the harder I swing at the women I train with, the better all of our aikido becomes.
Osu!
(see approx: 2.30sec)
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