Aikido World

Last weekend, 45 aikidoka from different aikido organizations in Puerto Rico joined forces for a joint seminar.

Instruction was provided by:

• Juan Torres Sensei (AAA)

• Bolivar Ramirez Sensei (AAA)
• Sensei Iván Fracinetti (ASU)
• Sensei Myriam Cedres (AWA)
• Sensei Philip Berrios (USAF)

Pictures and more information from the seminar can be found on the Aiki Dojo de Levittown web site.

March 15-16, Stephen Rehrauer Sensei (5th dan) instructed a children’s seminar at Aikisur in Villa del Prado, Spain. Below is an essay (in English and en español) written by two of the students at the seminar, along with pictures.

Additional seminar pictures can be found here.

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Next week, Tenshinkan Dojo in Chicago, IL is hosting the annual National Instructor Seminar.

The seminar is at Tenshinkan Dojo in on the north side of Chicago, IL, from April 17-20. Instruction is provided by the AAA Teaching Committee, and the seminar is open to AAA/AAI students 3rd kyu and above and all black belts.

More information is in the Seminar Flyer

Several pictures from a one-day seminar John Bieszk Sensei taught at Shinjitsu Dojo in Hanover Park, IL have been added to the photos section.

Thank you to Salvatore Forestieri Sensei for providing them.

This September and October, the AAA/AAI will be sponsoring a trip to Japan, in celebration of Aikido Kobayashi Dojo’s 40th Anniversary.

The trip will be approximately two weeks long, with the option to attend for one week or both. We would like to get a head count as soon as possible of how many people are planning to participate in the trip. If you plan to attend, e-mail AAA.Aikido.World@gmail.com with your name, dojo, and which dates you plan on attending.

Below, we have provided details and approximate costs (in U.S. dollars) for all of the planned events. Please keep in mind that the schedule is still tentative and the days we depart and return from the U.S. may change.

Feel free to contact us with any questions.
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A little footage from the 2006 World of Games in Chicago, IL

Here’s a few photos from the rank test held this March.

Note: All photo credit goes to a fellow Tenshinkan student.

Here is a clip from a 1997 Aikido demonstration with Fumio Toyoda Shihan.

Aikido. The Way of Harmony. The Way of Harmonizing with Energy.

Ever since I began studying aikido, four years ago, many people I encounter often ask me to show them a technique. Many a time after I have shown them something, that person may retort, saying “That is not an aikido technique” or “That wouldn’t really work.” My question then becomes, “Why not?” Because something does not necessarily hurt does not mean that it does not work.

The essence of aikido, harmonizing, proves itself in many different aspects. There are many specific techniques a student of aikido learns as they grow within the art, but most importantly, they learn how to learn. In doing so, their technique and knowledge of aikido progresses. When this happens, the student realized that a technique does not have to be displayed to display aikido. On the other hand, sometimes it may need to be.

Part of the importance and value of aikido is that one can disable another without necessarily hurting them. Many times I have heard that aikido is worthless or useless. Nothing could be further from the truth. When faced with these comments, I ask, “Why?” Many times the response is that it is not aggressive enough or it is purely defensive. This leads me to believe that these people have never truly studied aikido. Part of why aikido is so great is that it does not have to be aggressive or offensive… but it can be.

There are countless aikido techniques that can be used to gently disable a person or gently force them to the ground. These same techniques can be used to very aggressively disable a person and very aggressively force them to the ground as a debilitating pin can be used as well. That is a large reason why aikido is so great. As mentioned before, a technique need not be used to display aikido. Just moving aside of an attack or escaping a grasp is also displaying the act of harmonizing with energy.

When given the statement, “That does not work” or “That is not an aikido technique,” a slight grin emerges on my face. Aikido is a very adaptive art, which is another quality of The Way of Harmony. Certain ideas or physical displays may not be conventional nor orthodox; however, they are still harmonizing with energy, blending with the surroundings. It can be easy to beat up another person. Controlling that person as well as the circumstance and what is happening around you all the while still protecting that person, when needs be, is something different all together and much more difficult. That is aikido.

To study aikido one does not need to be young or old, big or small, strong or weak, fast or slow. You cannot learn to be a certain age nor a certain size that is unattainable. What can be learned and gained is timing. Timing is a quality that will continue to grow within a person and serve them throughout their lives the more they study and learn.

At the other end of the spectrum, aikido is a valuable attribute that grows beyond physicality as it may consciously and subconsciously creep into one’s mindset as they harmonize with energy and blend with their surroundings avoiding and solving conflicts in daily life: practicing on the mat, work, school, relationships, etc.

That is why AIKIDO is great!

Luke Bahar is a Shodan and Assistant Instructor at University of Houston Aikido.

Here are a few pictures from the West Coast Instructor Seminar, held last weekend in San Diego, California.

Additional pictures can be found here.