And Now... A Woman's point of view. 

I started training in Aikido when my son was six years old. We signed up my son shortly after his birthday and had no intention of doing it ourselves until he threw my husband onto the floor while he was showing what he learned in class that day. My husband was shocked and immediately saw the validity of Aikido practice and decided to join the next day.  I viewed it as something we could do as a family and was not going to be left out of the loop. I was not athletically inclined at all. I was very small at 5 feet tall and 96 lbs. I had a very stressful job and physical ailments to go with it. I soon found out that Aikido was the perfect choice. Strength and stature is not a requirement. In contrast, many times it is easier to throw a larger attacker if their momentum is heading down to meet someone of a smaller stature. Although it was tough at times, I stuck it out. Over time, I felt more and more at ease with the techniques. I loved the fluid motion and blending aspects. I used the breathing and centering to calm my nerves even out of class. I reached a better place in my life. I was able to tolerate stress better. I was physically healthier and I was surrounded by people of like mind. We became so involved in Aikido, that the dojo was our home away from home. Over the years, we trained in as many classes as possible, sometimes 7 days a week. We organized picnics, helped set up seminars, went on trips to other dojos, appeared on TV to promote the dojo and a self defense book. It was a huge part of our lives.

We learned a lot throughout the years and our Aikido friends became our Aikido family. We moved about an hour and a half away a couple of years after we earned our black belts to open our own school. Many of the students that we trained with and taught throughout the years at the original dojo left and went on to do other things. Occasionally we have an opportunity to reconnect with them. It is always a blessing. Just like blood relatives, we still feel a strong connection after all this time even through separation. Aikido brought us together and for that I am grateful. It is a beautiful and creative art and attracts many beautiful and creative people.  We still think about each and everyone that touched our lives with warm thoughts and happy memories. 

Openmindedness in Martial Arts

  The other day we had a visitor in the dojo named Wade. He was from South Carolina and is a Ni-kyu in Yoseikan Aikido.  I love having visitors and as always we learned something new from him – an excellent way to end Kokyu-Nage(elbow chop) with a simple twist of the arm and a pin. It reinforced for me my personal philosophy of learning as much as possible and being 100% open minded to other styles. Some Associations are so introverted that they won’t allow any outside instruction or even the sharing of ideas. I always associate Martial Arts with music and with that closed minded attitude a musician who plays rock music would never even listen to blues or jazz. How empty and unrounded that individual would be. Takama Hara translates as “All Encompassing Universe”. Let’s use that thought as inspiration in all aspects of our lives, not just martial arts but with our careers, our relationships, our nutrition and even our mundane tasks of the day. We should strive to get a better understanding through open-mindedness and the acceptance that we may not know everything.