Starting this week (3/9/23) , we added an 8 to 8:30 Weapons class on Thursday nights.
New Schedule:
Tuesday 7-8:30 General Class, Brian & Peter
Wed 6-7:30 General Class, Ray
Thursday 7-8 General Class, Marcella
Thursday 8-8:30 Weapons, Brian
Why do people practice Aikido? What's in it for me?
When we reach Shodan (1st Black Belt) in Aikido Kokikai®, we all submit essays on what our practice means to us. It is a great way to reflect on our own motivations and goals. We are encouraged to share them with each other. Here is an excerpt from one person's essay. It covers a subject that thoroughly resonates with me and I bet for most people. Enjoy:
"A few months after starting my new job I was sent to a conference in Boston. My
assignment was to report on the conference at our next department meeting. I would have to
stand in front of 60 people. I couldn't do it! For as long as I can remember I had been scared to
speak or stand in front of people. My fear had been debilitating. I missed or avoided many
opportunities in my life because of it. All I could think about was how could I get out of it? I did
manage to avoid the presentation by not showing up for work. I felt awful and it would only get worse.
A week later Judy Warner Sensei informed me I would soon be testing for 6th kyu. My
stomach sank. My head was spinning. I couldn't sleep. How could I get out of this? I would have
to quit aikido but I couldn't, I wouldn't, I'd come to love it. Then it hit me if I wanted to
continue with aikido and my new job I would have to do something about this fear. I looked for
and found mentors to help me. They taught me ways to deal with my fears. I had "butterflies" on the night of my 6th kyu test but I didn't run away.
After the test when I sat back with the rest of the students I looked up and framed perfectly in one windowpane above the shomen was the full moon in a still blue sky. It was lovely. I wanted to cry out of joy not stress. It was the perfect finish! I'll always use that image to remember the day I took my 6th kyu test and had no fear. I wanted this feeling forever. This was my sixth kyu dream!
A month later at work I was again asked to give a department presentation. This time I had to introduce my team to the department, giving a brief summary of who we were and what we did for the company. Before I panicked I remembered my 6th kyu test. I went to work the day of the presentation, stood in front of 60 people and gave my presentation! Since then my team members at work always "volunteer" me to handle our presentations and I'm more than happy to do them!"
The most often used physical skill from Aikido, thankfully, is falling safely. We all are subject to icy conditions in our climate, and as a practitioner of martial arts, your balance and sense of center are improved so slips are less frequent, but they still occur. I have been practicing martial arts for almost 40years, and I just slipped in my driveway this week. Considering I couldn't even get my car up the driveway, it should be less a shock that it could happen. However, Aikido makes falling well instinct. Which is good because there precious is little time to think on the way down. What easily could have been an injury is a nothing-event because my body knew what to do.
As the old proverb goes, the best time to plant a tree is 20years ago, the second best time is now. Come join us for a class, plant that tree of instinct and learn to nurture it..
Beginners are always welcome! Learn more here: http://www.aikidorochester.com/p/joining.html
Describing the path of nage's (defender) lead and uke flow for Ushiro Tekube/Hiji/Kata Tori Kokyu Nage. Aikido is often described in books as being all about circles. Practice tells us the most interesting things happen when uke (the attacker) enters and exits the circle. Physics tells us objects leaving a circle want to continue on a path tangent to the point of exit and vice versa for entering the circle. Don't fight physics. It is our friend.
You don't need to be a mathematician to practice Aikido, but having paid half-attention in geometry and physics classes in grade school doesn't hurt. :)
We've added a video to our YouTube Channel to help visualize this concept.
#aikido #aikidokokikai #kokikai #physics #math
