Aikido Blog

Rank Testing Bowing Reiho – Advanced

Rank Testing Bowing Reiho - Advanced - Charlotte NC

Rank Testing Bowing Reiho – Advanced Andy Demko Shihan likes to say, “The little things don’t mean a lot, they mean everything”.  Everyone who has practiced in our dojo or visited has seen that we take Reiho (Etiquette) pretty seriously.  In all that we do, practice.  Bowing.  Addressing each other & more.  I learned a…

Sensei

Sensei 先生 - Charlotte NC

Sensei 先生 The two characters that make up the term can be directly translated as “born before,” and imply one who teaches based on wisdom gained from age and experience. In general usage, it is used, with proper form, after a person’s name and means “teacher.” In Japan, the word is also used as a…

5 Questions with our Chief Instructor

5 Questions with our Chief Instructor

5 Questions with our Chief Instructor Jack Freund: Why is attending seminars so valuable? Weiner Sensei: Seminars are valuable because so many things can take place in that style of training. Whether the seminar is one day or an entire weekend, it is an opportunity for all your focus to be on Aikido training. It…

Get comfortable being uncomfortable

Get comfortable being uncomfortable - Charlotte NC

Get comfortable being uncomfortable. When working with new students, I’m always fascinated with how hard it is to verbalize what we’ve been doing for years. This is especially evident when we are teaching tai sabaki. We’re just telling people how to move their feet, and it’s really hard! It’s virtually impossible for me to remember…

Why I said Yes to Aikido

Why I said Yes to Aikido - Charlotte NC

I was recently asked by Weiner Sensei why I said Yes to Aikido. For complete transparency, at time of writing I am only a few short weeks into my journey and simply learning the foundational skills that will build in the years to come. I met Sensei one weekend afternoon in 2022, we didn’t know…

Modern Day Otomo

Modern Day Otomo - Charlotte NC

Let’s discuss a Modern Day Otomo. In an Aikido dojo, you may hear different terminology identifying a certain student, instructor, or group of aikidoka. Such as Uchideshi, Sotodeshi, Kenshusei, Sempai, & Otomo. Otomo is a Japanese tradition among martial arts masters. It is very often confused with Uchideshi (private disciple) because it is often one…

Is Aikido a hobby?

aikido_hobby

One of the internal questions I ask myself weekly is how do I keep my students engaged in Aikido? First, it’s probably important to classify what Aikido is and what it means to people.  Some may call it a hobby. Well by definition, Hobby means, “an activity done regularly in one’s leisure time for pleasure.”…

Teacher versus Instructor.

Teacher versus Instructor

Teacher versus Instructor. In Aikido, I feel both of these terms tend to be used interchangeably. I beg to differ. An active, serious aikido student — someone with 3+ years of consistent 3-4 X a week practice and seminar attendance (2-3X a year) — can achieve 2nd Kyu and maybe even 1st Kyu. Depending on…

There is Etiquette in everything we do – even the Seminar Group Photo.

There is Etiquette in everything we do - even the Seminar Group Photo.

There is Etiquette in everything we do – even the Seminar Group Photo. So the morning classes just ended, everyone is dehydrated, ready for lunch, Yudansha are about to start folding hakamas and the host dojo says, “Let’s all get in front of the kamiza for a group photo.” Now, this sounds like a simple…

Character & Attitude

character-attitude

I saw this graphic the other day and thought it was spot on. As an Aikido teacher, in addition to teaching the martial circulum I really try and help mentor my students in a lot of the intangible aspects to Aikido. Attitude, Character, & Etiquette. And this truly applies to our senior students that have…