On April 13-14, Several Aikido of Charlotte students and instructors headed to the 2012 Atlanta Friendship Seminar taught by Y. Yamada Shihan, President of the USAF. We are pleased to announce Steve Brandon’s promotion to Ni-Dan (2nd Degree Black Belt). It is a rite of passage to test in front of over a hundred aikido practitioners at a major USAF Aikido Seminar. Steve performed well and rose to the challenge!
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. 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
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…