Reflections on 18 years in Aikido.
As I approach completing my 18th year of training in Aikido next month, there are some memories I wanted to reflect on:
-Attending my First Winter Camp 9 week after starting.
-Attending my First Summer Camp at Colgate University and attending every class for the full week.
-Yamada Sensei sitting with us at dinner at a seminar in Cincinnati
-Hosting Yamada Sensei in Charlotte for a seminar in 2004 along with Demko Sensei
-Taking my Shodan Test in April 2004.
-Attending the first Yudansha Seminar in Chicago at the Midwest Aikido Center in 2004.
-Bringing my Gi when traveling and training at different dojos.
Some memory highlights the last 10 years:
-Jim Hyde testing for Shodan in Atlanta in 2011.
-Richard Pierce testing for Shodan in Atlanta in 2013.
-Moving into the new/current/final dojo in January 2016.
-Brent testing for Shodan this year at our dojo.
I sometimes take a step back and really reflect on the training, some great training partners I’ve met, some sempai that have inspired me to train harder, as well as some kohai that have developed into some pretty amazing martial artists. And I am very fortunate to be healthy and have a supporting wife that has allowed me to not stop my training. I have a lot of peers that started Aikido before me but have had to stop, or take a break and it makes this milestone even more special to me.
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