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24.01.2022 Need to confront someone? Use the FBI approach.

22.01.2022 New Year thoughts...

21.01.2022 This post is the first of several that will aim to provide Shinkondo Dojo students with materials to assist with solo practice at home while classes are suspend...ed. Junan Kenko Taiso - soft exercises for health These are the 1st of the 3 sets of exercises we normally do at the beginning of each class. Junan Kenko Taiso are gentle, relaxed stretches. The goal is not to increase flexibility, but to relax and soften the body. Performing these exercises also affords the opportunity to become more aware of ourselves as we can detect tension we might be carrying. Improved flexibility is a by-product of regular practice. Everything we do is an opportunity to practice extending our mind and Ki. Practicing the Junan Kenko Taiso allows us to practice stretching our mind by focusing and putting it in to what we are doing at the time (mindfulness). As your body moves forward and backward during the stretches, do not allow the mind to follow the movements of the body, but rather allow your mind to keep moving in a forward direction at all times as you do your movements. The count is as follows: 1-2-3-4-5 = ‘ichi, ni, san, shi, go.’ 1. Stretching forward with legs out straight. The count is repeated twice. 2. Legs stretched apart stretching left and right. The count is repeated twice on each side. Alternate sides between sets starting on the left. 3. Legs stretched apart bending forward. The count is repeated twice. 4. Hold feet together, bending forward. The count is repeated twice. 5. Seiza position, laying backwards. Stretch left, right and centre. Hold in each stretch for about 5 seconds. No counting used. Keep breathing at a slow gentle pace. 6. Rolling backwards (Ushiro Ukemi Waza). Count is 1 (Ichi) on the backwards roll and 2 (Ni) on the forward roll. Rolling back and returning to sitting is repeated 4 times, rolling back and returning to standing is repeated 4 times. From: Aikido: Student Guide Australian Aikido Ki Society (AAKS) 1st Ed, January 2010 By Tony Deckers Northside Bookbinding - Burpengary

19.01.2022 Cultivate a kinesthetic intelligence, nuance observation. It takes deliberate focused awareness to observe things past the superficial. Observe what is not see...n, the spaces in between, the pressure (or absence) of the hands, the pause/timing/rhythm between movements, the sound/feel of the Gi as we move past our partner. Is there a push or an uprooting and displacement? Is there a pull or a extended drawing out? Where is the axis of rotation? There is plenty to sense/observe/study beyond the very obvious visual. Work on the 'perceiving eye' while 'seeing' nothing.

17.01.2022 To help you with your home practice, this post covers the exercises comprising Aiki Taiso. This Taiso contains many of the Hitori Waza that students will need ...to demonstrate in their gradings. Altogether it contains many of the fundamental movements of our techniques. Improve your Aiki Taiso and you will improve the essence of your technique. There are too many exercises in the Taiso for me to cover in any detail so I’m just going to list them and let them serve as a memory prompt for students who already have some familiarity with them. I’ll seek to flesh out the detail of each exercise in later posts. Aiki Taiso consists of the following exercises: Nikyo Waza Koto O’Roshi Waza Sankyo Waza Tekubi Shindo Waza (No picture is provided for this exercise. Stand in Shizentai, bounce your one-point rapidly up and down. Keep your feet on the ground and only allow your heals to lightly touch the ground. Shake your finger tips rapidly as if shaking water off them. Slow down by half every 10 seconds until the movement becomes imperceptible.) Funakogi Waza Ikkyo Waza Zengo Waza Happo Waza Kaho Tekubi Kosa Waza Joho Tekubi Kosa Waza Sayu Waza Sayu Choyaku Waza Udefuri Waza Udefuri Choyaku Waza Zenshin Koshin Waza Ushiro Tekubi-tori Zenshin Waza Ushiro Tekubi-tori Koshin Waza We also typically add Tenkan Waza as well. Happy home training. Images from: Aikido: Student Guide Australian Aikido Ki Society (AAKS) 1st Ed, January 2010 By Tony Deckers Northside Bookbinding - Burpengary

17.01.2022 This is Irimi. The quotation continues... "You are not suppose to open your body up widely in an attempt to adapt to your partners movement but rather to gradually turn the hips (tenkan) allowing yourself to continually enter deeper and pass directly through the center of the movement."

13.01.2022 Never to late learn!

12.01.2022 Proper distance!

11.01.2022 Ever tried to explain the benefits of Aikido and wished for a collection of articles and stories to help articulate them? Well somebody put that together.

10.01.2022 Next Tuesday night will be the February Ki class. Beginners are always welcome.

10.01.2022 A Reminder About Counting: The last post was on Junan Kenko Taiso and in the coming days I'll post about Tohitsu Taiso and Aiki Taiso. One thing they all have i...n common is counting and when performing these exercises we have a specific method of counting. When performing each repetition of each movement it is impotant to first have a clear intention. Each repetition will be an expression of your intent (or lack thereof; yes, we're watching). Visualising the movement can help. Then we signal our intention vocally by counting. Only after the vocalisation do we actually express our intent by performing the movement. I remember this process as: mind voice body Or: intention expression action This shouldn't be a stilted process. The mind definitely leads the voice and the voice definitely leads the movement, but they do blend together. The count is made as soon as the decision to move is reached and the movement starts as soon as the voice has begun the count. To correctly apply the process means that you are aware of what you are doing and actively controlling yourself. It makes every repetition a small act of will power, a small act of self control, a small act of mindfulness. This is habit forming. It's very common to run through the Taiso as a kind of mindless routine at the start of class. That is wasted opportunity. Everyone can perform these movements for the first few repetitions, but will you still be properly following the process on the 40th or 400th repetition? By mindfully applying this process on every repetition you will build a habit and eventually find that it's very easy to be present for every movement in the Taiso. We look for students applying this process when demonstrating Hitori waza in gradings. Home practice is an excellent opportunity to perfect this process so if you're working on the Taiso remember how we count. Happy home training :-)

08.01.2022 An example of aikido - on and off the mat: When we do Aiki techniques on the mat, we physically blend and align so there is little or no resistance. The physica...l movement adjusts and is effortless. In conversation, when we mutually connect, respect, and are open to each other there should be little or no resistance. The conversation flows, adapts, and feels effortless. On the mat, technique reveals an exchange of energy that manifests a physically harmony that is productive, for both Uke and nage - if we 'allow' instead of 'force'. In conversation, there is an exchange of energy that can be forthcoming and revealing, if we mutually 'listen' whole heartedly instead of 'dictating' or 'dominating' the interaction. When pinning with Aiki technique, notice the difference between causing submission to pain or controlling and immobilizing the center. In conversation, recall the difference between insisting and monopolizing discussion as opposed to acknowledging, disarming, and mutually deciding to agree or disagree. Differences: One feels 'unsettled', the other, perhaps more 'satisfying' Which is preferred, and which is more healthy internally for the body? The body informs through feeling. This is the door to a wisdom that often dismissed. Have the awareness to consciously allow all interaction (on and off the mat) to maintain a harmony and energetic balance -even when we disagree.

08.01.2022 "What I’m suggesting is that using the metaphors of war in this pandemic is also infectious. Stories infect our nervous system; narratives infect our spirits. ... The metaphorical virus of violence may be what brought us here in the first place. When we take the shape of aggression and violence we are predisposed to fear, anxiety, and panic. To make the blend doesn’t mean we don’t heal and cure and find a solution for ourselves; it doesn’t mean we capitulate or give up our position; it doesn’t mean we can’t fight for what we care about. It means we recognize our interconnectedness with life and choose a path that is an affirmation of life. We’re able to see past our deeply conditioned strategies for survival, to see beyond our lifetime and into the future of our children and grandchildren." - -. : bit.ly/StrozziBlendnotWar

06.01.2022 Correct distancing - keeping you alive since the invention of the sword.

06.01.2022 The Art of War is Actually a Manual on How to Avoid It : on Sun Tzu’s oft misunderstood classic ...

01.01.2022 Amazing footage of a great teacher.