Akeru Aikido Manchester

Although we only had small class this evening of 3 families and 3 children we still managed to cover quite a large part of the Junior Syllabus.

After our warm up including back and side breakfalls we had a run through of our foot movements and 1-4 of the handblade movements. We also started to learn the footwork for the 5th handblade movement.

We started our kata practice with number 6, before moving on to learn 7 and 8. We looked at using 6 and 8 from a right handed grab and had a go at Iriminage.

To finish off kata practice we learnt a combination of using number 6 and number 12 from basic kata.

We then moved onto Tanto Kakarigeiko before warming down with Tanto Avoidance from 2 attackers.

The children then enjoyed a game of ‘Sensei Tanto Tag’ working together as a Team to get me moving!

Photos for now with videos to follow in a few days

Our next two sessions will be Thursday 11th June and Saturday 27th June.

We should have a guest instructor visiting us on Saturday 27th June.

There will be no session on Saturday 23rd May, sincerest apologies but I am away at Spring Seminar in Whinchester. I will be working on some of my own preparation for 2nd Dan later in the year and learning some new concepts to bring back to families.

We had our monthly Thursday session this evening.

7 families with 8 children and young people attended.

After warming up, we covered backward, side and backwards rolling breakfalls. We covered all the foot movements and 1-4 of the handblade movements looking at how these are based on sword cuts.

We covered Shomen-ate right and left handed and from a right handed grab before finishing with some Tanto Kakarigeiko.

We also had a discussion about self defence, what weapons work is covered in Tomiki Aikido and about competitive practice.

I attended the Open Randori session in Bradford on Saturday and assisted as a corner referee. It was a great event and something I would certainly encourage everyone to attend next year. Special thanks goes to Bradlee Clarkson for organising.

I want to say first of all thank you to the families for your patience whilst I set up. It was much appreciated.

A massive well done to all the children tonight. They all showed great maturity and responsibility accepting some new changes to the session and I’m hoping these will help deepen their understanding and enjoyment of Aikido.

7 Families attended with a total number of 8 children and young people in attendance.

There were a few changes to how the session runs; including lining up in grade order, using some new visuals we will be using to help with communication and using a visual timetable for the session.

After a warm up we built our confidence on backwards and side breakfalls before moving onto looking at how important distance is for basic kata.

We finished the session looking at ‘Weak Line, Strong Line’ to learn how we can use breaking balance to complete a technique.

We used number 6 and number 11 from basic kata to help build on these two principles.

I’m planning using 1-2 techniques from basic kata each session to help explore some of the principles of Tomiki Aikido further.

An interesting read.

Becoming Shodan, is really quite an achievement. The earnest commitment, the discipline to show up, the focused attention required is no easy thing.
We can all acknowledge the hard work.

Still, we may have heard the humbling belief that becoming a ‘black belt’ is actually when we become ‘a serious student’.
In the west we have been insidiously taught to believe that ‘black belt’ means ‘expert’, and because we have achieved this we have essentially “reached the goal”.
Some quit - satisfied or not, some venture forward to practice and achieve success in other martial disciplines, while some might actually choose to stay with their present practice -thinking that the next tier is to teach.

Teaching will, however, reveal gaps in our learning. Students question the how and the why and at times our answers may not satisfy. The ease of technique in one student may not manifest in the less ‘ideal’ uke. Those who stay discover that there are many layers to learning. An open mind glimpses the vast richness of learning achieved by implementing rigorous, knowledge-rich curriculum with a multi-modal approach. We use various visual/kinetic methods to reinforce our understanding, while actively practicing out of our comfort zone for the body experience.

Some of us might actually lean into this discomfort.

We learn, unlearn, and then relearn.
We refine, whittling down technique from occasionally ‘forcing’ to more frequently controlling. We pare down our movement -giving attention to detail. We create sharp lines/edges purposefully or beautifully round circular flow to add a clarity. We manage a deeper kind of blending, harmonizing with the ‘grain’ of our uke, reading and sensing body inclination.
And then we ‘Polish’ the mirror of Self, understanding the body, mind, and spirit.

So for some of us, becoming Shodan revealed yet another immense horizon.
Learning becomes quite infinite.
It becomes embodied into our Being, overflowing into our daily life, presenting itself as more of a lifestyle - if we so choose.

G. Breeland, 6th dan

As discussed at our monthly Saturday session I’ve decided I would like to begin to offer the children chance to win awards.

There will be 3 different awards presented every 3 months starting from April this year.

A certificate and small token prize such as a novelty pen or fidget toy will given to the winners. I will be keeping a record of who has had what so eventually over the next year all the children will win something.

So these will be:

1. A club challenge every quarter (Kaizen prize)

We will use this challenge as a club to improve a certain Aikido skill. The most improved student will be presented with a certificate and small prize as ‘Club Quarter Challenge winner’.

This will be called a ‘Kaizen prize’ as Kaizen in Japanese means continuous improvement.

*Challenge for this quarter: Etiquette and Respect*

2. Nakama prize

This prize will be awarded to the student who has demonstrated good teamwork, perseverance and encouraged others to do their best, championing others to keep going.

3. Toshi (Fighting spirit award)

This prize is for the student who has demonstrated building resilience, shown good leadership and lead by example.

I will be asking families for nominations for this award a couple of weeks beforehand.

You may nominate your child or someone else’s child.

This does not have to be just about Aikido. It can be anything achieved or persevered outside the club too.

Nominations will be read out in the club before the winner is announced.

*These awards will be presented in July with nominations for fighting spirit needed by 27th June please. They can be messaged or emailed over to me*

Pointers towards winning our Quarter Challenge ‘Etiquette and Respect’:

1. Remember to bow in and out of the dojo
2. ⁠Remember to bow on and off the mat
3. ⁠Lining up in grade order at the start and end of a session
4. ⁠Bowing to thank our partners for training.

I will cover all this again on Thursday 9th April and Saturday 25th April so please don’t worry if you’ve missed this evening.

The idea of the quarter challenge is about personal development and helping us work together as a club to improve.

Another busy session this evening with 6 families with a total number of 8 children attending

First of all congratulations are in order for SW and JW for passing their first grading and being promoted to White 1 Yellow Mon.

After warming up including Ukemi we looked at Oshi Taioshi to explore the principles of Aikido with emphasis on distance and movement.

We learnt Oshi Taioshi from open hand, shomen attack, Tanto attack and explored how we could use Oshi Taioshi against a bokken attack. By using the bokken we were able to appreciate the importance of moment and correct distance.

Congratulations are in order first of all to the following for their recent promotions:

*LG promotion to White 1 Orange Mon
*TC promotion to White 1 Orange Mon
*F-TP promotion to White 1 Orange Mon

A slightly higher technical level tonight for the children looking at elements from both the standing and Tanto sections of the Dai San.

Whilst the Dai San is an advanced kata examined primarily as 1st Dan, it is essential that Kyu grades start to learn Koyru katas like the Dai San to build on their expanding Aikido knowledge.

We finished off our session looking at the importance of distance in kata using two Tantos to teach and embed distance, avoidance and situational awareness.