Center for Aikido Study - Joshinkan Dojo

A few points regarding ‘learning’ …

Be discipline and committed, show up even when we may not want to.
Remember what appears effortless is not always that easy, it usually entails a lot of work.

Note that discomfort is an intregal part of learning.
Growth often entails working outside of our comfort zone.
Remember that correction can provide essential information.
And that criticism will test our fortitude to continue.

Contribute consistently to our own personal study.
Remember that choosing to be precise and consciously aware changes things.
Know that there is magic in the details.

Keep standards high.
Remain fluid and adaptable.
Become aware that evolution is also part of the process.
The ability to change helps us remain flexible, open and versatile, become contextually rich.

Lastly, nurture a ‘silent’ intellectual and physical engagement to reveal a Power in Stillness for self-reflection, awareness, and focus.

G. Breeland, 6th dan

El 🗓️ 1, 2 y 3 de mayo, varios aldeanos junto a otros practicantes de 🥋 Aikido se presentarán a examen para obtener el grado de Shodan (1º cinturón negro) y Nidan (2º cinturón negro), en el 🌍 Seminario Internacional que se celebrará en nuestro municipio.
El tribunal estará compuesto por maestros procedentes de 🇧🇪 Bélgica, 🇺🇸 Estados Unidos y 🇪🇸 España.

Este hecho ya es importante por sí mismo, pero cobra un valor aún mayor al conocer su historia: comenzaron a practicar Aikido con tan solo 👦👧 5 años, en los barracones del colegio 🏫.

Son un ejemplo de que la 💪 constancia, la 🤝 fidelidad al camino elegido y la capacidad de 🚶‍♂️ no rendirse, incluso frente a las dificultades 🌧️, son claves en cualquier proceso de crecimiento.
Valores que, aunque hoy en día parecen estar en desuso, siguen siendo fundamentales para 🎯 alcanzar cualquier objetivo en la vida.

Todo ello sin olvidar el papel imprescindible del ❤️ apoyo de sus familias y de las instituciones 🏛️, que han acompañado este recorrido desde el inicio.

👉 ¡Os esperamos a todos en estas fechas para acompañarles en este momento tan importante! 🙌

Seminar continues today (Saturday) with sessions from 10:30am-12:30pm and 2-5pm. Come on out!

What do you get when you have two rokkudans, two godans, and two yondans in a class? Just another Sunday class it seems. Oh, I mustn’t forget our new shodan Lea. 😬

Please join us! Everyone welcome!!

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

Congratulations to Katie and Daniel on a great pair of 2nd kyu tests! Now we have brown belts again!

Here’s a short clip from this year’s kangeiko with Nakayama sensei.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWACnOrjqo3/?igsh=c2d6b2h3b3drYnQ2

James Nakayama Sensei, Western Regional Shibucho, nanadan Aikikai, demonstrating sokumen iriminage at the Kangeiko Seminar at Tenshinkan Dojo. #aikido #japaneseculture #aikidoassociation #japaneseculturecenter #budo