Water's Edge Aikikai

We had a great class tonight with two visiting instructors. Ed Shockley (Aikikai of Philadelphia) taught us techniques following the style of Henry Smith, and Steve Pisocki (Diamond State Aikido) taught a variety of Donovan style techniques. We had a great class!

Kagami Biraki.

Our theme was "Heaven and Earth." Practice included warmups, stretches, throws, and 800 cuts, alternating to mimic, in microcosm, how life, over a year, doesn't give us experiences nearly in order.

Happy 2026 from Water's Edge Aikikai!

Yoshio Kuroiwa: Koshi Nague -variations

We've moved!!!

Hey, everyone. We are relocated back to Goals Baltimore, to a spacious area upstairs in the rear building (6159-C). We hope to get back to more consistent practice times (pre-pandemic) but for now, the schedule is the same.

See you locals on Monday!

Congratulations to two people within the Aikido world who matter to me on their recent promotions at the International Aikido Federation Kagami Biraki.

Clyde Takeguchi was promoted to 8th dnn.
Laura Jacobs Pavlik was promoted to 7th dan.

You guys are both a great source of inspiration and learning to me, and it was delightful to see you on the list.

Congratulations!

And to anyone whose name I missed on the long, long list - well done!

- Meg

Today we had a class that started out working on ikkyo, but ended up about intent. I may be contemplating the concept we wrapped with for a long time.

It goes something like this:
Everyone has a range of intensity and ability, which comes from their background, personality, and skill level. A range of "volume." Call it 0-10.

We practice with our friends and engage at a congenial level which is unlikely to ever be our 10 (because 10 is what you use when your life is in danger). Let's say our normal practice is probably between 3-7.

My level 5 may be the same as a junior person's 7. My 7 is the same as a shihan's 4.

If we never figure out where our 10 is, we might think our 7 is our 10. In that case, our relaxed practice will lower to maybe 5 as the peak practice level. But sometimes we must practice at 7, 8, or 9. We have to know where that is and how to do it, or we can't claim that volume.

If we don't, when we go to a seminar or have a visitor or do a demo, we try to ratchet it up to 7 or 8 or whatever lies beyond our regular practice. It is important to keep that upper range in the set of honed skills, or someone will get hurt, because those higher intensities require higher control.

When we work with a weapon, our level is immediately set at our top intensity. The range is much narrower, perhaps equal to 8-10 of our normal range. Reasons? Maybe because we are attacking. Maybe because we have a sword, instead of an uke. But the focus and intent are narrower and less varied.

If you use the bokken technique to find and remember where your peak volume lies, it will help you to maintain your "sweet spot" during daily amicable practice, and to keep the upper range honed, too.

Knowing your range is part of a series we've been working on related to self-honesty in technique as a way to guide self-improvement.