Aikido Kokikai Pittsburgh

The small delegation from Aikido Kokikai Pittsburgh, at Spring Camp—hoping to have a larger group for summer camp. 
I love this photo, with Sensei’s photo on the left, and another sensei’s face peeking out on the right. But I’m not down with the posture of the man on the right. Look at the third principle!

We had testing in February. Congratulations to our two new orange belts (6th kyu), and also to our 5th kyu recipient (not pictured). These new orange belts are making good progress on mae ukemi. Congrats to K on successfully and safely completing her birthday ukemi!

In May we had a visit from a writer and a photographer from CMU's University Communications & Marketing, working on a piece profiling nine faculty who have interesting physical hobbies. Thanks to my department (Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics) for nominating me! The piece came out in September.
I did not have a say in the choice of photos. She took so many, and the ones used (in my opinion) don't capture the spirit of Aikido.
Even if the photos aren't what I would have chosen, I'm honored and pleased to receive this recognition!
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Wjt2us9x3/

In early August, two of us attend the wonderful Aikido Kokikai Federation USA 2025 Summer Camp, in Berlin, NJ. Congratulations to Steve on his well-done test for 1st kyu! He showed the excellent progress he has made since his last test. Keep up the good practice, Steve! And special thanks to all the instructors, examiners, and ukes!

THERE IS POWER AT THE DOJO! That means we have class tonight, Thursday, May 1, 2025. Hooray!

I think I notified everyone individually. Class was canceled due to storm-induced power outage at and around the dojo. Traffic lights out and trees down all over Regent Square and Squirrel Hill. I hope everyone is safe.

We had a great time practicing and growing at the 2025 AKFUSA Spring Camp, in Berlin Borough, NJ, last weekend. We came home with a "road map" to continue to "improve our quality," as Sensei would say. Thanks to Garden State Aikido Kokikai and the AKFUSA for this wonderful opportunity!

It’s been a while since we’ve taken photos during practice. Mostly tanto tori, with a little empty hand kokyunage.
Happy and grateful to see and feel progress, and glad Shaolin Studios shares their dojo with us!

We’ve had lots of special events lately. Last Tuesday we celebrated Steve’s birthday (67 large forward ukemi + 1 to grow on)—looking good, Steve! Thursday was a fun visit from James from the Wilmington (DE) Aikido Kokikai dojo (tripod broken, hence the selfie stick photos). This Tuesday we will have promotion testing. And I’m still basking in the glow of Fall Camp, hosted by Seattle Aikido Kokikai.
Practice cheerfully, throw intensely, and go home happy!

We're happy to be supported and growing. Thanks to Shaolin Studios for continuing to welcome us in sharing their space. They even made a poster for the front window. We're right next to the Zumba poster. Zumba class is MW, and Aikido is TuTh. Nine people on the mat tonight! 🙂