Mid-Florida Aikido

Preparations have begun! We can't wait to see everyone in a couple of months. Rooms are going to book fast so get yours now! https://floridaaikikai.com/newest/2024/08/29/florida-winter-camp/

Interview with New York Aikikai Chief Instructor Steve Pimsler: Yoshimitsu Yamada and the Future of Aikido Steve Pimsler first came to New York Aikikai to help improve his stunt skills. What he found, after taking a class with Yoshimitsu Yamada, was something that felt like it fit him perfectly. As time…

This past weekend Mike Abrams, 8th Dan, received his certificate from Hombu Dojo. Harvey brought it back from Japan and after class on Saturday Steve Sensei presented it to Mike with thunderous applause from the peanut gallery. We are so proud of you Mike!

Welcome back for another seminar September 16-17 in Montreal ADLM with Peter Bernath Shihan, 7th Dan; from Florida aikikai! For more information, please see the following link:

https://aikidodelamontagne.ca/aikido-seminar-septembre-16-17-2023/

Bienvenue pour un autre séminaire les 16 et 17 septembre à Montréal ADLM avec Peter Bernath Shihan, 7th Dan ; de Florida aikikai! Pour plus d'information, veuillez consulter le lien suivant :

https://aikidodelamontagne.ca/aikido-seminar-septembre-16-17-2023/

Summer Camp Updates Summer Camp is quickly approaching, and deadlines are just around the corner. Please remember that the deadline to book your hotel room at the USAF discounted rate is June 18th, and the USAF room block is almost sold out! Here is the tentative camp schedule, highlighting the classes taught by the US...

Remember to follow the USAF Summer Camp page, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057477646989 new info has been posted!

Save the Date! 2023 USAF Yamada Sensei Memorial Camp! with special guest instructor, Hayato Osawa Shihan, Aikikai Hombu Dojo

Save the Date for USAF Summer Camp 2023

Aiki Dojo Message - Test Your Mettle

A good martial artist is always looking to test their mettle or kigai (氣概). Interestingly, the kanji for kigai translates as “condition of one’s energy.” One’s mettle is “their ability to cope well with difficulties or to face a demanding situation in a spirited and resilient way.” Thus, if the condition of our ki is strong, then our mettle or ability to handle difficult situations would also be strong. In order to test our mettle, we must face adversaries who are kotekishu (好敵手) or are “worthy opponents.” The reason that we choose someone who is a worthy opponent or someone of superior ability is because in the martial arts, we aiteshidai (相手次第) or “we determine our attitude according to our opponent.” If our opponent is shoteki (少敵) or a “weak opponent,” then they won’t bring out the best in us. In sumo, sumo wrestlers are supposed to kokyu wo awaseru (呼吸を合わせる) or “synchronize their breathing with their opponent’s prior to the start of a match.” On the surface, they synchronize their breathing for timing reasons. In a deeper sense, there is this idea that a person of greater or equal strength breathes differently than a person of lesser skill. Therefore, the synchronization of breathing becomes a metaphor meant to mean that a stronger opponent behaves differently and, theoretically, breathes differently and thus by synchronizing with a superior opponent, we become greater as a result because they bring out the greatness in us. In the west, we say “iron sharpens iron.” The Japanese equivalent is sessatakuma (切磋琢磨) which means “to improve by mutual encouragement.” The best martial artists know that the stronger they are, the more difficult opponents they will have to face. It seems unfair, but this truism seems like one of the unfortunate laws of the universe. Thus, the sum of our obstacles will always be greater or equal to our own prowess. This gives us the opportunity to rise to the level of our challenge. That is why the best always want to oomonogui (大物食い) or “defeat a superior opponent.” In battle and in life, we don’t get to choose our opponent and so we must always be ready. That is why a good martial artist is always supposed to assume that their opponent is of equal or greater skill. This assumption enables them to never be caught off guard and it also enables them to be ready to rise to the occasion. For most of us, our greatest opponent, battle, or adversity has yet to be revealed. When it does come, we won’t know if we will rise to the occasion or be crushed by the weight. That is why to get a better sense, a martial artist is always seeking out greater opponents or challenges to test their mettle.

Today’s goal: In everything you do, don’t take the easy route - challenge yourself.

This post appears in a slightly different form @ www.aikidocenterla.com/blog

Terasaki Budokan - Little Tokyo Service Center

Aiki Dojo Message - Words Have Power

“Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.”
- Lao Tzu

A good martial artist understands words have power. Some ancient Japanese people believed in a concept called kotodama (言霊) or “the mysterious power of words to alter reality.” Furuya Sensei defined kotodama as “word spirit.” I am not an expert on kotodama and this is not a discussion on kotodama, but what I do know is that words have power. Words have potentiality and intentionality and according to an article on icytales.com, “Words are the most potent weapons available to human beings. An individual can choose how to use it, either positively or negatively. Words possess an energy that can heal, help, hurt, or destroy.” In Japanese, they say, bushi ni nigon wa nai (武士に二言は無い) or “A warrior does not have a double tongue.” This is supposed to mean that a person who follows the way of the samurai does not engage in duplicity or acts deceitfully by saying one thing and then doing another. On the surface, this proverb was supposed to mean that a warrior is supposed to live their lives with integrity. Upon deeper reflection, this idea also holds true in how we “speak” to ourselves. What we say to ourselves is much more important than what we say to others. David James Lees said, “Be mindful of your self-talk. It’s a conversation with the universe.” An article on healthline.com, defines self-talk as, “Self-talk is your internal dialogue. It’s influenced by your subconscious mind, and it reveals your thoughts, beliefs, questions, and ideas.” For the most part, self-talk is conditioned behavior. If we don’t know who we are or what we want to say, we are apt to just say anything or repeat the words of others. Largely, the words that we say to ourselves are so subconsciously ingrained that we don’t even hear them anymore - we just feel their effects. In the dojo, we are supposed to be mindful of our behavior. We are supposed to mind the things we say, do and think. The reason why we are supposed to be mindful is because it is the act of being mindful which creates changes in us. For instance, in the martial arts, it is said rei ni hajimari, rei ni owaru (礼に始まり礼に終わる) or “Everything begins and ends with respect.” In the beginning of class we bow and say Onegaishimasu (お願いします) or “please.” At the end of class, we thank all of our training partners. The act of saying please and thank you helps to change our mindsets, and this is one reason why we leave the dojo feeling better than when we came in. This is one way training changes us. We come in self-centered and leave a little less selfish. Ideally, by changing the words we use, we change their charge and thus change how they affect us. The other day, in my daughter’s kindergarten class, the teacher was teaching them the power of “yet.” She said, “Don’t say, ‘I am not good at reading.’ ‘Instead say, I am not good at reading, yet.’” Brilliant! By adding the word “yet” to the end, we change the charge of the sentence and thus change the intentionality. Someone once said, “You can change the course of your life with words.” As a martial artist, we should be mindful of the things we do but more importantly the things we say to ourselves. Farshad Asl said, “Everything you attract into your life is a reflection of the story you believe and keep telling yourself.” The mindfulness we create with our actions, words and thoughts can align us with the universe and that is why a good martial artist understands that words have power.

Today’s goal: “Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.” - Brent Brown

This post appears in a slightly different form @ www.aikidocenterla.com/blog

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One of the leading teachers of Aikido in the US…and a neighbor!