Aiki Institute Of Spokane

Half way to the north pole felt like home

By Curtis Ross Roshinkan dojo

(Editor’s note; Chewelah Peak is located at 49 degrees North Latitude roughly half of the North Pole’s 90 degrees North Latitude.)

Over the weekend of August 11^th through the 14^th, something amazing happened. History was made as the Aikido World Alliance held it’s first ever camp in the Northwest. Aikidoka from across the nation convened on Chewelah Peak for four days of training that was steeped in pine trees, cooled by mountain breezes and sweetened by a rising full moon. That’s one tasty cup of tea!

This camp was different from any seminar I have experienced. From the moment you arrived at the Chewelah Peak Learning Center, to the time you left it in your rear-view mirror, everyone was together. We trained together, ate meals together, celebrated together and slept (separately) together. The facility provided meals for us which we all sat and enjoyed as a family would, with tables sharing jokes and stories with other tables. The dormitories on site provided beds and showers to rest and recharge for the next session, or if you liked (as I did), tent camping was available as an option as well. All that aside, how many seminars have you been to where the first thing you see when you walk through the door is a giant- and I mean GIANT- moose head welcoming you to the event? Or had the opportunity to walk outside the door and take a trail through the trees that have thimble berries and huckleberries growing all around? And yes, multiple brown bear sightings…..

The training I received was incredible. One session on those mats and the city was beat right out of me, and good riddance! Andrew Sato Sensei is one of my favorite instructors as he brings humor to his sessions while also freely giving of the knowledge he has gained over his years of training. His patience and understanding make it easy to speak up if you don’t understand the subtleties of a technique. Plus he really lays into the kids, which is fun to see the looks on their faces as he gives them an express ticket to mat-ville.

I learned from the other students there as well. The opportunity to train with people I didn’t know helped me to focus more on the most basic of body movements because, let’s face it, no one wants to look silly in front of a stranger. The opportunity to do weapons training outside in the morning sun was a new experience that I wish I could do more often. The sound of kiai’s in a forest was one I won’t soon forget. If I’m not mistaken I thought I could hear O Sensei’s laughter in the echoes- hopefully laughing with us, not at us. There was a nurturing nature to the entire event- from Sensei’s down to 7^th kyu- we were all looking out for each other and there to help in any way we could. I made some new friends over the weekend and felt much closer to the ones I already had by the time it was finished.

Saturday night was something so special that if you weren’t there, I can’t describe accurately enough for you to understand. It’s a tradition for us at Roshinkan dojo to host the Saturday dinner. Michael Landry, brother of legendary James Landry Sensei, barbeques for us and the rest of the students make the side dishes. Michael has earned the title of “chef-sei” as his barbeque is as delicious as Sato Sensei’s yonkyo is painful. Those who have experienced both will understand.

The true definition of Aikido was laid bare after the dinner on Saturday. We celebrated James Landry Sensei’s 25^th year of training with cake, hachimaki’s, a video of Sensei’s moments in time and people sharing personal experiences. It was touching to hear how my Sensei has affected so many and on such a powerful level and proved to me that Aikido isn’t about “doing in an opponent” or using force to accomplish anything. Aikido is about love, respect and caring for people and nature. I can’t and won’t try to describe that Saturday night beyond saying that it was moving and powerful. If you were there I’m sure you felt it too.

Sunday’s class was painful. Not just because it was “breakfall Sunday”, a tradition that didn’t need to be started some time ago (but was, so there you go), I think it was more of the feeling that we all knew it was almost over. Our time together was winding down and it was time to get back to the unreal world. The real world was the past time we had been together and grew together on that mountain top. All the hard work of preparing for the camp was paid off by the smiles and laughter of all who attended and the constant expressions of “wow, that was a really great weekend”! Personally, I learned a lot about moving, staying centered and taking care of my uke. I think I learned more about people and community and functioning as a small part of a bigger whole; about being part of a family.

OFF THE MAT

By: Linda Pesola

 On our drive to the Northwest Summer Camp in Chewelah, WA, after a whirlwind 10 days of sightseeing in and around Seattle, taking in the serene and beautiful waters of the San Juan Islands, the breathtaking Oregon coast, the majestic mountains and awe-inspiring waterfalls along the Columbia River Gorge, and our newest planned retirement destination, Portland, OR, my husband Dominick and I talked about Aikido. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not like he doesn’t talk to me about Aikido all the time. He does. And I listen. I know some of the names for some of the techniques, mostly from typing up the Children’s Kyu Test Requirements for Roswell Budokan’s Kid’s program. My personal favorite is Shomenuchi Iriminage – don’t know what that one means but I like to say it 3 times real fast. I know Sankyo hurts and having good Ukemi is important. I can count in Japanese; Eech, Nee, something… But, I don’t practice Aikido – on the mat.

The thing is, somehow, after years of Dominick’s Aikido training and our involvement with Roswell Budokan, after countless dojo-events and seminar dinners, after meeting and becoming acquainted with the diverse and fascinating network of individuals who have come together to make Aikido a part of their life, some of whom have become our closest and dearest friends, but especially and more to the point, after this recent visit to the Northwest Summer Camp hosted by Roshinkan Dojo, Spokane, WA and led by the inimitable Sato Sensei, I think maybe I am beginning to absorb some of the essence of Aikido. Osmosis or something. And I’m beginning to understand what it means to practice Aikido off the mat. And I do need practice. Don’t we all. The principles of Aikido are not natural to me. No one who knows me would say that my way is the way of peace. Try as I might, I have a hard time blending. And I think I look fat if I move leading from my center.

 I had never been to an Aikido seminar (excluding regular attendance at the Saturday seminar-dinners at our home dojo here in Georgia – I help with the prep and the clean-up, but mostly I show up for the food and company). What would I do while you all were doing your Aikido thing, I asked my husband? Is there a pool? A movie theatre nearby? On our way there, I fully expected to finish the 3^rd and possibly the 4^th book in George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series. We arrived on Thursday, tired, stressed and just a tad late (that never happens). While Dominick rushed to the mat, I began my exploration. I noted a quiet little room with a fireplace and comfortable reading chairs in the next building, just perfect to while away the hours reading those books I lugged all the way from home, but first, I thought, I’ll just take a little walk. Get a little fresh air. The first thing I noticed were the tents pitched in the grassy field behind the dormitory building, next to the volleyball net. Now, I don’t camp (Dom and I stayed at a lovely, immaculate little motel in town, about 15 minutes down the mountain) and I don’t share a bathroom, not even with Dom. But several people did camp under the stars and the facilities and dormitory space were convenient, spacious, clean and I’m told, very comfortable. I continued to walk, found the hiking trails, the outdoor amphitheatre hidden back in the woods, several suspicious looking poles with spikes driven into them and, inexplicably, a small row boat in the middle of a sandy plot of tree stumps. The next day, after Dom hurried to the field where outdoor morning class was about to commence and I was “greeted” and duly chastised by Sato Sensei for being late-ish (he actually used a bull-horn!), I sat down to begin to read on the warm stone front steps beautifully inlaid with impressions of leaves and pine cones, and looked up to see a hummingbird (or maybe it was a dragon-fly – they’re huge out there), right in front of my face, doing that hummingbird hover-craft thing that hummingbirds do, staring at me. I took it as a sign and went for a walk. Later, Bill, the general manager of the Chewelah Peak Learning Center generously spent some time with a group of us and took us through part of the challenge course utilized by the dedicated team-builders of the center and I’m proud to say my team and I found our way into that boat! I continued my exploration that day and the next. I walked. I relaxed. I learned how to play Pandemic (thank you my friend London of Roshinkan dojo for reading the 78 pages of instructions and then telling me what to do so I didn’t single-handedly wipe out the world’s population). I walked some more. I looked for huckleberries (Bill had to find them for me). I looked for the stream that supposedly ran just a ways down the trail that led out from behind the tents (found a beautiful field full of wildflowers (note to self: wildflowers=bees and they’ll leave you alone if you stop flailing) but no stream). I looked for bears (I heard that Landry Sensei saw one that morning…didn’t see a bear but found some wild turkeys or pheasants or some kind of big fluttery birds, in the woods). I visited with Landry Sensei’s brother and sister-in-law, while they worked furiously from 9am that morning and throughout the day to prepare the evening’s BBQ feast. I walked and walked, never finding what I was looking for but always finding something.

 The last night we were there, not at all eager to go home, as I sat on the stone wall outside the mat-space soaking up the last rays of sun as it set over the mountain and the last bit of my Redrum cocktail, sated after 2 plates of mouth-watering BBQ and some of Roque Sensei’s homemade elk summer sausage (he shot that elk!), and chatting with new friends and some old ones, I realized something. I blend. I am at peace. I have found my center. Is this Aikido?

 I was honored to have Sato Sensei ask me to share my thoughts on this experience. And word to Sensei: I just might dig out my gi (yes I own one) and practice some Aikido on the mat at next year’s NW Experience. Off the mat or on, I will be there for it.

NORTHWEST SUMMER CAMP

By: Dominick Pesola

 First off, I must propose that Northwest Summer Camp be renamed THE NW EXPERIENCE. My personal experience felt like a four day family reunion even though I had only met a handful of the participants before we arrived. The NW Experience was held at a mountain retreat about an hour from Spokane. Everything we wanted, or needed, was there: A terrific, airy indoor training space; an outdoor training area on a mountain meadow shared with tents; comfortable dormitories with private and semi-private rooms; a library, and hammocks, along with volleyball, hiking trails and nature galore – campfires, stars, a full moon, wildlife and wifi; even our own personal cook, utilizing the commercial kitchen to provide healthy meals in the dining area right next to the mat.

Roshinkan has a well-deserved reputation for being great hosts and their first Chewelah Peak camp raised the volume to 11. Landry Sensei fosters a feeling of acceptance and community second only to Sensei. Grasshopper has learned his lessons well. And Mary! What about Mary?! Well, she can bring it: contests, prizes, perfectly timed meals, seamless everything, nursing, sistering, mothering, directing it all with a smile. Don’t think Mary is perfect, she did leave out the humidity, noise and stress. They pick you up at the airport and bring you back – 96 hours, completely relaxed, immersed in friendship and Aikido.

 I have been lucky enough to attend 20 seminars in the last two years and dozens more before that including 3 day seminars in small dojos and big cities, 4 day camps and even longer ‘geikos. I have thoroughly enjoyed every one, and each had its own welcoming character and warm embrace thanks to Sato Sensei’s example, the hard work and planning of the various hosts and the open minds and spirit of harmony aikidoka seek and simultaneously inject into the proceedings. We visit these islands of Aikido in the sea of our daily lives. The NW Experience in the high desert of Washington State was an aikido oasis. Warm, dry and quiet, it had it all – 4 days with Sato Sensei, superior hosts and a venue like no other.

 We all attend seminars to immerse ourselves in training. Whether traveling or attending at our home dojo the facts of life provide circumstances where immersion is interrupted by separation from each other – walking or driving to lunch, or dinner or the place we’ll sleep each night only to head back for another session, bowing in to re-establish our current community practicing the art of peace, piece by piece. The NW Experience replaced the physical separations and mental interruptions with the vibe of a tribe that enhanced the spiritual. We took all of our meals together, in sight of and within 10 yards of the mat. Most of the participants stayed on the mountain, in dorms, in tents or under the stars. For 4 days we trained together, we ate together, we slept together and we showered each other with respect and ukemi.

 Practicing The Way Of Harmony With Spirit at Chewelah Peak the NW Experience infused us with an overflowing spirit of harmony. One of the principles of Aikido is to relax completely and Sensei didn’t have to utter that once – from arrival to departure being relaxed was our group and individual status every moment. On top of the mountain with the world below, we kept our weight underside. The dry summer air extended our ki while the connection on the peak was our one-point. Blended together, connected with nature. The NW Experience presented a community of unity, naturally.

How did you celebrate Cinco de Mayo?  If you are a member of Roshinkan dojo you were likely splitting fire wood and stacking a winter’s worth of warmth.  Oh and we ate tamales.  Boy did we eat tamales.

Thanks to all who came out and helped.

All Stacked

Nice Day

Lunch is Served

When I go running I hate hills.  Even the littlest hill makes me strain. This is certainly an affect of my mindset, thinking that it will be hard or more difficult makes it harder.  However a long flat distance seems much easier.  Even after a recent hiatus from running I was able to go out for my first run and cover a distance just under 2 miles.  (I know this doesn’t seem like a long run to most people but for me, 2 miles took some training)

This long flat distance is like a plateau.  Because it continues on in the same way, I can continue on doing the same thing.  This accomplishes something.  It allows me to cover the distance I want to cover without distraction.  I become familiar with my route and can excel at running it without injury.  I know what I’m doing, I know that I am able to do it, I know how far I have run.  My belief in my ability to run increases and I can increase my distance.  In the long run (pun intended) this plateau allows me to increase my health, my self-esteem.

Living in Spokane means I can’t plateau for long.  Downtown Spokane is a valley with a river running through it creating tumultuous though beautiful terrain.  This valley has a hill both north and south.  Eventually I have to run up a hill.  No more plateaus for me. It’s difficult, I have to change my timing.  It’s uncomfortable, my breathing changes and this is often the time my knee or ankle will hurt-as if the hill wasn’t punishment enough.

Of course this accomplishes something.  It causes me to bring my focus back to my stride, my breathing and my body.  It challenges me and increases my understanding of my own endurance.  It makes my breath control better and makes the flat area seem more inviting when it might otherwise seem boring.  It also means I run down a hill, eventually.

From my house there is a hill in every direction – literally.  No matter what direction I choose I have to run up a hill on my way out and run up a hill on my loop back without exception.  This has forced me to leave my plateau.

We plateau in our Aikido training all the time.  This is the time it is most important to come to class.  To face the repetition, face the challenge, some days even the most basic technique may seem a challenge.  But without the plateau to increase my self-esteem I’ll never be prepared for the hills or challenges related to training.  A lot of students get frustrated at this time “plateauing.”  It’s hard (just like running) but I need to remember this is a time to practice without distractions and avoid injuries.

No matter what Aikido class I go to there is a Sensei there – no exceptions.  Senseis are just like hills.  They force you to come back to the basics, regain your focus, concentrate on your breathing,  your stance, build your endurance.  They are challenging you-forcing you to change your timing, to struggle.  It’s uncomfortable, sometimes Sensei yells at me to bring my mind and focus back, I might even feel embarrassed.  But after all that’s what hills are about, increasing my understanding of my own endurance.

We all have something to overcome whether it be a struggle in our personal lives, an Aikido test we’re preparing for or a physical challenge of our own.  The time on the plateau is what gets us ready but the hills are what will get us through these challenges.  Now of course this means that to be prepared I have to run up the hills, not run away.  I have to meet my Sensei’s challenges not brush them off or avoid them.  So just keep training; plateau or hill they both accomplish something.

It is Spring Fling Time!!

April 5 – 7, 2013

This years instructor will be Monell sensei!

Join us for our annual spring gathering.  Shrug off winter and jump start your spring with spirited training.  Register early to help us prepare.  Pot luck dinner Saturday night at 7:00pm!

Here is the registration form.

Spring Fling 2013 Monell sensei

The Dojo will be closed December 24, 25, 26 for Christmas.  We will also be closed January 1, 2013.

Dojo cleaning will be December 31, 2012.

Join in to help in the year end cleaning of your training space from 4pm -7pm.  Afterwards enjoy your community with a potluck snack and conversation.

Kagami Biraki January 12, 2013

AIKITOTS

Aikido for 4 and 5 year olds.
Tuesday 4:30pm – 5:00pm
Saturday 9:30am – 10:00am

Plus we now have kids class 6 days a week!

Check out the new schedule

Aikido Open House

at Roshinkan Dojo

February 25th
10:00 –-12:00
at
2209 N. Monroe

Ever heard of Aikido?
Want to try a class?  Want to watch a class?  Want to enroll your child in a healthy physical activity that teaches compassion and discipline?

Free Introductory Class
10:30 –-11:30
ages 6 and up

Japanese snacks and hot tea will be served
Questions?  Contact the dojo at aiki@aikispokane.com or call 325-7348.

Join us for Our Traditional New

Year’s Celebration

Saturday December 31 Starting at  4 PM

We start by cleaning and doing maintenance in the
dojo.
Sweep away the dust and accumulated debris of the
past year. Prepare to enter into the new year light,
clean, and with fresh energy.

7 pm -10 pm

Training. Three hours of training to celebrate the
healing nature of Aikido, and to explore the creative
growth of the Art of Peace in each of us.

10 pm

We will enjoy a potluck meal. Share in the community
that is our dojo.
As the past year slips into the New Year we will take
part in a traditional Zen meditation and ceremony, to
finally clear out our personal debris and welcome the
new year in with a fresh and open spirit.

All students and their families are welcome!