Aiki Institute Of Spokane

This year we are excited to be hosting DeGraff sensei as she returns to the Northwest for the annual Fringe Dojo Association SPRING FLING!  Be sure to set aside the weekend of March 30 – April 1, 2012 so that you can join us at Roshinkan dojo.

I know what you’re thinking moving across country alone to a city I didn’t know or going to Japan without knowing any Japanese (except Aikido Japanese) should prepare anyone to go to a simple Aikido seminar, but you’d be wrong. Getting on the plane Wednesday morning to head to Chicago for Kangeiko was nerve wracking. I was worried I wouldn’t make my flight, worried I would mess up on my ukemi when Sensei called me up to demonstrate, worried I wouldn’t be able to find my way in a place I had never been before… let’s just say I was nervous.

Kangeiko 2012 marked my first “alone trip” to a seminar. Landry Sensei and I had talked about me going alone as a good way to express my serious intention to test for shodan later this year and also as the next step in my development as an Aikido student. In theory this sounded great but, standing outside Midway Airport eight hours after I boarded my plane, this sounded stupid. The skyline was foreign, the city looked huge and everyone was honking (there were people directing traffic outside the airport!). I wanted my Sensei or a dojo mate standing next to me, what was I thinking coming alone.

Landing Wednesday gave me 24 hours on the ground in Chicago before Kangeiko began and I suggest this tactic to anyone travelling for a seminar. I got to visit Navy Pier, eat Garrett’s Popcorn and ride CTA (public transit) all before heading to the dojo on Thursday. Chicago for those of you wondering was cleaner than I expected, beautiful with a sense of history not found in Spokane and full of people talking on phones/texting on phones/playing corporate scavenger hunts with their phones/hey tagging with phones (whatever that was) and generally being focused on their personal technology devices. In other words the scenery was beautiful and there was excellent people watching.

As always Sato Sensei and DeGraff Sensei made sure I was well cared for (arranging a ride from the airport even if it was Midway grumble grumble) and welcoming me with smiles, hugs and jokes when I arrived to the dojo on Thursday. The training was, of course, excellent. We worked mostly in groups which gave me a lot of opportunity to ask for help when I needed, introduce myself to people I didn’t know (which was almost everyone) and ask absolutely everyone to come to Northwest Summer Camp (the first weekend of August in case you didn’t know) but still made me break a sweat and focus on taking good ukemi and performing technique just as Sensei had shown it.

I’ll be honest I was most worried about all the breaks between training on Friday and Saturday, wondering what I would do with my time. I’m an avid reader usually reading a book or two a week and had armed myself with my defense-mechanism before leaving Spokane. I’m proud to report I read 20 pages the entire four days. Everyone wanted to hang out. We shared stories about Price Sensei’s police work, Dom’s beautiful bronze dog, Wolverine’s research into self-defense classes and aggression levels – in short we shared ourselves with each other. We went to the Golden Angel, the Potbelly, the Starbucks; we went just about anywhere in walking distance, and we went together. No one was left out (my secret fear), everyone was valued and had something to share from their experiences in life and Aikido.

The training was diverse. There were entries I had never seen before into techniques I knew well and familiar entries into techniques done a new way. We did interesting weapons work defending against two attackers (armed and unarmed) that heightened our awareness and really brought out the skills needed for randori. We did slow technique using them to stretch one another and I saw partners working together on sore muscles and aching joints to get the most out of this time. It was wonderful.

I travelled to Kangeiko alone to build relationships with people through Aikido on and off the mat without my support system to fall back on and accomplished my goal. I travelled to Kangeiko alone to show my dedication to training in the art that binds us together and strengthens these relationships. I woke up Saturday with sore muscles from laughing and woke up Sunday sad to go to the last session. I asked Sensei for an afternoon training session but he said he had an appointment with St. Mattress (I didn’t see that church when I googled it in Chicago but Sensei wouldn’t lie). So I travelled alone and it was scary but I found out I could make it through all 18 hours of Aikido without being able to ask my sensei for help and was reassured with the kindness and companionship of my fellow aikidoka and delicious cupcakes from Molly’s. So I suggest you travel alone and go to a seminar. You’ll discover a lot about yourself and your Aikido abilities and learn a lot about other people you wouldn’t learn with a group of your dojo mates or your sensei to fall back on.

I also suggest you come to Northwest Summer Camp (the first weekend of August in case you didn’t know), you can come alone – I’ll hang out with you.

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.

You can read all about the First Annual Northwest Summer Camp held at Chewelah Peak in August 2011.

Click here to go to the NWSC website and articles.

Spring Fling April 8-10 2011

That’s right it is Spring Fling time!  Once again the FDA (Fringe Dojo Association) is holding the annual Spring Fling at Roshinkan dojo in Spokane.  You are all invited to join us on the mat. Students from Helena MT. Moscow ID,  Spokane WA, and places unknown will be gathering for three days of intensive Aikido training April 8-10, 2011.  Instructional emphasis will be on taisabaki and kihonwaza based on AWA testing standards.   Out of towners in need of a place to stay are encouraged to contact the dojo.  We can arrange home stays and the dojo will also be available. The flyer and Registration forms can be downloaded here. We are asking a donation to the Aiki Institute of Spokane to help us cover our costs.

Schedule

It's Time For The Spring Fling!

January is a time of year I like best for its crisp nights with clear skies. The sky looks beautiful at night with its rich dark color and smooth texture. The sky looks even more beautiful with twinkling stars, in fact the more stars the better. This is just like our dojo. The dojo space is beautiful but it looks more beautiful full of students. Not only did I just compare each of you to a luminous ball of plasma but I just explained the premise of the January Challenge. During the month of January you will bring someone, anyone, to try a class. It can be any basics class, you can even bring a kid to a kids class. If you succeed in the January Challenge you win an award and better yet we will have new students. If you fail in the January Challenge you receive… well that’s up to Sensei. So consider yourself challenged!

Community Open House at

Aiki Institute of Spokane

Roshinkan Aikido Dojo

2209 North Monroe

Always wanted to try Aikido?

Heard of it and have questions?

Looking for a fun way to exercise?

Looking for a practical means of

self defense?

This is your chance to try a

traditional Japanese martial art!

Saturday January 22nd

10:00 – 1:00

Free Class 10:30 – 11:30

All ages and skill level welcome!

(509)325-7348

www.aikispokane.com

Free Trial Class

We realize taking the first step can be very difficult.  The first step is to come in and experience Aikido for yourself.  In an attempt to make that first step easier we will offer one basics classes during the first week of each month free to those who wish to taste for yourself the sweetness of training on the mat.  Come in with an open mind and comfortable sweats and take a roll on our mat.

Basics classes are held

• Monday and Thursday at 6:30pm,
  
• Tuesday at 7:45pm,
  
• Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at 12:30pm,
  
• Saturday at 10:30am

You may have recently seen or heard of an incident where a Seattle law enforcement officer punched a 17 year old girl. The video is all over the Internet.  I am not so interested in discussing if this officer was justified or not but instead what about our society has led up to this incident happening at all.

The police are a reflection of our society.  This action takes place in one fashion or another daily in one city or another in this country.  The law enforcement officer is reacting according to the norms of our society.  We are increasingly willing to react with overwhelming violence when confronted with a problem.  This is a reaction of being in fear.  We are afraid to lose what we have or we do not have the tools to give us options when confronted.

What does this have to do with Aikido?  On a very simple level the officer if trained and proficient in Aikido would have been able to apply a simple wrist lock technique to the first young lady rather than hand fighting with her.  This would have subdued the situation quickly.  Secondly when the second girl shoved him he would have been able to either throw her to the side or control her without having to resort to punching her in the face.

On a higher level, before this episode got physical, training in Aikido and awareness would have allowed the officer to not even get into the situation that was bound to become volatile.  He put himself in a dangerous position to do what???? Hand out a ticket for jaywalking?  Could he have better de-escalated the situation?

What of the young women?  What would have brought this violent behavior toward the officer?  What about our society teaches these young women and men to behave in this way.  This violent, reactionary, disrespectful, disregard for people is instilled in us through out our lives in the media, games, competitive sports, our language, schools, business practices, and gangs.

I recently spoke with a gentleman who was inquiring about Aikido class for his son who had trained in another art for a short time.  When I mentioned that we do not teach punching and kicking as a self defense but rather how to control the situation with body movement, throws, and joint locks the father went silent.  When he regained his composure he was unable to conceive of defense without punching or kicking.  This is the society that we live in.  Again the police are a reflection of our society.

Aikido teaches us a way to live in peace and without judging others or engaging in needless, meaningless competitions that amount to pissing matches that often turn bloody, and demanding of vengeful attacks of retribution.

As disturbing as the video of this incident is to me, equally disturbing were the comments that supported the violence and encouraged the next officer to do more than throw a punch if confronted with this situation. Again the police are a reflection of the norms of our communities and of our society.

How do we change this?  Train our law enforcement officers better.  We teach Aikido both physically and philosophically to them.  We use Aikido training and peace training to encourage people to work together rather than competitively.  It will take generations to make the changes so we need to get started NOW!  We are very good at using the primitive lizard brain.  It is time to make the most of our rational thinking brain the neocortex.

I have practiced Aikido for almost three years and my life has benefited in numerous ways, some are  tremendous, others more subtle. So it is always a pleasure when a circumstance provides for vivid example of these benefits. Being a full time line cook, I work in fast paced and changing environment. There are many daily challenges that allow me to put my training to use; breathing , focusing, efficient body movement, timing, etc. These are conscious aspects of training that I put to use daily.

About a month ago I had a far more unexpected situation arise. On an average Monday night, I and a fellow co-worker (who also trains Aikido) were finishing our closing activities when I had a slip and fall in a narrow cramped area of the kitchen. My co-worker who observed this remarked that I had fallen in “ double -slap”. The years of falling practice took hold and I went with the energy which had taken me clean off my feet and a few feet in the air. I walked away without any injury from the fall. This was the most vivid example of how my body has accepted my training in a purely responsive way.

I have, ever since beginning Aikido, heard that ukemi is one of the most determining parts of training, and have taken that deeply to heart. I am sure that without that ingrained body response I would have suffered tremendous injury. So practice ukemi whole heartedly, you never know how it will help you.