Yep its time to dust off the Dogi , starch up the hakama and get out the deodorant for a new year of training. Our first official class is this Thursday night so look forward to seeing you there. Over the break some of us have been busy including Mike who managed to attend an internal strength seminar in Hawaii… Read more →
Author: aikitaiyo
AIki as an energy minimisation problem
Just back from a weekend in Sydney, where Andrew Sunter Sensei’s dojo held some inspirational gradings (see Sydney Aikido facebook group for more info). Congratulations to one and all, and Brett from Grafton dojo who also graded. The day before there was some opportunity to share a little something we have been working on up here in Brisbane. I’ve been… Read more →
Maruyama Sensei Recommends “Soul of the Samurai”
Recently Will Reed Sensei recommended the following on his facebook page Recommended by Maruyama Sensei to understand the core of Aikido Yuishinkai as Budo. “Soul of the Samurai” Modern Translations of Three Classic Works of Zen and Bushido written by Yagyu Munenori and Zen Master Takuan. Translated by Thomas Cleary http://www.amazon.com/Soul-Samurai-Tuttle-Martial-Arts/dp/0804836906 Kindle Edition also available. I also found it on… Read more →
Osaka Adventures With Okajima sensei
Osaka Adventures With Okajima sensei by Grant Periott Sensei, Shibucho Gold Coast Daitoryu Takumakai I regularly travel to Osaka to practice Daito-ryu with my sensei in Takumakai. This trip (May 2013), I thought I would follow up on a recommendation to meet Yushinkai’s Okajima sensei as well. Thanks to Dan James who arranged for my introduction. Arriving at Okajima sensei’s… Read more →
REED13: Day two!
Day 2 of Will Reed Sensei, by Craig Boyd First session was a master class in basics, Sensei covered off the the warm ups and basic wazza lots of gems for everyone regarding center and it’s importance in centering and defining sides and how These feelings can be used to generate internal power. Timing was a big feature along with… Read more →
Toppling Aiki
Chris Li’s Part 3 of Analysing Aiki is a terrific read on unbalancing and the mental/physical connection between uke and nage. I think there might even be seeing some support for the humble Aikiphysics Base of Support and Topple theory, but this time from a credible source Mr. Yoshimaru’s heels are floating, the center of gravity of the triangular body… Read more →
What is Aiki?
Chris Li of Sangenkai, Hawaii provides a multipart brilliant translation of a Japanese work analysing Aiki, by a prominent student of the Daito Ryu’s Sagawa Sensei. Read on for more http://www.aikidosangenkai.org/blog/ Its terrific food for thought with our own humble efforts to date looking decidedly shabby. Read more →
REED13 registrations are open!
Hi Everyone, REED13 registrations are open for our August seminar with William Reed Sensei on reed13.aikidorepublic.com/registration Thankyou for the very strong support and intrest we have received in the past few weeks, locally with offers of mats and help on the weekend and incredible intrest from interstate colleagues. We have finalised a very exciting programme with Reed Sensei starting on… Read more →
Internal Strength, but wait theres more…
A real pleasure to have Andrew Sunter sensei visit our dojo again. We have been exploring internal strength and its ‘Ura’? existence in our school for some time now, and so the opportunity to practice with him after he had a chance to work with Gleason Shihan in Sydney was a terrific opportunity and quite a few more concepts to… Read more →
Andrew Sunter Sensei, Guest classes Thursday April 25th (ANZAC Day)
UPDATE: We will be at the Mt. Gravatt Showgrounds for this event – from 6:30pm. See http://www.aikidorepublic.com/dojo-alternate-location On ANZAC day, Thursday April 25th we will have good friend and senior aikido instructor Andrew Sunter Sensei as guest of the dojo (see brief bio ) to teach two classes. Sunter sensei is one of Aikido Yuishinkai’s most senior instructors and a… Read more →
Solo training in Aikido
Solo training is not a new idea in aikido, when you think of all the taiso at the start of class and the weapons kata there is plenty of it. But what is relatively new (well what’s old is new anyway) is the idea of purpose behind solo training. “Your aikido will only improve when your concept of aikido improves”… Read more →
Everything is Soutai
“Everything is Soutai” There were the confusing and somewhat troubling words that Okajima sensei left me with on my last visit to Japan. Confusing mentally as well as troubling that this might be the direction that the successor of Aikido Yuishinkai is headed and what might become of Aikido arts?. With the fullness of time, and insights from around the… Read more →
Internal strength and Aikido – An experiment in breaking boards
A little unconventional – but great to see someone (Ian ) putting aikido to the test and finding it comes up trumps. Physics (www.aikidorepublic.com/aikiphysics) says there is the power of a lawn owner in dropping the centre just a few centimetres – and here it is in action. don’t try this at home kids 😉 Read more →
The Aiki Smorgasboard
Today we teeter on the edge of the 3rd generation Aikido, that is, there isn’t the access to direct students of O’Sense, by and large. Also many of the boundaries to training widely, such as being locked within rigid hierarchal structures have started to soften or disappear, though there are bastions of expertise, ( and ignorance) running very well. Its,… Read more →
Getting an Internal Strength Baseline
A few weekends I managed to get down down for an Internal Strength workshop at Steve Seymours Sensei’s dojo in Balmain, led by Michael Dreyer Sensei (a student of Bill Gleason Shihan and IS affectionardo). Aikiweb.com in recent times has seen an increased focus on this approach and essence in Aikido, so much so its its own topic now on… Read more →