Anyone who has watched TV recently might well believe their best option is to lock the door and never set foot outside again! It may be a pretty tough world we live in, but that’s a long way from reality. Australia, like many countries in the developed world, is a really safe place to live. Terror attacks are highly unlikely,… Read more →
The ba-roq-stars at the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra are offering one enterprising member of Aikido in Sydney a double pass to the opening night of Bittersweet Obsessions next Wednesday. This is their newest show featuring instructors Melanie Lindenthal and Andrew Sunter — fighting . to . the . death! If you want to see the show, you only have to do three things: write… Read more →
The samurai of the early Edo period were known as much for their pursuit of art, beauty and learning as they were for their skill and ferocity on the battlefield. A prominent example is the great sword-saint Miyamoto Musashi (c. 1584 – 1645), writer, calligrapher and artist. Aikido is sometimes described as the thinking person’s martial art. When the opportunity came… Read more →
Congratulations to our Aiki Teens who graded at the end of last term. Certificates were presented on Monday. We’re stepping up training in Term 4, introducing bigger throws, more joint locks and other cool stuff. Really looking forward to working with you all again this term. Welcome also to our new starters. Read more →
Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, is famously quoted as saying that aikido is 90% . Yet atemi is absent from much of modern aikido. Aikido today is known for its beautiful flowing movements. In our roles as and we practice the of, and defences to, aikido techniques. In the pursuit of this beauty, aikido often omits the atemi built… Read more →
If aikido is so damn good and superior how come we don’t see it in MMA? It’s a great question. You see the founder of aikido travelled Japan taking on many challengers in the development of his art, and his teacher honed his skills on the battlefield. In a way, aikido began as the very definition of MMA: that is,… Read more →
We get a lot of enquiries at the dojo for kids classes and for increasingly younger students. It seems parents are looking for classes for kids to help fulfil a need or aspiration. Benefits for kids The study of traditional martial arts has a lot to offer kids. At a physical level there is the development of strength, coordination and… Read more →
This month Sensei is focusing on the kokyu (breath power) techniques of aikido. These are techniques that, at the highest levels, do not require physical contact with your training partner (or assailant). Kokyunage, one of the six pillars of aikido, is one of the more famous categories of aikido techniques and comes under intense scrutiny, particularly from other martial arts.… Read more →
Violence doesn’t discriminate, and nor do we. If you need to protect yourself or a loved one from unavoidable violence, it’s nice to know that the physical universe has your back. The laws of physics (and the principles of TFT) work for everybody, regardless of sexuality, gender identity, genetics, socialisation, culture, ethnicity, spirituality, size, age, health, wealth and dress sense. There’s only… Read more →
Would your aikido survive in the wilderness, or is it a beautiful abstraction that requires a controlled environment? In this possibly postmodern age of aikido, it is important to take time to unpack our practise and approach. Here is a reflection from Danny James Sensei. Many of us studying aikido and other asian martial arts are familiar with bonsai, in which… Read more →
“These situations not only left their scars but also taught me a few things…” My Dad was an SAS officer. He tried to teach me and my brother a few ‘self defence’ moves, although they were a little extreme for the playground. Later he enrolled us in judo, which we both loved and continued to train into our late teens. Like most… Read more →
I was attacked one day during my first semester in Berlin… I’m learning how to render an attacker non-functional. This is a cleaner way of saying I’m learning how to break joints, rupture eyeballs and testicles and do whatever else it takes to stop someone who is intent on killing me or my loved ones. It turns out it just doesn’t matter that men… Read more →
Well done Rachna, the first of our hardy winter crop of adult students to grade 7-kyu under our revised syllabus. It’s been a long cold winter and those who put in the effort are reaping the rewards as the weather warms up! Read more →
There are today almost as many styles of aikido as there are other martial arts. And the variation between styles can seem quite large, so much so that many ask: what is the real aikido? It seems every dojo you visit claims to be doing the most authentic aikido. It all came about because the founder of aikido developed his art… Read more →