Learning To Be Silent

Some freestyle following a recent Saturday class.  I left the camera on after kyu testing.

Enjoy!

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Lately, a group of students have begun interval training at the dojo, during Friday open mat. It’s a solid workout, and an excellent way to build strength as well as improve cardiovascular fitness. The group is very supportive of each other–the workout itself, for example, can be tailored for each individual.

Here’s the basic regimen (each exercise consists of four sets, for twenty seconds):

Ukemi
Medicine Ball
Crunches
Lunges
Push-Ups
Leg Lifts
Bokken
Squat Thrusts
Dips
Arm Lifts
Back Arches

The workout is designed to tone muscle in the following areas:

Shoulders (Bokken)
Chest (Push-Ups)
Back (Planks, Leg Lifts, Back Arches)
Biceps (Bokken)
Triceps (Bokken, Dips)
Stomach (Medicine Ball, Crunches, Leg Lifts, Squats, Thrusts, Planks)
Thighs (Lunges)
Hamstrings (Lunges, Back Arches)
Calves

We encourage your participation. It’s a great way to stay in shape.

And since we feel so strongly about proper physical conditioning, we are also inviting our parents and spouses to join us, at no charge. Think of this as a no cost way to get in shape.

So, to our regular students, their spouses, and parents in our kids program, join us Friday nights at 5:30 p.m.

Questions? Interested? Let us know!

This past Tuesday we were honored to host a special guest instructor. Ed Di Marco Sensei, 6th dan shidoin and chief instructor for Lake County Aikikai, happened to be in Jacksonville on business.  We were quick to ask that he teach both evening classes, and of course he graciously agreed.

During the first class, we saw several interesting tsuki variations, including a kokyu-nage I had not seen before.  The second class consisted of weapons work, including a paired jo and bokken kata I first encountered at New York Aikikai, in a class taught by Sugano Sensei. Which of course is not surprising since Di Marco Sensei trained in New York for twenty years.

We took lots of pictures, a few of which are posted below.  Enjoy!

For the group: What are your Aikido related New Years resolutions?  I’ll start.  MM and I have resolved to kick up our training a notch.  Every Friday, we plan to undergo a “mini” misogi training session–essentially, half a cleansing class.

That translates to 54 turns as uke, and 54 as nage, with no breaks until we switch roles.  The plan (hope?) is to gradually increase the number of throws until we hit 108 each.  Perhaps we’ll incorporate bokken.