Author: Tonya

I can honestly say that in the small amount of time I have been here I have learned volumes. In all areas I have improved, whether or not it’s noticeable. I know this because all members here improve quickly from the excellent instruction of the high ranking students and renowned shihans. Plus with the sheer… Continue reading Last Days

Basically a ‘good day’ is based upon whether or not I have energy for training. When I feel energetic I work harder, faster, and pay more attention to what I’m doing. I usually feel good about my technique and the fact that I’m improving. I also know that my partner is having fun and learning… Continue reading Energy levels

Sometimes Sensei likes to throw parties for special guests or visitors. These parties have an unspoken etiquette, mostly for uchi deshi. The youngest deshi are expected to help set up, get groceries, wash dishes and generally clean up throughout the evening. We must also wait for everyone else to get served before helping ourselves. The… Continue reading Party Etiquette

In my five years of training I have come to understand the spirit of Aikido as a peaceful option to violence.  At the heart of Aikido is the ability to make the attacker and defender equals, so that there is no winner or loser.  No one is beaten or injured (seriously), and the attacker sees… Continue reading Spirit of Aikido (As I Understand It)

At New York Aikikai there are many rules of etiquette. They vary in importance and level of ‘enforcement.’ 1. The first and most obvious rule in any martial arts dojo is bowing. To simplify things you should bow upon entering and leaving the dojo, getting on and off the training area, and any time other… Continue reading New York Aikikai Etiquette

The testing lasted about 2 and a half hours. There were 35 participants. I had to wait till the end, feeling bouts of nervousness and exhaustion the whole time. Everyone says I did beautifully though. I’m a little confused about my randori, however. I had no techniques in mind when I bowed to my uke’s.… Continue reading 1st Kyu Test

When I first started Aikido my greatest influences were obviously Dee and Jerry. I recall Robert being particularly helpful as well. In many ways I have found the basic technique instilled in me from the very beginning helpful. Plus Dee’s unique way of teaching randori through different types of ‘games’ each designed to focus on… Continue reading Randori

Dear Tonya, First of all I would like to tell you that you will not always enjoy being in this position, quite often you will be irritated when someone tells you to do something.  Don’t eat too much cheese.  Take lots of naps.  Consider all advice given to you on the mat (forget who the… Continue reading A Letter to Myself

As Yamada Sensei succinctly put it “He been teaching at his own school too long. He’s starting to believe his own sh*t.” Lol.  I apologize for the almost swear in my blog entry, but this comment was too funny for me to let it pass.  Sensei said this after watching a former student teach who… Continue reading Benefits Of A Diverse Aikido Population

Don’t want to scare anyone, but in my experiance I have seen a few of these happen, and experienced one myself. In Aikido concussions result from a collision of the head with a hard object, usually part of another person. I got a mild one after getting wacked with an overly enthusiastic shomenuchi. Someone got… Continue reading Concussions and Awareness