Author: Tonya

The wrong reasons are so numerous that I can’t possibly think of all of them.  Here are the most common I’ve seen. 1. You need a cheap place to stay while staying in New York. 2. You want to meet a lot of hot guys. 3. You want to meet a lot of hot girls.… Continue reading The Wrong Reasons To Become An Uchi Deshi

The right reasons include, but are not limited to: 1. You want to become really good at Aikido. 2. You want to some day teach Aikido. 3. You are seeking a path to enlightenment. (Not sure what this means, but it seems like a good reason). 4. You love Aikido and want to prove to… Continue reading The Right Reasons To Become An Uchi Deshi

1. I hate it when I compare myself to others–particularly extremely talented individuals. It makes me feel inadequate and gives me a bad attitude on the mat. 2. I hate taking the last class of the day. Especially if I have trained hard in the ones before. 3. I hate getting colds all the time.… Continue reading Five Things I Hate About Being An Uchi Deshi

1. I get to eat as much as I want, (all sorts of foods good, bad, probably not ugly though. I don’t like getting stomach problems). 2. New York is an exciting place to live. I don’t get out a lot but I meet interesting people every day. 3. I like training (when I am… Continue reading Five Things I Like About Being An Uchi Deshi

My day starts at 6:00 am. I start a bowl of grits in the microwave and then go downstairs to do the laundry and tidy up the women’s changing room. Then I rush back upstairs to eat my grits get my gi on, put my hair up, and brush my teeth. I have to be… Continue reading A Day in the Life of an Uchi deshi

The only thing that comes to mind lately is that I have a bit more energy when I have to work and only take four classes a day. It makes a big difference in the last sprint of the day when there are three classes back to back. I have the energy to sink down… Continue reading Energy, Improvement, and Training

I just got the box full of goodies yesterday. Thank you so much. I needed everything that was in there. I enjoyed the letters a lot. I’m going to listen the the music CD and watch the meditation DVD. The money was especially helpful, since I only just got a job and haven’t even gotten… Continue reading Gift box

Its a hard knock life as an uchi-deshi. I’ve endured numerous injuries, ranging from annoying to those that make training difficult and unenjoyable. The most common is your run of the mill scratch or bruise usually from someone stepping on your foot or landing on it with their knee. Scratches are most often from people… Continue reading Injuries

Occasionally there is a class where I don’t recognize a technique. I just took a class Thursday where I didn’t recognize any techniques. It was taught by Ernie L. One technique I remember distinctly was a kaitenage where the entrance was new to me. The entrance was for a shomenuchi. When the hand is coming… Continue reading New Stuff

The New Years class this year was taught by Yamada Sensei. It was pretty much a normal class except Sensei did some stretches and the rowing exercise instead of just his usual breathing exercises. Afterward we had some wine beer edemame (Japanese soybeans) and rice crackers. The party was pretty much just people talking and… Continue reading New Years Class