A partner reaches for your wrist. A few months ago, you might have been so focused on remembering the technique that you barely noticed what they were doing. This time, you feel yourself leaning forward before your instructor says anything. You reset your posture and try again. Nobody applauds. There is no promotion. From across […]
Progress Without a Scoreboard: How Do You Know You’re Getting Better? Read More »
An empty dojo can tell you quite a lot about the people who train there. The mats are ready. Training equipment is in its place. There is room to move. Nothing has been left behind for the next class to deal with. Most visitors won’t notice those details. They notice when something is wrong. A
The Work Nobody Sees: Why Caring for the Dojo Is Part of Training Read More »
A youth martial arts student practicing independently while an instructor offers guidance. Watch a child trying to learn a new movement. The instructor demonstrates a simple turn. The child attempts it, gets their feet tangled, loses their balance, and stops. They look toward the instructor. Perhaps they look toward a parent watching from the side.
When to Step In—and When to Step Back: Helping Kids Learn on the Mat Read More »
Watch an Aikido demonstration, and it is easy to focus on the person performing the technique. They move off the line of attack. They turn. They redirect their partner’s balance. Someone falls. Naturally, our attention follows the person who appears to be in control. But there is another person participating in that exchange. The
The Other Half of Aikido: Why Being Uke Is More Than Taking Falls Read More »
Who Was Morihei Ueshiba? The Man Behind Aikido Martial arts sometimes feel as though they arrived fully formed. There is a uniform. A set of techniques. Traditions. Etiquette. Terminology. A way of moving that students are told has been handed down from teacher to student. But every martial art also has a history, and Aikido
Who Was Morihei Ueshiba? The Man Behind Aikido Read More »
Someone makes a comment. You know exactly what they are doing. Maybe it is a coworker trying to provoke you. A stranger in traffic. A family member bringing up the same argument again. A social media post practically designed to make people angry. You feel the reaction almost immediately. Your attention narrows. Your body changes.
The Art of Not Taking the Bait Read More »
Walk into almost any traditional Japanese martial arts dojo and you will see people bowing. Students may bow when entering the training space. They bow at the beginning and end of class. They may bow to an instructor, to a training partner, or before and after practicing a technique. For someone new to martial arts,
Why Do We Bow? Understanding One of the Most Visible Traditions Inside the Dojo Read More »
Every martial artist eventually encounters an uncomfortable moment. You know the technique. You’ve practiced it dozens—or hundreds—of times. Then your partner grabs differently, moves unexpectedly, resists, changes direction… …and nothing happens. The technique doesn’t work. What happens next may tell us more about our martial arts training than the technique itself. One response is to
What if a Technique Doesn’t Work? Read More »
A child takes a toy. Another child immediately grabs it back. Someone says something insulting. The response comes before the thinking. A student gets frustrated with an assignment and quits. A sibling pushes a button that they have pushed a thousand times before, and exactly the expected explosion follows. Adults do versions of these things
When people first encounter Aikido, its Japanese terminology, traditional uniforms, etiquette, and connection to the samurai arts can make it seem as though it must be hundreds of years old. It isn’t. Aikido is actually a relatively modern martial art. Its founder, Morihei Ueshiba, was born in Japan in 1883. During his life he studied
Aikido isn’t an Ancient Martial Art – And That’s Part of What Makes It Interesting Read More »
