Tuesday and Thursday Evenings
Kids Aikido: 5:30PM – 6:20PM
Adult Basic Aikido: 6:30PM – 7:20PM
Adult General Aikido: 7:30PM – 8:20PM
Wednesday Evening
Zen Training: 7:30PM – 8:20PM (or as appropriate)
Saturday Morning
Bell Misogi and/or Meditation: 7:30AM – 8:20AM
Aikido Weapons: 8:30AM – 9:20AM
Women’s Class: 9:30AM – 10:20AM
Teenager Class: 10:30AM – 11:20AM
Aikido in Daily Life
We come to our dojo to train so that we’re better able to apply the principles of aikido in our daily lives.
In our practice we struggle to figure out how to live in harmony with the world around us. As we begin this process, we must assess how willing we are to extend our trust to others as we allow them to use our bodies to practice techniques. Eventually we become more comfortable with extending that trust and we increase our confidence that things will usually work out well. As our practice continues, we must learn to apply this reinforcing cycle to extend trust off the mat. This may be extending trust in our personal relationships, maybe in our work relationships, and possibly in all of our interactions with others. The key ingredient in moving from one level to another is optimism.
When we can look at the world with positivity and confidence that even the things that can hurt or injure us will work out pretty well, then we can more easily extend trust to others. Ultimately, our practice is that we can extend this trust to everyone. This does not mean that we don’t make sure we can take care of ourselves but it means that we can truly show everyone respect and that we can approach everyone with a positive bias. At this level in our training we assess what we need in order to truly realize that aspiration.
By Nate Weed
2024 Aikido Olympia Schedules
Tuesday and Thursday Evenings
Kids Aikido: 5:30PM – 6:20PM
Adult Basic Aikido: 6:30PM – 7:20PM
Adult General Aikido: 7:30PM – 8:20PM
Wednesday Evening
Zen Training: 7:30PM – 8:20PM (or as appropriate)
Saturday Morning
Bell Misogi and/or Meditation: 7:30AM – 8:20AM
Aikido Weapons: 8:30AM – 9:20AM
Women’s Class: 9:30AM – 10:20AM
Teenager Class: 10:30AM – 11:20AM
Kangeiko 2024
Kangeiko 2023
February 6th-10th 2023 5:30-6:15am
Aikido Olympia Schedule
Monday 7:00 PM – Zazen (Seated Meditation)
Tuesday and Thursday 5:30 – 6:20 – Kids Class
Tuesday and Thursday 6:30 – 7:20 – Beginner’s Class
Tuesday and Thursday 7:30 – 8:30 – Adult General Class
Saturday 7:30-8:15 AM – Bell Misogi
Saturday 8:30- 9:20 – General Class with Weapons Focus
Saturday 9:30 – 10:20 – Teenager Class (tailored to 12-18 year old Aikidoka)
Aikido in Daily Life
We come to our dojo to train so that we’re better able to apply the principles of aikido in our daily lives.
Aikido is a budo, a martial practice that focuses more on how to apply the learning to our everyday lives than simply learn a set of techniques. This focus requires practice both within the dojo and beyond the dojo and for most (if not all) of us, this can lead to many questions about the nature of practicing Aikido. How do I get this technique to work in the dojo? How does learning these technique translate to practice outside the dojo? And so on… These are good questions and certainly worth contemplating and, over time, like the drops of rain dripping into a muddy pool, things become more clear. We begin to experience practice as a way of life and for Aikido practitioners a way of working toward being in harmony with the energy of the universe.
In the dojo, a goal of much of our Aikido training is to break down the barriers between our mind and body that have developed over our lives. We also learn resilience in the dojo as we take ukemi increasingly better as we progress. Then, as we begin to live more fully integrated and with greater resilience, we can then begin to intentionally polish our habits, disciplines, and behaviors. Although this process certainly starts in the dojo where we can rely on our training partners to give us feedback and support us, much of the polishing is done outside the dojo where we are experiencing life, interacting with others, becoming more aware of our impact on other people and the broader world around us, and ultimately striving to be more effective as human beings. The practice of Aikido is focused on living our lives more fully and with greater connectedness and confidence.
Summer Vacations and Aikido
It is summer time in Olympia and many of us have had the opportunity to get out of town and spend time with friends and family on the road, in the woods, or other spots across the globe. This has had a couple of impacts. First, we’ve had a little extra mat space over the past couple of months, and we’ve been a bit creative with the instructor calendar in the dojo. However, Aikido is not just what happens in the dojo and vacations provide many of us an opportunity to see how our practice works when we’re navigating different cultures, spending extra time with our families, or navigating a new terrain. It is an opportunity to see how well we can keep our awareness, maintain our centers, or come back to our centers when we’ve lost them just a little bit. I hope you all get the chance to rest, recharge, and reflect a bit on how this practice can make you a better vacationer.
West Sensei Awarded 7th Dan
Following our seminar and promotional demonstrations this spring, Maruyama Sensei awarded Jim West 7th Dan in Aikido Yuishinkai. This reflects West Sensei’s more than 40 years of practice and teaching Aikido and his leadership in Aikido Yuishinkai. We are proud of his accomplishment and are grateful for his ongoing mentorship and guidance.
As background on 7th Dan, this is a high level rank in any martial art and obviously reflects decades of dedicated practice. This level of Dan rank in many traditional Japanese martial arts indicates that the person holding the rank is fully qualified to teach the deeper philosophical aspects of the martial art. In more modern times, this rank signifies that the person has taken on responsibility for training others and leading organizations over a lifetime of practice. For all of us who have had the honor of training under West Sensei, this is exactly what he has offered to us and to Aikido Olympia.
Upcoming Testing and Seminar
Jim West Sensei is planning on coming to Olympia May 9th through May 14th. During this time, he’s planning to teach a couple of classes, help conduct some promotional demonstrations, and lead a seminar. We’re also planning a bit of social time to get together and connect.
Tuesday, May 10th West Sensei will teach classes as normally scheduled
Thursday, May 12th, we will hold promotional demonstrations for color belt ranks beginning at 5:30 (we may have a couple of people testing for blackbelt ranks doing some demonstrations as well)
Friday May 13th, those testing for Yudansha (blackbelt) ranks will perform their promotional demonstrations beginning at 5:30. These demonstrations are a little long and we have several people testing so we’ve decided to split the demonstrations up just a little bit.
Saturday May 14th, we’ll have bell misogi at 7:30 and then host a seminar from 9:00 – 11:30. Following that, we’re working on a location for a potluck/barbecue for everyone to get together.
By Nate Weed