Why sweat the small stuff
Students often say, “why is it important to do the technique ‘precisely’ surely everyone is different – we can do it in our own way”,
Kuden the secret oral teachings of Aikido
In 1974 Saito Sensei wrote in his forward to Volume 3 of his book Traditional Aikido Sword Stick and Body Arts that he had quoted
Systematising your Aikido training
Bill Witt shihan 7th dan, was one of the first foreign students to train with Saito Sensei at the Iwama Dojo. He tells a story
On the struggle to learn
A comforting and illuminating comment from the poet Leonard Cohen: “Forget your perfect offering, there is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets
Three techniques always taught in Iwama
Three techniques were always taught at the Iwama dojo. Tai no henko to start. Followed by morote dori kokyu nage. And keiko always ended with
Aikido the Spiritual Dimension
O’Sensei was not only a Master of the martial arts but also a highly spititual man. In 1918 O’Sensei joined the Omotokyo Religion that had
On Aikido Training
An excerpt from the 1938 Training Manual, “Budo”, by the Founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba. Translated by Mark L. Larson 5th dan. 1. Aikido can
We start with tai-no-henko
Learning to turn the body, or tai-no-henko is an important practice from the Iwama Dojo. In Morihei Ueshiba’s 1938 training manual “Budo” it is stated that
Learning to Walk
I had trained in karate for over 9 years and thought as a black belt I had reached a senior level of understanding. But after