Not too long ago, I stumbled upon this:

"Ueshiba taught that, while it was important to become proficient in physical technique, this is not the ultimate purpose of training... He once commented that he was teaching students not how to move their feet but, rather, how to move their minds."

"Do not regard others as the enemy... the only real enemy is inside us; this we can control. "

...Arnold's behind you!

sometimes it's just too much fun!

"Is that what I did? That's not what I did...  Do what I showed you!"

you sit when you have completed your 'mission'

Katz sensei loves to tell jokes, especially impersonations of Toyoda Shihan. One of these days, I'll have to catch his voice on tape! I have heard that he has an amazing way of teaching kids - it can be seen through his sense of humor, watchful eye, and his youthful spirit. Playful, yet strict. Oh, and I cannot neglect to mention that Katz sensei started studying aikido at the same dojo on the exact same day that my teacher, Veera Kasicharernvat sensei started studying aikido!

"Let me tell you the secrets of aikido..."

I was talking to Nakayama sensei, and he told me that he spent years contemplating his aikido techniques, what makes them work, and how to execute them most efficiently. This becomes very apparent when he executes a technique, and especially when he teaches a technique. Every step, every hand movement, every shift in your weight should have some meaning. He doesn't waste a drop of energy running around his attacker (the attacker ends up running around him) or muscling them down (the attacker is gently encouraged to go down). I always feel like there is so much to learn, so little time!

Let the games begin...

"I bow to you, good sir"

If you've never taken ukemi for Toyoda sensei, I highly recommend you jump on the next plane to Chicago.  He has a good sense of timing and "send off momentum" when it comes to throwing you. It is unique, and I believe that my ukemi has improved greatly after attending a kenshusei program at his dojo.

I'm beginning to think that kaitenage is one of my favorite techniques! Maybe because it's simple enough for me to execute.  :)  I don't have pictures of Christine Dyer sensei teaching the new style of kaitenage, but I also had a lot of fun with that.

*This post shows examples of henka and oyo wazas, but I would like to clarify that these are ever-changing techniques. Though I believe Toyoda Shihan has his own set of hanka and oyo wazas for each kihon waza, they are, by definition techniques that have been adapted to better fit a certain situation, or techniques executed in a changed manner. This article explains the concepts better than I can.

Now onto more fun...