August Test

August Test Practice

An interpretation of Ki and Do

Ki

Is in the purest meaning the vital principle that feeds the universe, being the cause of the existence and the movement of everything that is. Ki is the cosmic energy, is life, is creation.

Do

The DO begins the first day that we step on a Tatami of any dojo, and it should not end until the last day of our life.


Transalted into English from a Spanish book on Aikido (thank you Keyla!)

You know you're an Aikido addict when...

- You and your friends think a group hug involves flipping out of it.

- You choose your job based on if it interferes with your training time

- You wear your dogi to work.

- You hear someone say broken and you think they said bokken.

- There are nearly 100 portraits of O-Sensei in your bedroom

- Every morning before breakfast you repeat basic moves

- You reply to controversy with "Oh yeah, Grab my wrist!!!"

- See a big hall and make decide forward rolls would get you through it quicker.

- You don't just open a door -- you extend into it from your center

- The Aikido dreams start.

- You find yourself with an irresistible urge to bow every time you enter or exit a room.

- The smell of rancid sweat has become oddly unnoticeable to you.

-  You immediately stop what you're doing whenever you hear someone clap their hands

- You no longer grip anything with your index fingers

- You meet an attractive person and your first thought is "Wouldn't they look nice taking ukemi?"

- When you see a straight wooden stick, such as a broken broom handle, you automatically refer to it as a jo.

- You blurt out "Osu!" when you're asked to do something at home, or at work.

-You find yourself "blending with and redirecting" your cat when it tries to jump onto your lap uninvited

- You wonder how you would flip someone in an elevator.

Adapted from a thread on http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/

Food for thought (and aikido)

So what do you eat in that short gap between aikido and sleep …?

If you have any quick meal ideas with a Japanese twist please email them to sophie_harle@hotmail.com – and we’ll post them on the blog – or perhaps put them together in an aikido inspired cookbook!!!

My personal favourite is …

Super fast Japanese Inspired Udon Noodles

1 zucchini sliced
3 mushrooms
half a broccoli
and some tofu, cashews or other protein related goodness

Fried up super fast in a little oil

Throw in some of those udon noodles (obento?) once the vegies are cooked

While this is happening mix up the sauce in a cup using
3 tbs soya sauce
2 tbs brown sugar
A knob of ginger grated with a fancy Japanese grater and the juice squeezed into the sauce (discarding the non juice part)
½ cup of water

Add the sauce in right at the end – giving it a good stir and letting it bubble away and soak into the noodles

Delicious, nutritious and ready in 10 minutes

Please send me all your fabulous meal ideas!!!!!

Mat talk

"The only way to get the the end, is through"

-Alex, during a particularly tough set of backfalls.

On training

In the dojo the beginner rushes to learn. The teacher rushes to teach. The Aikido eludes us. To sincerely look within one technique would reveal the secrets of all the teachers who walked the way. Then why do we hunger so feverishly for the new? If we approach fishing in this manner all becomes clear. You bring all your tackle to the rivers edge. You carefully fasten and bait your hook. You nestle into your favourite spot and cast your line with great expectations. Yet as your line reaches but inches from the waters surface you reel it in. You gather your tackle, move to another spot and start again.

How elusive the fish you cry!

Peter Koussoulis

Rock climbing photos - 2

Well, here they are - photos from the dojo rock climbing day.

Going against the (wise) advice we are always given in class, we lifted our feet off the mats and climbed the walls instead. There are more photos, which we will try to load onto a linked web album.  We'll let you know when this happens.

Stay tuned - we're going to start doing some member profiles, so keep checking in to find out mroe about the people you train with.  They're bound to surprise you.

Osu!

Rock climbing photos - 1