Blogging at Aikido Westchester NY
The Martial Art of Peace
Aikido is a very social practice. The reasons for this fact may be clearer than one might imagine. Humans are essentially social animals. Without society, clearly we would not survive. A violent situation is entirely social – it is between two or more parties. So if Aikido is going to be relevant to our lives …
Continue reading “Dojo Etiquette and Selecting your Training Partner in Class by Steve Kanney”
Bullying. It’s on everyone’s radar these days. Whether it is physical, verbal, or cyber, it is a pressing concern for many parents and children. When it comes to martial arts schools, many claim to teach skills to combat bullies. Some, like the Gracie’s have a trademarked program called “Bullyproof” that has been featured on Oprah …
Another question on strategy…this time between Anderson Silva & Yushin Okami. First, note the movements Silva used to evade the double leg take downs. Then what strategies were they using. (Note the actual fight starts at time 2:26). Use the strategy articles on the blog from Musashi’s “Book of Five Rings.” Let’s discuss…
You can find the fight with this link. Watch at minimum the minute marks in bold below: You can get the background on the fight in the first 2 minutes. The fight is fairly long. You can get the feel of what was happening in the first 4 rounds of the fight with part of round …
To Hold Down a Pillow To Hold Down a Pillow means not allowing the enemy’s head to rise. In contests of stategy it is bad to be led about by the enemy. You must always be able to lead the enemy about. Obviously the enemy will also be thinking of doing this, but he cannot forestall …
In Aikido, we are taught that O’Sensei utilized two major strategies: Break Maia (or distance) and inviting the attack in order to counter attack. While there are other strategies, these are the two he emphasized for the most part. First we will look at these strategies. In a later article we will consider ancillary strategies. The text we …
This is a very good question as a suggested topic. While it may be possible to write extensively on it, I will give several examples. I recall when I was about 18 years old, and had been practicing aikido for about a year or two, my teacher developed an exercise where he would attack with a wooden …
Continue reading “Methods to Remain Calm during Violence by Steve Kanney”
First, let’s look at what ki is: (Note: All quotations with pages given are from Zen and Aikido by Kamata Shimizu) “Aikido is a martial art which aims at the cultivation of ki. The aiki in aikido refers to harmonizing one’s ki or vital energy not only with a partner, but with all living beings …
Continue reading “ON KI – USAGE IN MARTIAL ARTS TRAINING (2ND ARTICLE IN SERIES) by Steve Kanney”
Ki (or Chi – Chinese) are central to many martial arts. In fact, two martial arts use the term in their name: Aikido and Tai Chi Chuan. The notion of ki will be explored in two articles below, detailing the historical development and usage in martial arts training. Before embarking on these two topics I first wish …
Continue reading “On Ki – History of the Term (first in a series of two articles) by Steve Kanney”
Takuan Soho, as legend would have it, was friend and teacher to famed Miyamoto Musashi, arguably the greatest swordsman in the history of Japan. As a Zen monk, poet, painter, calligrapher, etc, he lived during a particularly violent period of Japanese history. He therefore confronted war and violence, instructing both shogun and emperor and befriending the likes of …