Gloucester Ki Aikido Club

A big thanks to Neil and Angie for organising a great weekend course in Derby.

A big well done to Seb for passing his 1st Kyu brown belt grading.

It is often said, that our practice of Ki Aikido is one of contrast. Certainly that is something I believe and teach (attempt to teach).

This belief hopefully leading to the conclusion that less is more and relaxation is the key to less, allowing the practitioner to decide which "worked" better, which was preferable, more enjoyable.

In recent times I have had four people give us a try - 1st lesson free. All came from a background of traditional Aikido and all voted with their feet, not returning for a second time, all stating that it was not what they were looking for.

A few years ago I started to practice in Aikikai twice a week for almost a year alongside my Ki Aikido practice, stopped by a short illness. That was long enough however to confirm my chosen path, I enjoyed the experience and was able to contrast and compare before deciding that my time would be better spent elsewhere.

Moving to the present we have a high grade (4th dan) traditional Aikido student who has joined us for the past several weeks. He told me that he informed friends from his previous style that he was now practising Ki Aikido, their reply was "God help them".

Well who ever is in charge of the universe should be thanked, and I will, for providing us with a contrast and learning resource.......

Hi Everyone
Just to let you know that Sensei Ann Hesketh is the first person to start a new club in the SSAA.
It is the New Sarum Club in Salisbury.
The page has just been added to the website: www.shinshinaikido.co.uk

I've also added some more content to the videos page.
Still more to come...
Regards
Sensei

Home The Shin Shin Aikido Association is a non-profit making organisation whose aims are to cultivate an understanding of how to coordinate mind and body (Ki Development) and express it in the movements and techniques of Ki Aikido. It is led by Sensei Peter Hughes, 8th Dan, a teacher who has been practis...

What does a Ki Aikido teacher teach.
???
My answer to this is nothing....

What does a Ki Aikido student learn? Strangely enough, you may have to look above for the answer to that.

In studying Ki Aikido we utilise the process of comparison, what did an exercise look like, feel like before when compared to can I perform the exercise better with more strength or less strength and more relaxation.

What you learn from that is subjective.

The teacher has taught nothing, understanding, recognising the contrast is what teaches you......or not

The new (under construction) website is:

Home The Shin Shin Aikido Association is a non-profit making organisation whose aims are to cultivate an understanding of how to coordinate mind and body (Ki Development) and express it in the movements and techniques of Ki Aikido. It is led by Sensei Peter Hughes, 8th Dan, a teacher who has been practis...

This exercise can only be undertaken at 12.15 AM
Notice how the short hand points to 12 and the long hand towards quarter past......
Synchronicity...

The Secrets of Aikido.....

Most of the time people have to wait at least 20 years to be let in to the inner secrets of a martial art but not today.

Today, for the price of a smile, a cup of coffee or a single malt all will be revealed.

Having said that if all the secrets are revealed why would people continue to turn up.....there would be nothing more to learn, nothing worth waiting for...

From time to time, (once every Preston Guild) we have a new member turn up. The first lesson is free, and they may turn up again or not dependant upon their enquiring mind or not, or even the mind being closed or full.

It is my belief that each new student brings something with them of value....themselves and as a result of this they bring new challenges, new perspectives, new hope.

The value of what is brought to the table is immense, even priceless, but don't tell them that.........it's our secret.

If only our club was this big

What works?

Our meditation and breathing group have constant discussions about where is, what is the one point.

I posted on the forum today that the one point could be anywhere.....how controversial.

When we start aikido we are given a clue as to roughly where it is....how helpful is that. Not very because we then believe it is in that exact spot......it may not be!!!

So we have the option to blindly believe what we are told, or we could experiment...move it to the left, right, up, down.....the world is your bivalve.

Do we apply this to our aikido exercises? If something works do we examine why, or if we could improve it, or do we blindly continue with OK got that one.

Our practice should be one of comparison and contrast, if I push harder will it work better, if I become more relaxed softer.........indeed just how relaxed can we be in order for an exercise to work better.

We are very pleased to announce that we will be hosting a course with Sensei Hughes, at MCSDA Derby, in April. Please see flyer for details
.

Last night I was watching YouTube and dreaming of hi fi systems that i could never afford and for some strange reason I thought about Canadian female singers, oh well.

Then suddenly an outer door slammed and a large very bright hire car.......

If only Joni was the pedant I aspire to be we would have had "you don't know what you had until it disappeared " (not so lyrical)

You can't have what you've got if it's gone and what you do have hasn't gone.

As the dust of recent UK Ki Aikido events settle some will conclude that they still have what they had, be happy.

Others will conclude the same plus recognising that they have also gained a lot more...

If nothing changes everything stays the same.....do you want same?

The Universe is a strange place.

Throughout many of my posts I have tried to relate my thoughts to the principles of Ki Aikido; harmony, none dissension, peace.

In order to continue to promote these fundamental practices in an appropriate environment I have left the Ki Federation.

Many thanks for good times and great memories.

Since lockdown a small number of us (Ki Federation) have been practicing ki breathing and ki meditation via Zoom.

If others are interested please contact me.

Sessions take place Sunday mornings 09.00GMT and last 45 mins.

Regards... .

Last practice of 2023 followed by a curry ......looking forward to 2024
Merry Christmas everyone

Stayed at a lovely B&B over the weekend and saw this, nothing to with aikido but...if you're contemplating taking up aikido.......

The practice of aikido is based on circular and linear movements, yet the principal belief about Ki is that it travels, like light, only in straight lines ( unless you happen to be Einstein and want to talk about gravitational curvature).

So how do we balance the linear properties of Ki with circular movement...

Attack!!!!!!!!

I consider aikido attacks to be a form of meditation on the move.

We know (most of the time) what defence Nage is going to perform, so in theory we could change/adapt the attack to fool Nage. That is not the game! hence the meditation is in performing the attack to the same standard each time, not deviating from your task.

The attack is not static and does not end with contact of Nage, it should continue to control Nage, if possible. Aikido is based on either Nage or Uke having a weapon.

How many teachers teach how to attack correctly, or why we attack/defend in the way we do?

I was recently alerted to a book by Stefan Stenudd on this very topic, (no this is not a promotional post) I would be interested in knowing if anyone has/has read this book (Attacks in Aikido)

I love my AIKIDO style but.......

The UK martial arts world is indebted to Kenshiro Abbe Sensei for what he brought to us.

Apart from being a superb practitioner of the martial arts one of his main legacies was the creation of the various governing bodies, British Aikido Council, Judo and Kendo Councils, designed to promote and maintain standards.

A judoka friend of mine once informed me that his licence allowed him to practice in any dojo in the UK. Is this true of Aikido? If you are not a member of BAC?!!!

What is the point I am trying to make?

As has often been said; the mind is like a parachute, only any use when it is open. In this respect, what do we gain, or lose by not mixing with other styles of Aikido?

Answers on a postcard please..

ELIMINATING THE COMPETITION

Not much to see here really no G***k 17's knives, or Uzi's

I attended a Dan grading yesterday, 4 people taking 2nd dan and 2 for 3rd dan.

What always surprises me on gradings is how totally different they are from one to another. Some people perform better in Aikido than weapons of Kata and vice versa.

This is rather like taking your driving test ---- you pass or fail..no points awarded no merit or distinction, it's just you against the car (and road, pedestrians, cyclists etc)

Which means, there is no one and no thing to compete against other than yourself.

This is true in Aikido. My teacher would explain the role of teacher and student as; "my job to teach, your job is to learn". The purpose of a grading is (in part) about testing what you have learned (in a very broad sense) and how you apply yourself to the process (real self development).

The road to Dan grade is long and arduous, the Road on your driving test is much shorter. The one other thing (no competition) they have in common is that for both; if you don't start you will have no chance of finishing..........

All passed.......

When I first started Ki-Aikido 32 tears ago, I was introduced to the practice of Ki breathing; a process of breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth (various other relevant bits as well) for 20 to 30 seconds each (after some practice).

I was told that this improves the quality and quantity of air in the lungs and therefore increasing blood flow and oxygen to the body.

Bold claims with no empirical evidence to support this............

Still, like a good and obedient student I obliged, and continue the practice even more to this day.

Listen to BBC Radio4"Just one thing" with Michael Mosley Oct 4th 2023, available as a podcast download.

The essence of Aikido......

Do you know how to get to Carnegie Hall? The old ones are the best ones.

A recent event has led me to this post, although Covid has a lot to answer to.

During the post Covid period the number of enquiries about joining my Aikido club increased exponentially, producing around 20 enquiries (only one of which resulted in someone turning up and stepping on the mat).

Various people to and froed with multiple emails and questions. After some correspondence one enquiree told me that they were going to learn from a book and could I recommend one, I was tempted...........

Covid also brought in many teachers attempting to keep contact with students through video links with simple exercises or insights into technicalities.

OK, NAILING MY COLOURS TO THE MAST.

You can not teach a beginner Aikido via a book or video....end of.

Do books and videos have a value.....yes.

For a student with some experience they offer an aide memoir to the exercises, often an understanding that the way in which an exercise has been taught is not the only way of doing it. For Ki-Aikido learning ki development exercises can be hugely beneficial and do not necessarily need a partner.

Nothing but nothing will replace the experience of working with different partners to expand your understanding (both of Aikido and human beings).

One of the sayings used in Ki Aikido is; the mind is like a parachute, only useful when it is open.

So what does that say about those who condemn books and videos????

Following a recent Meditation session a fellow practitioner posted a link to a video.

Just been listening to Sadhguru talking about the five elements and about 'akash' in particular. Seems like the most beautiful understanding of 'ki' I have ever heard. If interested;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=247cJLcQjG4

This may or may not be of interest to people, but I reference this as at 40 seconds in he talks of how a state of confusion is sometimes preferable so that we do not become attached to what we perceive to be the absolute truth (Phil D take note).

In my Aikido teaching I am aware of how I confuse students. The purpose of this is to promote exploration of what is or what might be the truth. In our practice we explore and learn by comparison, does this work, is that better, why does this work with one person and not another. Do harder, do softer; do quicker, do slower etc rather than being attached to this is what I was shown and I will therefore always do it this way (after internal interpretation of course)

Following on from this, a recent practice has led me to reconsider all that I think I know about what is an attack in Aikido and why do we attack in this/that way.

I thought I knew...........now I don't............oh well confused.!!!!!!!

Akasha: The Most Mysterious of the Five Elements | Sadhguru , mystic and visionary, Sadhguru is a spiritual master with a difference. An arresting blend of profundity and pragmatism, his life and work ser...

AIKIDO AND PHYSICS.......AIKIDO IS JUST PHYSICS?

Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.

Archimedes was clearly a confident chappy.

Does it therefore follow that Aikido, Judo, Jujitsu are simply arts where the practice of “throwing” your partner is based on Archimedes principle. In which case, a good big un will always beat a good little un, having a longer lever and a more stable fulcrum.

Pause for thought..

Bending moments.....clockwise moments equal anti-clockwise moments (in order to balance). 10Kgs placed either side of a 10 meter pole (A B) with the fulcrum in the middle will balance, the maths being 10 x 5 = 10 x 5.. If the distance from A is 2m (10 x 2 = 20) then the balancing weight will need to be 20/8 (8 being the length from the fulcrum to B = 2.5kgs).

Maths lesson over.

One of the principles of judo is to use your opponents weight against themselves, if the 10kgs weight at A moves towards B then there will be 20kgs of force in the direction of travel.

Of course balance or stability is important.
To practice balance of the body drink one pint of beer using the right hand then one pint of beer using the left hand.

In Ki Aikido the principles are slightly different. If you move out of the way of the 10kgs weight moving from A to B you no longer have 20kgs of force, but the 10kgs will keep moving (Newton's 2nd law of motion). And while still moving if you put your foot in the way they will trip up (Judo).

All of this, is missing the fact that your partner has a mind, and has to intend to attack (do something). If this mind is moved, placed elsewhere, deflected etc so to will be the attack (Ki Aikido).

The principle from Abbe Sensei - minimum effort, maximum efficiency.

Welcome to the world of Ki Aikido and upside down physics.