Welcome to South Austin Aikido

On Sunday David Huffaker tested for Nikyu.  This is hard for me to imagine because it seems like he just started training.  However, David has been diligently training for the past two and a half years and has learned a lot about Aikido along the way.

David did a great job from the beginning with all of the required movement from suwari waza.  Then he moved on to hanmi handachi and tachi waza, showing a lot of improvement in his understanding in both techniques and aiki.  His kumi tachi also went very well and his randori showed a great use of the mat, keeping the ukes spaced nicely.  Way to go David on a really great test!

Following the test, we all went to Pei Wei for dinner.  The food and conversation, along with the chance to hang out were all very enjoyable.

Thanks to everyone who participated and supported David on his test.

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This year’s Aiki Week left me feeling pretty tired by the end of this exciting week.  We trained pretty hard, with plenty of great energy in each of the classes.  Not being quite as young as I once was, increasing my training days seems to take its toll on my body.  However, the effort was well worth it, with each of us showing improvement with the additional training during the week.

We covered many topics that we do not usually get to work on, including jo wasa, randori, and two sword training.  The variety and extra days of training were a lot of fun while breaking our usual routines.  The energy on the mat was outstanding adding to the excitement.  Thanks to everyone who participated in making this a memorable Aiki Week.

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We just finished an awesome week of training with Aiki Week.  Boy was it fun!  Lots of wonderful things to work on with plenty of great energy from all on the mat.  

What better way to finish the week then to have a kyu test.  This Sunday, August 22nd we will have Kyu Testing during the second class (2:15PM to 3:15PM).  Our members are encouraged to come and support the kyu testing.  After the kyu test we plan on going out for dinner and all are welcome to join. 

See ya on the mat!

South Austin Aikido's 5th annual Aiki Week kicks off Saturday, August 14th. With seven days of consecutive training and a different focus for each class, providing a great opportunity to get in some extra training.

We'll celebrate the first day of Aiki Week with a Potluck at Darrell White's house. Directions in the Member's section.

Saturday, August 14th

• 10:00am – 11:00am Basics
• 11:15am – 12:00pm Jo Dori
• 6:00pm – 10:00pm Potluck Party

Sunday, August 15th

• 1:00pm – 2:00pm All Levels
• 2:15pm – 3:00pm Tachi Dori

Monday, August 16th

• 6:00pm – 7:00pm Ukemi
• 7:15pm – 8:00pm Koshi

Tuesday, August 17th

• 5:00pm - 5:45pm Kid's Class
• 6:00pm – 7:00pm All Levels
• 7:15pm – 8:00pm Weapons (Bokken)

Wednesday, August 18th

• 6:00pm – 7:00pm Rolling
• 7:15pm – 8:00pm Randori

Thursday, August 19th

• 5:00pm - 5:45pm Kid's Class  
• 6:00pm – 7:00pm Basics
• 7:15pm – 8:00pm Weapons (Jo)

Friday, August 20th

• 6:00pm – 7:00pm All Levels
• 7:15pm – 8:00pm Tanto Dori
• 8:30pm - 9:30pm Go out for dinner after class

  This will be a great week of training. See y'all on the mat!

Todd, Tim and I just returned from a great week of training at summer camp in the Rocky Mountains. The weather was outstanding with some rain to help cool down the temperature, making it really pleasant for summer time training.

The camp this year included many teaching spots for senior instructors instead of having a special guest instructor. These classes were off the charts amazing. It is really encouraging to see that the second generation teachers have so much to share from their Aikido training. All of the senior instructors had a common thread of connection that ran throughout the training, with the main focus on maintaining one’s posture and balance, allowing your partner to be drawn into your space. The movement was flowing and felt great.

I trained with many people from all over the US and the world, that included people from Germany, Finland, Portugal, Turkey and a small French Island called Guadalupe. It is always fun to train with people from so far away and see that we are working on the same things.

The main instructors all taught amazing classes. The schedule was so packed you could not afford to take any classes off, even though my body was thinking otherwise. I came home pretty tired, but equally excited about working all of these new ideas into our Aikido training.

Overall the camp was well attended and an incredible learning experience! I am already looking forward to next year’s camp in the Rockies.

Click here to check out the pictures

It was another big test Sunday with three kyu tests including Alex Thurman testing for rokyu, Wiley Patterson testing for nikyu and Brian Canham testing for ikkyu.

Alex tested first and did a great job for his first test. He has come a long way since starting Aikido and even though he looked a little nervous, he worked through his kyu test and performed very well. Way to go Alex!

Wiley tested for nikyu next and did a great job, especially early in the test with relaxing and moving from his center. Wiley did a great job in showing his understanding of all of the required techniques and plenty more that he demonstrated as well. Great job Wiley! Keep up the good work.

Finally Brian Canham tested for ikkyu. He held up really well in spite of the heat and the length of the test. Brian was concerned about his conditioning but held on till the end, which was about 35 minutes of total test time. Brian did a great job with his tanto dori which showed a lot of practice in preparation. Brian also moved very well from his center and maintained a nice tension in his arms. Brian has come a long way in the past three years and his Aikido future is pretty bright if he continues on this path. Way to go Brian!

Following the tests we went to PeiWei for wonderful food and conversation. It was an enjoyable time revisiting the tests. Thanks to everyone for their support of kyu test prep on Saturday and kyu tests on Sunday, making this a successful test weekend.

Check out the photos on our website