Welcome to South Austin Aikido

I just returned from an incredible week of aikido training in the Rockies put on by the Boulder Aikikai.  The seminar itself embodied what aikido is all about.  Not just a bunch of techniques, but a sharing of energy both physically and mentally with others.  Hats off to the Boulder Aikikai for a truly enriching experience. 

Saotome Sensei spoke of aikido not being just a bunch of techniques but a means of discovering about ourselves.  In fact this was discussed by several teachers who pointed out that we do not do techniques to be doing aikido.  Rather we do aikido and techniques are the result.  Early in our training we focus on specific techniques to discover basic movement.  Later the focus shifts towards that of blending and moving with your partner without thought of technique.  Once again training with so many dedicated aikidoka is an awe inspiring experience that I hope everyone will get a chance to enjoy with me in the future.  More pictures to come, so check back soon....

Last weekend we had a seminar featuring the teaching of Sunny Skys Sensei from the Aiki Zenshin Dojo in Fremont California. Not only was the seminar fun, but sharing many of Sunny Skys Sensei's life experiences was an exhilarating experience. For those of you who could not make the Seminar, Sunny Skys Sensei has an incredibly joyous presence on the mat and a beautiful manner for expressing simple aikido movements in words. He emphasized relaxed, centered movements as we worked on kokyunage, iriminage and ikkyo. Everyone who attended the seminar elevated their aikido over the weekend of practice. Even an old dog like me found many new ideas for approaching my own practice. Sunny Skys Sensei provided many useful tips on how to make training fresh and new each time you practice. Sunny Skys Sensei also shared many ideas on training methods used in his childrens classes which have proved successful for him. Maybe soon we will begin a class of our own.

Sunny Skys Sensei also provided us with an opportunity to meet his new wife Judy. What an incredible person she was and I greatly enjoyed visiting with her. Sunny Skys Sensei will remain in good physical condition for some time just trying to keep up with Judy. Judy began her adult training at the weekend seminar and skiped forward rolling altogether and went directly into hard falling. Whew!! That Lady has no fear. Hopefully, they will consider returning in the future so we can do it again.

Click here for seminar pictures

Summer Camp in DC.  I just returned from a week long camp which focused on weapons training and the importance of weapons training in aikido.  Just to sit on the mat with so many dedicated aikidoka was an incredible experience.  In addition, the training was a lot of fun.  During the first class you feel like you will never last the week.  Then you blink twice and you are in the last class looking around at all the wonderful people you have met and trained with and you realize you haven't been paying attention and scramble to figure out what you are supposed to be practicing.

More mats, whew!! what fun to have all that room to train.  The new mats now give us 1173 square feet of training surface.  Come join in the fun.

Tommy Kammerer and Robert Goeking test for 3rd kyu and 5th kyu respectively. Great job on both tests!! Thanks to everyone who came to provide ukeme for the tests.

Congratulations to Joyce and Jesse Spears on the Birth of their new daughter Erin. Erin was born on Monday April 28th and weighed 6 lbs 14 ounces. Except for lack of sleep both Jesse and Joyce are doing well. Pictures are available on line at the following link. http://homepage.mac.com/jessespears/PhotoAlbum7.html