Welcome to South Austin Aikido

I have ordered long-sleeve 100% cotton t-shirts in Heather Brown with the South Austin Aikido logo on the front of the shirt.  These shirts should be in by the middle of next week and will be sold for $15 each on a first come, first serve basis.  

If you are interested in purchasing a shirt, please see Barbara or myself to reserve/purchase your shirt(s).

On Sunday, Christopher Fitzgerald tested for Sankyu.  With all the kyu tests over the past several weeks, it has become very clear that everyone in the group is improving each and every day.  Christopher is no exception this.  Christopher’s movements have improved a lot, especially in the past few weeks.

During the test, Christopher showed a lot of growth in his understanding of aikido principles and the application to his techniques.  He certainly understands many techniques.  In fact, I could not find any that he could not perform.

This upcoming weekend we will have open mat for kyu test preparation on Saturday followed by kyu testing on Sunday.  See schedule below.

• Saturday, December 2nd - Open Mat 10:00AM to 11:30AM:  We will have open mat time available for reviewing the upcoming kyu test as well as general open mat time.  All are welcome to participate in this 90 minute training session.

• Sunday, December 3rd - Kyu Testing 2:45PM to 3:45PM:  We will have kyu testing during the second class.  We plan on going out for dinner immediately following and all are welcome to join.

As they say "Many hands make quick work." and this was certainly the case.  We had several members come in on Friday and by 1:00PM all of the new lights had been installed and we had completed the first pass on dojo clean up.

Then today, a few of us came in to finish the clean up and put the mats back into place.  This went relatively quickly and the new lights look great!

Thank you Jay Sensei, Barbara, Brian, Tim, Eryn, Gilbert, Stephen, Darrell, Mark, Matt, Charles and Marty for your help with this project on Friday and/or Saturday.

On Sunday Gilbert Hughes, Charles Pummill and Mark McDonald all tested.  It seems like everyone was preparing to all test at once, which in many ways is true since when one member tests we all test.  Everyone just keeps getting better. 

Gilbert Hughes tested for Rokyu and even though he has only trained for a short time, he clearly showed a good understanding of aikido principles during his test.  Great job Gilbert!!

Charles tested for Yonkyu.  Charles has attended two summer camps as well as two other seminars since his last test and all of the hard work really showed during his test.  Charles has clearly raised his aikido to another level.  His randori was a joy to watch.  Way to go Charles, the training is really paying off!!

Mark McDonald tested for Sankyu.  Mark has also been training consistently and it showed during test.  He has gained a new understanding of where he wants his aikido to go and this was evident during his test.  His movement has improved greatly and he constantly looks for the proper connection.  Way to go Mark and keep up the good work!!

It was a very successful day of testing followed of course by our group meal, where we went to Fuddruckers for burgers and celebration.  Thanks to everyone for their participation in the kyu tests and especially to all the senior students who worked so diligently to assist these candidates in test preparation.

Pictures of the kyu tests

There will be no class on Thanksgiving Day.  All other classes will be open at their normal times during this holiday week.  See schedule below for details.

• Monday, Nov 20th - Normal class schedule
• Tuesday, Nov 21st - Normal class schedule
  
• Thursday, Nov 23rd - Thanksgiving Day - No class
• Friday, Nov 24th - Dojo work party day - 9:00AM to 5:00PM
• Saturday, Nov 25th - Dojo clean up day - 1:00PM to 3:00PM
  
• Sunday, Nov 26th - Normal class schedule

We will also take advantage of the extended weekend for some dojo improvements.  All members are welcome to come and help with this dojo project, whether just a few hours or all day.  Contact Barbara Kammerer or myself for more information.

May you all have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving.