Welcome to South Austin Aikido

Darrell White hosted our summer Aikido pot luck on Saturday, July 19th at his home.  As always, there was plenty of food, but this party featured even more talk.  We had the highest attendance of any potluck to date: 50 members and family chatted, watched aikido DVDs, and generally raised the roof to give Gilbert Ryan Hughes a proper sendoff to the Air Force.

Click here to see the pictures

We will be having a pot luck on Saturday, July 19th at the home of Darrell White.  This is both a summer Aikido party as well as going away party for our of our members, Gilbert Ryan Hughes, who has enlisted in the United States Air Force and is scheduled to leave in August.  The party is open to our Aikido community and their family members to attend. 

Please see the member's section of our website (requires login) or Barbara Kammerer for more information.

On Saturday we had a great turn out for the test preparation training with many senior students attending. This made for an excellent test event for everyone involved. Once again we see the value of community with teaching aikidoka. Thanks to everyone for making this a very special training event.

On Sunday we had two kyu tests with Chris Weber and Vasili Liaskovitis both testing for Rokyu. The tests showed why we test with both test candidates showing a lot of progress during the preparation leading up to the test. During the test, both showed a lot of poise and concentration.

Chris had beautiful posture, moved well through the required techniques while using his center and demonstrating a developing understanding of aikido principles. Great job Chris!

Vasili moved very well in a relaxed yet deliberate fashion. His arm tension was really good and his basic footwork was outstanding. Way to go Vasili!

Following the kyu tests many of us went to Pei Wei for dinner. The food was great and the conversation, which may have involved some discussions on aikido, was a lot of fun. Even though I may have eaten too much, it was a very rewarding time.

Thanks to everyone who participated in this event.

Click here to see the pictures of the kyu tests.

We will have open mat for kyu test preparation on Saturday, July 5th followed by kyu testing on Sunday, July 6th.  See schedule below.

Saturday, July 5th

Open Mat 10:00AM to 11:30AM:  We will have open mat time available for reviewing the upcoming kyu tests as well as general open mat time.  All are welcome to participate in this 90 minute training session.

Sunday, July 6th

Kyu Testing 2:15PM to 3:15PM:   We will have kyu testing during the second class.  We plan on going out for dinner immediately following and all are welcome to join.

Today we celebrated the 25th anniversary of Jay Sensei's 29th birthday by doing birthday rolls.  We had a large group on the mat allowing Jay Sensei to roll 80 times for his birthday.  Too cool!  Afterwards a group of us went to Rudy's BBQ to continue the celebration of Sensei's birthday with good food and good fun.  Happy Birthday Jay Sensei!

On Sunday, Marty Herzog tested for Yonkyu. He has been training very consistently and it certainly showed on his test.  Marty maintained a relaxed approached, allowing techniques to unfold instead of focusing on the outcome.  It is really the first step in progressing to a place where one can really feel what is going on during a technique.  He also allowed his arms to relax which increases sensitivity allowing you to feel your partner.  It was a great test because it showed so much progress from the last kyu test.  Way to go Marty on a great kyu test!!

Thanks to all the senior students who helped Marty get ready for this test and for taking ukemi during the test.

Click here to see the pictures.