Welcome to South Austin Aikido

On Sunday Alina Bushong tested for ikkyu and had one of the best ikkyu tests we have had to date. We have made several attempts to get her to this point over the past two years but something (mostly college) always seemed to get in the way. However, the additional preparation paid off because she had a great test.

The test itself went very fast with ukes like Tommy and Brian Kammerer flying at her like there was no tomorrow. All of her techniques were delivered with a great commitment and fluid movement. She got pretty tired, but hung in right through the end of the test. She easily handled all of the techniques I could throw at her.

Alina’s test did show how much mental attention is required for performing the paired weapons kata. She demonstrated great focus and a beautiful entering line on all weapons movements. Then her randori really was a thing of beauty. She had such a vision of the mat and determined movement that ukes just went flying everwhere. Great job Alina. We are all very proud of you!! Thanks to everyone who provided ukeme and stayed to support the test.

After the test we all went to Freebirds for dinner. There was some rumor of a brownie in it for me. It turned out the rumor was true and the brownie was pretty good. It was a perfect end to a great test event.