Friday, October 10, 2014

2014 Embu Kai

Join us for our one year anniversary Embu-Kai (demonstrations)!

We will have the demos at the dojo and add two more rows of mats for some extra room to spread out.

We're still a small group so it shouldn't take long for all of our regular members to show what they have been working on.


Thursday, August 7, 2014

schedule update 8/7

Shortened schedule this week and next week. JM sempai will be teaching class while Charles sensei, Tyffany, and Evan are on vacation in NC.

We will have class Thursday (8/7), Tuesday (8/12), and Thursday (8/14).

No class Friday and Monday. Charles sensei should be back for Thursday class (8/14).

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Yasuhiro & Mitsuyoshi Saito - Ken Tai Jo Demo

In this video, Yasuhiro and Mitsuyoshi Saito demonstrate Ken Tai Jo which we are working on this week at the dojo. We've been doing the basic endings, but notice in the video he does the advanced endings and extra moves at the end which we will focus more on Thursday and Friday in class.



Enjoy the video and we'll see you on the mat!



Monday, July 7, 2014

Advanced Keiko Thursday

image from aikidojournal.com
Last Thursday before the long weekend we had an impromptu advanced class. Since we have a few sempai going to re-test into CAA/Aikikai from other styles we worked on the basics of irimi-nage and koshi-nage, then did some tachi-dori (sword taking) and kumi-tachi.

The Aikido of San Leandro sho-dan test requirements (PDF) are a great template for advanced students whether they are getting ready for sho-dan or san-dan.

Thanks to the sempai for coming out and training before the holiday weekend!

This week (7/7) is kata-dori (shoulder grab) and the 31 kumi-jo. Today is the first Monday so we'll work on weapons and wash the mat after class.

See you on the mat!

Charles

Image: Saito Sensei showing koshi-nage; from aikidojournal

Friday, June 27, 2014

Three New 6th Kyu Students

Eight months ago when we started Kinjo Dojo in November of 2013, I set a modest goal: Test three new students for 6th kyu. I hoped to have at least three new beginners start from scratch and stay with us long enough to take their 6th kyu test.

Last night (2014-6-26), I handed out the third 6th kyu certificate to one of our new beginners. Congratulations to Jared, Kim, and Nathan on their accomplishment; thank you for coming out and supporting the dojo!

And of course congratulations goes to my son Evan for his 6th and 5th kyu promotions since we started the dojo. I didn't count him as one of the 3 because he's been training with us since we were down south with Blevins-sensei and Kiryu Aikido. Also he's family and often gets dragged into class whether he feels like it or not!

We still have 4 more months to go before our first year anniversary. I hope to see a few more interested students walk through the door to begin their path in aikido.

See you on the mat!

Charles

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Workshop Series

We are beginning our workshop series this week with shodan review. This training is open to anyone 3rd kyu and above and will focus on requirements for the Aikido of San Leandro sho-dan test.

This workshop is only open to students 3rd kyu and above because we have a very limited amount of time to cover a large amount of material! Even with 3rd kyu and up it will be a challenge to get through everything and still have time to do practice tests at the end. Anyone is welcome to drop by at any time during the training and observe. Please do so! It's a great time to see advanced practice and get a better idea of what's to come in your training.

These workshops are meant to help students prepare for their next rank, or provide an opportunity for some extra training and ukemi (falling) practice. Each workshop will cost $20 for the day.

I'm hoping to have these every month at least, and typically on Saturday. The next workshop will focus on 4th kyu and will be open to everyone. The 4th kyu test includes techniques from both 6th and 5th kyu, so students working on those tests will benefit as well.

Here are the workshop levels planned so far:
  • 6th - 4th kyu: 
    • open to everyone
    • focus is on the 4th kyu test which includes techniques from 6th and 5th kyu
  • 3rd - 1st kyu
    • open to 5th kyu and up
    • focus on 2nd kyu test, 31 jo kata, kumitachi
  • Sho-dan
    • open to 3rd kyu and up
    • faster pace, advanced ukemi
    • Weapons: 5 kumi-tachi, 5 kumi-jo, 5 ken-tai-jo
  • Ni-dan and up
    • open to 3rd kyu and up
    • faster pace, advanced ukemi
    • Weapons: kumi-tachi, kumi-jo, ken-tai-jo; all with variations
    • kaeshi-waza
    • henka-waza
Hope to see everyone at the upcoming workshops, gambatte (do your best)!

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Sho-dan Workshop, June 22


On June 22nd we will have a workshop for students seeking sho-dan. Throughout the day we will focus on the sho-dan test requirements from Aikido of San Leandro and Pat Hendricks Sensei. Since ASL is affiliated with the CAA and Aikikai, this includes the requirements from the Hombu/Aikikai test so all styles are welcome.

This training is for anyone 3rd kyu or higher. Cost is $20.

3rd and 2nd kyu
You will have the opportunity to work on higher level techniques, see what's ahead, and get a good ukemi workout

1st kyu
Focus on the test requirements and clean up your techniques. Slow down and work on your form; it's not a race!

sho-dans and higher
If you are coming from other styles and re-testing into CAA Division 1, you can focus on Iwama weapons and changes to the open-hand techniques. Everyone else can enjoy the extra training and review.

This is our first all-day event as a dojo and I'm looking forward to working with Kinjo Dojo students and preparing them for what's ahead. Other styles and dojos are welcome to attend and I hope to see some visitors on the mat and in the park for weapons practice!

Schedule
11-13: Weapons in the park (location TBD; see update below)
13-15: Lunch and open practice
15-17: open-hand and practice tests
18:00: We'll go out to a local spot for post-workshop dinner and beverages

Location (morning weapons): Memorial Park in Arvada (map). We'll meet at the southwest area of the park. There is a small shelter and shade trees.

Location (afternoon open-hand): Kinjo Dojo

Update (2014-6-18): Changed time to 11am, and location to Memorial Park in Arvada

Update (2014-6-10): There is a big bike race going on the day of our training so we will probably move morning weapons to another park. Check here or one of the event links below for updates.

Workshop Event links:
Google+, Facebook





Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Friday Seminar Review



It's been a crazy February and March, but things are finally settling down; I hope to stay out of airports for at least the next few weeks.

Last weekend in MN was a blast as always and I'm still recovering from the cumulative lack of sleep. Mark Larson sensei taught 8 hours of aikido from Saturday morning to noon on Sunday. He focused on "muna-dori" (front collar grab) techniques on Saturday and ken awase variations. Sunday we did some ken-tai-jo and shou-men-uchi irimi-nage.

I had a great time practicing with everyone and visiting with people I only see once a year. If you can get the chance, definitely put the MN Spring seminar on your schedule for next year.

This coming Friday (4/4) I will be reviewing techniques from the seminar and the weapons for the week coincidentally happens to be ken-tai-jo which we did last Sunday with Larson-sensei.

After practice we will head next door to Colorado+ for some food and brews if you're into that sort of thing.

See you on the mat!

Friday, March 7, 2014

ASL Feb 2014

Greetings!

In case you haven't been following along at home, Tyffany and I just returned from a week at Aikido of San Leandro as uchideshi with Hendricks-sensei, and attended our first CAA (California Aikido Association) Division 1 training.

After Hendricks-sensei's weapons seminar on Saturday, we got to view two san-dan tests and Jerome Buenviaje Sensei's (from Takemusu Aikido New Mexico) dynamic go-dan demo.

We also went to the all CAA training and meeting on Sunday where Pat-sensei introduced us as a new dojo under her in Division 1. At the meeting we met our CAA neighbors from Denver Aikikai, Edgar-sensei and Don, who are in Division 2 under Frank Doran sensei.

Check out the meeting minutes here for all the details (PDF):
http://ai-ki-do.org/MeetingFeb2014.pdf

It is a great honor to be a part of the CAA and benefit from the technical lineage of Pat Hendricks sensei who started training at the Iwama dojo about the time I was born (!). As a CAA dojo we are also able to register our dan (black belt) ranks with Hombu dojo in Tokyo, Japan.

Hope to see you on the mat soon!

Charles

Thursday, February 13, 2014

President's Day Week 2014

Charles-sensei will be at Russian River Brewing Company in Santa Rosa for some beer thing Monday, then with Tyffany at Aikido of San Leandro Tuesday through Sunday.

Tyffany is teaching class Monday night (2/17), 7:30-8:30 so come on out! JM-sempai will be teaching during the week. Check the calendar for training days and cancellations!

Weapons next week is 31 jo kata. Getting ready for 2nd kyu? Need to work on your 31. Gambatte!

Friday, January 10, 2014

New Monday Night Classes

We're adding to the schedule!

Monday night classes will start next week and go from 7:30 to 8:30. That will give us a total of 5 and a half hours of training time each week.

See you on the mat!