A highlight of Leah’s visit out here was to do some training at different dojos.  As I tend to try to make an event out of everything, it changed from visiting “a couple” to 7 schools, and I officially named this “Aiki Tour”.  I may even need to give it a more grandiose name like “Northern California Aiki Tour 2011”.    We actually lined up 7 dojos to go and visit.  Leah and I thought it would be a good thing to write down our thoughts on what we learned as we progressed through.   I had not been doing much training lately as I’m trying to rehabilitate my knee.  I can already feel a little bit of soreness, so I will probably need to modify my training and even possibly sit out for a bit at some of the classes.I have wanted to do something like this for a while.  It’s a sheer pleasure to have Leah here and to have planned this.  I am looking forward to learning and to compare notes with my partner as she is looking forward to doing the same.

Our plan is to visit the following dojos:

Centerfield Aikido w/Mary McLean Sensei
City Aikido w/Robert Nadeau Shihan
Two Rock Dojo w/Richard Strozzi Heckler Sensei

Traditional Aikido of Sonoma w/Nathan Feileacan Sensei
Aikido of Petaluma (my home dojo) w/ Bob Noha Sensei
Aikido of Noe Valley (my former dojo) w/ Steve Gengo Sensei
Aikido of Cotati w/ Ginny Breeland Sensei

As we go, I will report and reflect on our visits.