In “A life in Aikido”, Kisshomaru Ueshiba quotes O Sensei, saying “Fighting and Farming are one.” O Sensei spent a significant portion of his life farming. I believe that farming for O Sensei has particular and unique connotations regarding his being grounded with the land that he tilled and the harvest that he reaped….
Category: aikido
The Importance of Practicing Awareness as Uke
Last night the focus of our class was more on the uke (attacker) side. Sensei asked us to think about how we as uke can help our partners be better at practicing a technique. He said that we all have innate knowledge regardless of the time we have spent on the Aikido mat, and…
Road to 1st Kyu – Week 1 Day 2
Originally uploaded by markdeso I started the book “A Life in Aikido: The Biography of Founder Morihei Ueshiba” by O’ Sensei’s son and the second doshu of the art, Kisshomaru Ueshiba . I only got through the preface and the first couple of pages. What was overwhelming for me was how much love and admiration…
Road to 1st Kyu – Week 1 Day 1 – one more thing
Originally uploaded by markdeso A coworker of mine is an exceptional classical guitar player. I asked him one day how he goes about learning new things. He tells me that before he starts to practice the piece he usually listens to a couple of pieces of the composers work, and tries to learn something about…
Road to 1st Kyu – Week 1 Day 1
Originally uploaded by markdeso A few months ago I wrote a series of blogs to get me back into the gym and be consistant. That seemed to work well for me. Subsequently, stopping that process has allowed other things in my life to come before my time in the gym, so I’m starting up again….
Aikido, conflict and the basics of Tai no Henko
One of the things that attracted me to the art of Aikido early on was the metaphor it used to conflict resolution. In aiki terms we talk about getting off the line of an attack, this was expressed with the example of someone on a train track. While it would be foolish to either run…
Mark's Meanderings 