As a requirement for my upcoming Aikido nidan (2nd degree black belt) test, I have been asked to write an essay. I have written about music and aikido previously but this exercise gave me a chance to look a bit deeper at how the two arts of music and Aikido have crossed paths and…
Category: Testing
Aiki
“The atoms that make up your body were once forged inside stars, and the causes of even the smallest event are virtually infinite and connected with the whole in incomprehensible ways.” – Eckhart Tolle I wanted to spend some time thinking about my shodan test today. Early this morning I went and grabbed some breakfast…
The First Precept
On a Saturday morning Aikido class a few years ago, Sensei brought in the book by Gichin Funakoshi, “The Twenty Guiding Principles of Karate”. He read us the first precept in full: “karate-do begins and ends with rei” “Along with judo and kendo, karate-do is a representative Japanese martial art. And with it’s fellow martial…
Training Away From Home
When I tested for 1st Kyu a couple of years ago, I was presented with an interesting problem. My friend, Mentor and uke, Sasun, that I selected to be my test partner, could not participate. His back went out. So rather than testing with him and benefiting from the familiarity I built up through the…
Mark's Meanderings 