Jim Ellison (original post from Spiritual Gravity blog) In our dojo, we have four levels between white and black belts: yonkyu (green belt), sankyu (brown belt), nikyu (brown belt), and ikkyu (brown belt with black stripe). While these are still … Read More
Jim Ellison (Spiritual Gravity blog) Life is full of small miracles. Some people like to call them “coincidences”, but I think that “small miracles” is a much more fitting term. For me, Aikido has been a life-changing journey that has … Read More
As an aikido practitioner and teacher for almost 4 decades, I occasionally get asked what advice I would give to someone who is just starting out in aikido. Probably the hardest thing to get used to as a new aikido … Read More
Jim Ellison (Spiritual Gravity blog) and Tammy Epperson Have you ever watched martial artists on TV or in the movies and wanted to try it for yourself? Or maybe you have recently started taking a martial art, and are frustrated … Read More
Jim Ellison (from the Spiritual Gravity blog) Most people who have been practicing martial arts for awhile realize that there is more to it than just the physical aspect. Aikido is a defensive Japanese martial art developed by Morehei Ueshiba … Read More
by Nick Lowry I state the following based on my decades of teaching, my experiences, my training, and personal observations. These are strictly my opinions. I trained directly and indirectly under Karl Geis in the arts of Aikido, Judo and … Read More
by Nick Lowry To understand what our ranking means and how we arrive at our ranking you have to understand that we are primarily a teaching institution- The initial ranks, kyu grades up through the dan grades Shodan , Nidan … Read More
by Nick Lowry Don’t take a step you don’t have to take. Don’t put pressure in your hands unintentionally. Once you do have to step, try to keep at least one foot pointed at your target at all times. Invest … Read More
by Nick Lowry Thinking back to the aikido I learned in the 1980s ….The ukemi and the Walking are mostly identical to what we do today. The 17 was very linear and clunky, but still very strong. Movement and angles … Read More
by Nick Lowry DOJO is the way place. All the stuff we practice in a DO-jo — the aiki do and ju do and jo do and karate do and ken do and iai do and all the rest, are … Read More