Training at Iwama
The uchi-deshi experience (Part 1 of 2)
by Ethan Weisgard

Ethan Weisgard, an instructor at Copenhagen Aikido Club, and an old friend of Fran Turner Sensei, writes about his experiences in training with Saito Sensei in Iwama, both as uchi-deshi and as soto-deshi.
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Aikido in Southern Europe: Part 1
by David Beauroy

I have just returned from Europe after a seven-month absence from Toronto. I was in Italy, doing a cooking internship. Most of the time I was working, so I had little time left for other activities. I did take a gi, though, in the hope of practicing once in a while. ...
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Where the heart goes, follow!
by Fran Turner

Not all the heart's inclinations should necessarily be acted upon, but by far, the majority are healthy.

When my friend Sara told me that dancing was what, in her heart, she wanted to do, I was astonished. Astonished, because nothing that I had seen in her life spoke of this love that she apparently nurtured....
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Serendipity
by Jennifer Plager

Having aikido as a physical, mental and emotional stress release was sanity-saving.

Our youngest daughter, Joelle, had become a typical teenager with an "attitude," by early 1994. By happenstance, around the same time, I was introduced to aikido...
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Shugyo seminar — a great success
by Hugh Stephens

Massimo Sensei rendered the complexity of aikido into a single efficient pattern.

On Sunday, November 2, over fifty enthusiastic aikidoka came together for five hours of intense practice under the inspired teaching of senseis Massimo di Villadorata of Montreal Aikikai and David Yates of Kanata Aikikai...
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Aikido and the use of Space
by Jane Unan

Jane Unan, a personal trainer, describes how Laban Movement Analysis can be "a framework and a language to describe movement in terms of Space."
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Teaching: another angle on practice
by Gabe Dimarco

...Teaching makes me more aware of how and why we move the way we do. In having to explain the how's and why's to students, I have to understand them myself. I doing so, I found the opportunity for using atemi if uke moves in a way that makes him/her vulnerable...
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Away by Marty Miceli

I have just returned to aikido after being away for six months. I greatly missed attending the dojo and training with the friends I have gained over the last two years. Although I could not train, I realize I was able to practice different aspects of aikido in my day-to-day living. Several months in the northern Ontario woods with few distractions enabled me to slow down and pay more attention to my movements and thoughts. It was a time to relax both mind and body. Whether I was swinging an axe or carrying water to the cottage, I felt a new awareness of my movements. This may not have improved my technique but did bring me back to the dojo refreshed in mind and body. It's great to be back!

In order to find the best fit with the number of submissions we receive, we'll be producing a new issue of this newsletter every three months. We continue to welcome submissions from Aikido Shugyo Dojo members, family, and friends.

"The next time you are in conflict, don't resist. When the person you are dealing with finds no resistance, they change. They go to another place. It's so simple in theory and difficult in practice. You get into arguments because you think you are right. So stop thinking you are right!"
— Terry Dobson, from It's a Lot Like Dancing... An Aikido Journey

Editing, Proofreading: Oleg Gorfinkel John McNabb Fran Turner Submissions Coordinator: John McNabb

Layout: Oleg Gorfinkel Contributors: Members of Aikido Shugyo Dojo, their families and friends

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