Another fabulous Aikido Warriors' Camp, thanks to all our participants!
A weeklong overview of Aikido practice and philosophy,
and a summer refresher for our regular students.
Each day
begins with morning warm-ups and a jog:
a light refreshing warm-up in the fresh morning air for students to move around
as a team.
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A
team-game normally follows the jog, reinforcing
the importance of
working together, being mindful of team mates, working
out strategies,
leading the team, and delegating responsibilities. |
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Frisbee
Game |
Capture
the Flag |
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International Football (Soccer) |
International
Football (Soccer) |
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Daily
practice, with the observance of
Aikido etiquette and discipline.
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Practising
the Bow |
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Remembering everyone's name... |
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Setting personal goals and life statements... |
... reflecting on etiquette and philosophy ... |
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Working together... |
No excuses... be accountable... Blame and be lame ... |
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Ask: are my decisions propelling me toward my goal? |
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Back stretches... |
Elbow crawl... |
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Shikko... Knee-walking |
Forward and Backward Rolls |
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Kneeling breakfalls |
Practising a breakfall... |
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After
the normal dojo warm-up, students
were brought through basic unarmed
and weapons training. |
... more breakfall practice... |
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Shiho nage, four-direction throw |
Ikkyo, the first pinning technique |
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Irimi nage, the entering throw |
Kokyuho nage, breath throw |
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Tanto Dori |
... with a stab... |
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Koshi nage |
Attack with a baseball bat... |
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... or a la crosse stick...!? |
Multiple attacks... |
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Jiyu waza... |
... going with the flow... |
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A central theme of the camps,
apart
from technique,
is the importance
of developing oneself from the inside:
proper and appropriate etiquette, respect,
discipline, self-reliance, accountability,
being responsible, and being
conscious of one's decisions and actions.
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A question of trust... a Trust Exercise. |
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Blindfold Obstacle Course: Learning
to listen... |
and to lead the sightless...
engaging all the senses... |
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Being specific and saying what you mean... |
Practicing centredness and calmness... |
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Calligraphy: Practising inner
focus and control ... |
performing
each stroke decisively ... |
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Manifesting the intangible and internal... |
... outwardly through things done or created, like calligraphy. |
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Working together in the Ping Pong Game. |
Remembering names in the Blanket Game. |
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Games
served as a means of self-discovery: revealing personal attitudes,
character, temperament, beliefs, ...
going beyond assumptions.
Being sensitive to choices,
responsibilities
and others.
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... and faces... |
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The Chopstick Game: going around the pole ... |
... and around... |
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... run back... |
... or try to, being dizzy and all ... |
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... calm and compose yourself and transfer beans... |
... from one bowl to the next. |
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The Last Word: 20 secs to talk about the last word spoken...
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Telephone: gossip & rumour, don't assume; go to the source. |
being and expressing oneself confidently ... |
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Dog and the Bone Game: alertness, speed...
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... and agility... |
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Students
were introduced to the concept of KI flow. These
exercises required students to be aligned within themselves - balanced and integrated in body, mind, and spirit;
and how that manifests Integrity in oneself.
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In silence, adjusting to find
the Centre, intention & focus... |
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receiving and redirecting energy... |
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...
extension of "ki"... |
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and practising with blindfolds. |
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A goal of Aikido practice is to be able to navigate through multiple attackers.
These exercises demonstrated the importance of movement, centredness,
and energy flow as one deals with more than one attacker.
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If caught in a "benching" situation... |
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Futarigake...
held by two attackers.... |
When cornered or trapped... |
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Held at gun point... |
The Fireman's Lift, to practice koshnage... |
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Otoshis... |
Multiple attackers... |
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We had our share of weapons practice as well...
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Bokken |
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Aikido
Warriors' Camp 8 - 12 July 2013 |
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Thank you for a very special and meaningful week of Aikido practice! |
Have a wonderful and enriching summer.
See you in the Dojo! |
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