Dojo News - March 2008
March 18th 2008
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The Book of 5 Rings: Part One of Six, Ancient Samurai Text
A fun celebration at Brannigan's Irish House!
Albright Sensei's 6th annual 29th birthday (wink), but also Daniel Hicks' achievement of earning his black belt in Aikido. "We are so very proud of Daniel," toasted Albright Sensei, "when you consider the fact that only 5% of Aikido students ever reach black belt. It is a real achievement and it was well-earned. He is a real asset to have at our dojo." The cake was aptly decorated with an image, made entirely of icing, of Sensei throwing Daniel-san on the mat! The artistry was quite impressive!
Thanks also to a prospective student, Jeff, who came up from Colorado Springs to join us for the celebration. We look forward to having him join us on the Aikido mat.
Once again, we kept the wait staff up well past midnight, but I'm sure they appreciated the extra business and had some fun with us, too.
Active students, former students, prospective students, and significant others are all welcome and encouraged to join us at our 4th Friday social nights. Please join us after class (around 9:15pm) March 28th at the Carlos Miguel's Mexican Restaurant for this month's get together. Carlos Miguel's is a great new restaurant/bar here in Castle Rock located next to the Colorado Cinemas on Limelight Road in the Meadows Residential Community.
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16th century Samurai, Miyamoto Mushashi
Article by Aikido Student, Sean Hannon
Miyamoto Musashi's Book of Five Rings is a classic Japanese text of samurai sword strategy. Yet, it is so much more than just a manual on how best to wield a sword. The principles discussed in Miyamoto Musashi's masterpiece can, in many respects, be applied to life as a whole. Even though most of us today may not carry around a samurai sword on a daily basis, a reader can still find great value in the observations of this great, innovative, and eccentric samurai. Musashi developed what is called ni to ichi ryu or the "two as one way." In short, it is Musashi's preferred way of fighting with two swords simultaneously, instead of the traditional, two-handed fighting style of Japanese samurai. We can find meaning in Musashi's text beyond that of just sword fighting because, in both in Japanese and in other cultures, the sword is often used as a comprehensive metaphor for life.
Click HERE to read the rest of this article.
St. Patrick's Day came early this year for the students of Castle Rock AIKIDO. We all had a great time February 29th, at Brannigan's Irish House in Castle Rock. Once again, more than twenty members of the Castle Rock AIKIDO family showed up to celebrate.
A special thanks to Cari, Sue, and Elizabeth for coordinating the making of a delicious cake to celebrate not only
March '08 AIKIDO Student Featurette: Cari Podzemny
When she is not busy looking for meddling microorganism in a patient's various body fluids she likes to go hiking in the mountains and foothills, and lately has been spending a lot of time fixing up the house she and her husband, Justin, recently purchased.
Cari and Justin moved to Colorado about four and a half years ago, shortly after they graduated from college. They've lived in Castle Rock for about three of those years.
A while back, Cari tried the Korean martial art of Tae Kwon Do, but found that it wasn't a good fit for her as it interfered with her other activities. Also, she was mixed into a martial arts class with children and she just didn't like that. She stopped training after just two months.
When asked what Cari likes best about Aikido, she says, "Aikido is just fun. Also, it has a certain aesthetic quality and fluidity that you don't see in other martial art styles. It's just so beautiful to watch. I like that Aikido is a form of 'budo' (or Way of Living), rather than just a 'jutsu' (a system of fighting). Aikido has more philosophical aspects and applications to it than just self-defense or learning how to fight. I especially like it because it is not dependent on size or strength to be practiced effectively."
Aikido students spend a lot of time practicing "ukemi" or falling. For many people, particularly as they get older, falling is one of the scariest experiences to have. For Aikido students who learn how to fall safely, properly, and with confidence, they often replace the word "falling" with "flying." To articulate her own falling experience in Aikido, Cari quotes Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and several other books:
"There is an art, or, rather, a knack to flying.
The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss."
- Douglas Adams
"Practicing Aikido challenges me to step outside of my box, to do things I would normally never do like being willingly thrown towards the ground without getting hurt!"
Cari recently tested for "yon-kyu" or 4th rank under black belt in the art of Aikido. She "flew" threw the air with ease and passed the test with "flying" colors. Cari is a dedicated, serious Aikido student, a fast learner, and a pleasure to have train with us in Castle Rock. She recently convinced her husband to join our program as well.
Below is a picture of Cari participating in Mochitsuki, a traditional Japanese rice-smashing practice at this past New Years' Day celebration in Boulder, Colorado.
Cari has been training at Castle Rock AIKIDO since June of last year. She's a Clinical Laboratory Scientist (a.k.a. Medical Technologist), which basically means she works in a laboratory at a hospital processing everything from basic blood chemistries like cholesterol and glucose levels to cross-matching blood for patients who require transfusions.
Castle Rock AIKIDO
Traditional Japanese Martial Arts Exclusively for Adults
Call (720) 221-3665
