Over the years, I have heard many an instructor say to leave your worldly thoughts and concerns at the door of the dojo before entering. I even worked with a fellow instructor who placed a trashcan at the entrance of the training area to tangibly remind practitioners to dump their "baggage" or "personal trash" before … Continue reading Building On the Mat Spirituality by Michael Aloia
Mike Roth always enjoyed playing with swords, even as a child. He quickly joined a fencing class while in college and wanted more. Roth soon found Mark Wickersham at Five Rings Fencing in 2013 and has not stopped fencing single sword since then. About five years later, Roth established his Heartland HEMA and has placed … Continue reading Interview with Heartland HEMA Founder Mike Roth: HEMA, Tournaments, and Sportsification
Sang Kim began studying battodo at the age of eighteen, after being inspired by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at a young age. What also helped him join was the fact that he used to hang out consistently at Bob Elder’s East Coast Martial Arts Supplies. From there, he joined the Toyama-ryu battodo dojo at Shindai … Continue reading Interview with Byakkokan Dojo Founder Sang Kim: Toyama-ryu in the United States, Part II
Sang Kim began studying battodo at the age of eighteen, after being inspired by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at a young age. What also helped him join was the fact that he used to hang out consistently at Bob Elder’s East Coast Martial Arts Supplies. From there, he joined the Toyama-ryu battodo dojo at Shindai … Continue reading Interview with Byakkokan Dojo Founder Sang Kim: Toyama-ryu in the United States, Part I
Between volleyball and aikido – something she had never heard of before – Heather Gawlick chose aikido and has not looked back since. Over the years, she has learned from Nick Lowry of Kaze Uta Budo Kai and Karl Geis of Fugakukai. At Geis’ suggestion, she opened her first school in 1999 in Albuquerque, New … Continue reading Interview with Shinju Dojo Cofounder Heather Gawlick: Exploring Aikido and Karl Geis’ Legacy
After a friend described to him what aikido is, Roy Gawlick quickly searched for a dojo to find out more. He came across Karl Geis’ school in Houston, Texas and never left the art. In 2001, Gawlick opened his first school in Vancouver, British Columbia then, in 2018, opened Shinju Dojo with his wife Heather. … Continue reading Interview with Shinju Dojo Cofounder Aikidoka Roy Gawlick: Karl Geis, Nick Lowry, and a Lifelong Study
This is the third installment in an ongoing series of "A Layman's Observations" where I discuss my observations on martial arts and combat sports. Read the prior installment here. Since the early 2010s, there has been a movement that attempts to make aikido functional in a combat situation. The question of aikido’s effectiveness as a … Continue reading A Layman’s Observation: Aikido’s Aiki and Its Foundational Benefits
Siegel, Andrea. Women in Aikido. Berkeley, Calif.: North Atlantic Books, 1993. In performing background research for this book, I found a review of it plainly stating that the pages were filled with women complaining and whining about their lives and experiences. This struck me as odd and perhaps too extreme of a view on the … Continue reading Reflecting on Women in Aikido
Perception is a unique, individual characteristic shared by each of us. How we perceive will often determine how we respond. Similar or even the exact situation shared or experienced by two or more individuals may have a completely different end result simply because interpretations are different. Many factors play a role as we discern circumstance: … Continue reading That Thing You Do by Michael Aloia
Ralph Bryan experienced many different styles of aikido throughout his time before settling with Shizuo Imaizumi. He first started in Hawaii with Aikikai, and then with Bill Lee of Ki Society in Austin, Texas, and later with Mitsugi Saotome’s Aikido Schools of Ueshiba in Takoma Park, Maryland. He joined Shin-Budo Kai in 1994 with Wade … Continue reading Interview with Albuquerque Shin-Budo Kai Chief Instructor Ralph Bryan: Always Coming Back to Aikido
Martial Arts of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow 