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
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
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
So many of us want to be where the action is, we want to be the one who saves the day. We want to be the hero. There is a certain rush in knowing who played a hand in something out of the ordinary and that who was me. It is commendable, it is admirable, … Continue reading When Does the Training End and The Reality Begin? By Michael Aloia
What is leadership and how does it benefit those whom we lead? The essence of real leadership is the ability to inspire others to achieve greatness. Greatness, being a relative term, is the best that anyone can be and often great leaders, by example, have the capability to release that power in those they serve. … Continue reading True Leadership by Michael Aloia
The following is an essay I created for a scholarship during my graduate career conveying an experience I had with mentorship. I related my first real experience with a shodan candidate and the process I underwent to best prepare the candidate for the test. Mentoring can occur in almost any situation, be it professional or … Continue reading The Value of Mentorship, or An Experience in the Senpai-Kohai Relationship
As the year winds down and the holidays are in full effect, I usually take some time to reflect on the past twelve months. Training is one of the many aspects that I ponder as I go about this exercise. As I dive deep into my training, I separate it into a few different categories; … Continue reading Yearly Training: Another Kind of Reflection
Aikido’s role and purpose in today’s age has become a bit of a conundrum with such vast perspectives on its form and function. Is aikido supposed to be a meditative art or something that someone can use in a self-defense scenario? Is the art just used as a teaching method for personal development or self-improvement? … Continue reading Thoughts on Aikido in the Modern World
This is a second 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. At the start of this year, I began learning how to fence the Olympic way and the beginning of May that I had the opportunity to … Continue reading A Layman’s Observation: Fencing and Japanese Martial Arts Principles
The jo; the short staff; a long stick. Not sharp but blunt. It can’t cut a limb off, but it can bludgeon and injure one, rendering the limb useless. However, several direct blows to the head could have a grave outcome as well. The jo is a weapon wielded in aikido training. But what do … Continue reading The Jo and Aikido by Antonio Aloia and Michael Aloia
Martial Arts of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow 