Linda Eskin Writes About Aikido, Learning, Training, Discovery, and Connection
In any interaction with Sensei I assume there is a lesson – that Sensei knows exactly what he’s doing, and there’s a point to it. … Read more …
By cultivating our concentration for staying with our sensations, we develop a kind of strength which enables us to stay in the present.
Something I have found fun and useful in several areas of life (music, riding, and now Aikido) is to commit to doing or participating in … Read more …
A bunch of random-but-related thoughts have been swarming around my head lately like so many butterflies that won’t alight long enough to permit a decent … Read more …
I’m just back from this morning’s seminar on Connection, and things are only just starting to sink in. So I’m sure I’ll have more thoughts … Read more …
I’ve heard it said that Aikido is more like police work than like the military. You want to control a bad situation, keeping everyone as … Read more …
Several weeks ago I participated in the Aikido In Focus seminar called “Relax, it’s Aikido," one in a series of seminars by Dave Goldberg Sensei, Aikido of … Read more …
Discovering Connection
I suppose it’s true that in any pursuit, the more you learn, the more you realize how little you know.
At a few points thus far in my short Aikido journey I’ve had glimpses what might lie along the road ahead. Vague outlines of the tops of distant mountains. A barely perceptible pre-dawn glow from a city beyond the forest. Is that the wind, or the roar of a far-off river?
I had one of those glimpses recently, when Sensei demonstrated in a simple technique the difference that connection makes. No connection. Connection. Twenty seconds out of a ninety-minute class, and the impact was profound. More about that, please!
From this shore I’ve seen a bird fly in from another land, away over the horizon. Next Sunday we row out to begin exploring it. I can’t wait.
I’ve had this idea rattling around in my head for quite a while. I think students of either discipline will recognize these points – and … Read more …
