February class schedule highlights

Our January Intensive training comes to a conclusion this week and we return to a regular schedule starting February 1, with a couple of twists.

Schedule overview:

Mondays
12:30pm - 1:30pm: all levels
6:15pm - 7:15 pm: all levels

Tuesdays
6:15pm - 7:15pm: all levels
7:30pm- 8:30pm: Iaido/ bokken

Wednesdays
5pm - 6-pm: Children's class
6:15pm - 7:15pm: all levels

Thursdays
6:15pm - 7:15pm: all levels
7:30- 8:30pm: weapons/ body arts

Fridays
12:30pm - 1:30pm all levels
5pm - 6pm Children's class
(no evening adult class)

Saturdays
Feb. 6 & 13 schedule TBA
Feb 20 & 27, 10:30- 11:30am:
Class for all levels focused on the Birankai weapons requirements for 5th and 4th kyu levels.

Highlights and schedule notes:

All classes listed are adult classes open to all regular adult members (except the specified children's classes on Wed/Fri).

All levels means beginners, mid-ranks and senior members are all encouraged to attend!  Instructors gear the classes to the people who show up to train. Exercises are scaled so that all can participate safely. All levels of experience practice together.

New mid-day class offered on Mondays and Fridays at 12:30pm. Van Amburgh Sensei will teach the Monday slot. Fleshler Sensei will teach the Friday slot. If there is sufficient interest, Wednesdays at 12:30 could be added. If you have interest in a daytime class but at a different time slot, please contact us. At the end of February we will decide whether to continue the 12:30 classes.


Tuesdays through February, Van Amburgh Sensei will open the dojo ~ 5:45pm for individual meetings with members. Open mat time will be available for all 5:45- 6:15pm. Schedule a Tuesday date in February to meet with Van Amburgh sensei and discuss your training goals for the new year!

Advanced class is held monthly on the first Tuesday. For February that means on Tue. Feb 2, the 6:15pm class is open to 2nd kyu and above. Beginners through 3rd kyu are encouraged to observe class. Observation training is valuable!


Theme of the month: 
5th kyu technique guidelines!
Body arts classes all month will focus on the skills to pass a 5th kyu test and also the deeper level of study available through practicing these foundational techniques of the art. Hearty practice for all levels will be served up all month! 

Saturdays Feb. 20 and 27 we will focus in on the weapons forms outlined in the Birankai 5th and 4th kyu guidelines.


Iaido/ bokken class Tuesdays 7:30pm: Iaido members practice on Tuesday night instead of Wednesday night starting Feb. 3. This class will bring together Iaidoists and aikidoists interested in sword handling. Bokken may be used. 

Sunday practice!
A new monthly Sunday practice will be held 9am - noon starting February 28.

Stay connected!
Subscribe to Dojo News and check Upcoming Dates regularly for late-breaking news, class cancellations and new learning opportunities. Check the seminar page for upcoming seminars in the Northwest Region.

Power Without Struggle: Jan. 15-17, 2016

Winter Workshop at Multnomah Aikikai

Jan 15- 17, 2016
Power Without Struggle, a workshop at Multnomah Aikikai
Open to yudansha and 1st kyu aikido practitioners

The integration of upper and lower body motion is a skill that is learned over a long arc.

When people struggle to perform technique, there may be an array of reasons for it, however the integration of upper and lower body movement is usually missing. Read more...

Proceeds will be donated to the T.K. and Mitsuko Chiba Seminar Endowment Fund Suggested donation: $80 - $120.

Open to yudansha and 1st kyu practitioners. This will be limited to a small group of students.

Presented by Suzane Van Amburgh, shidoin

Friday Jan. 15: 7:30-8:30pm

Saturday Jan 16: 10am-11:30am, break for lunch, 1:30pm - 4:30pm

Format: Body arts and weapons. Along with Aikido, we will explore auxiliary activities to sense the generation of power and tie the experience back to the application of aikido techniques. Portions will be video recorded to provide feedback to participants. Group discussion over meals.

Sunday morning segment taught by Aki Fleshler Sensei, shihan

Find your powertrain!

Learn more:

http://multnomahaikikai.blogspot.com/p/power-without-struggle.html

Kagami Biraki

Happy New Year!

Kagami Biraki  is a traditional Japanese New Year celebration. It literally translates to "Opening the Mirror" (from an abstinence) or, also, "Breaking of the Mochi. In martial arts dojos a special Kagami Biraki practice marks the beginning of the year. It is both a celebration and a time to reflect. 


Multnomah Aikikai celebrates Kagami Biraki 
on Tue January 12, 2016. Join us at 5:45pm:

Fold a crane for the new year, followed by
Aikido practice, then celebrate with sake and mochi.

excerpt from Aikido Today Article*:

The symbolism of the mirror, which is central to Kagami Biraki, dates back to the original trilogy myth (along with the sword and the jewel) of the creation of Japan. By the 15th century Shinto had interpreted the mirror and sword to be important symbols of the virtues that the nation should venerate. They also symbolized creation, legitimacy and authority of the Emperor and by extension the Samurai class itself as part of the feudal system.

The mirror enabled people to see things as they are (good or bad) and thus represented fairness or justice. The mirror was also a symbol of the Sun Goddess — a fierce spirit (the light face of god).

Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, emerging from the cave**

Swords had long been given spiritual qualities among the Samurai. And their possession contributed to a sense of purpose and destiny inherent within the Samurai culture. So legendary were some swords that they were thought to posses their own spirit (kami).

Considered as one of the Samurai’s most important possessions, the sword (and other weapons) symbolized their status and position. Firm, sharp and decisive, the sword was seen as a source of wisdom and venerated for its power and lightning-like swiftness, but it was also seen as a mild spirit (the dark face of god).

Taken together, the mirror and sword represent the Japanese In and Yo, or two forms of energy permeating everything — the primeval forces of the universe from which everything springs — the source of spirit empowering the Emperor by extension Samurai class who was in his service.

It was from this time (15th century), it is said, that the tradition of Kagami Biraki began. It developed as a folk Shinto observation with a particular class (Samurai) bent.

*Read the entire article on Aikido Today:

http://aikidotoday.com/kagami-biraki-aikido-dojo-samurai-tradition/


**image of Amaterasu: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amaterasu_cave_edit2.jpg
date: 1857,安政4年, artist: 三代豊国,歌川国貞(Utagawa Toyokuni III,Kunisada)

Jan. 4 class cancelled due to ice!

Ice, it's not just a driving hazard!

The snow yesterday seemed pleasant enough, but overnight everything froze solid. This morning trees, cars, roads and power lines all encased in ice.

Class is cancelled for today, Monday Jan 4th. Stay off the roads if you can. even walking can be hazardous with chunks of ice dropping from trees, houses, even power lines.

In this brief video you can see a bar of ice drop from a power line crashing to the ice encrusted ground. Watch the corner of the grey house. It happens two seconds in. You can hear it crash at 3 seconds.

Trouble seeing the video? Click here.

If the ice melts and the weather is cooperative then we'll kick off our Winter Training Intensive tomorrow, Tuesday Jan 5th. Remember class begins at 5:45pm!

  

Links to check for the latest Portland weather forecast:

http://www.katu.com/weather 

http://www.kgw.com/weather 

http://www.wunderground.com/weather-forecast/US/OR/Portland.html

If we ever need to cancel class due to weather, we'll post a notice on Upcoming Dates.