Sense What's Behind You + Dojo News shifts platforms

Sense What's Behind You -Jan 2018 Winter Intensive theme

January Winter Intensive is a time to renew your resolve to practice, to warm up your internal engine in the cold of winter, to come together with your fellow dojo members and support each other in taking a significant jump in progress.  This year's theme is:

 Sense What’s Behind You. 

The new year is an excellent time to look in the mirror (kagami),break our old habits (biraki) and resolve to improve ourselves. I invite you and challenge you to step up your training this month...

Read more of this post on the newhome for Dojo News blog posts:

http://www.multnomahaikikai.com/dojo-news


This site will remain the home of Member Resources!
Check here at the blogspot for study guides, articles, links to great sites to supplement your training.

Dojo News as a publication of articles and news about the dojo is shifting to our main website multnomahaikikai.com and retains the title "Dojo News." Visit the blog now:
http://www.multnomahaikikai.com/dojo-news

Lynn Sensei and Bluhm Sensei teach aikido seminar together Dec 1-3, 2017

Multnomah Aikikai is proud to host Elizabeth Lynn Sensei and Darrell Bluhm Sensei, teaching aikido together for the first time in a seminar Dec 1-3, 2017.

This seminar is a celebration and honoring of their promotion to 7th dan. Please join us for a special weekend of training. 

View seminar details on our Seminar page.

Printable Flyer: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FGxT53SI3nUlKFWhrIJcfTTv1YmMODj8/view?usp=sharing

Elizabeth Lynn, 7th dan Shihan

Founder of Eastshore Aikikai

Lynn Sensei began training in Aikido in 1971. She trained in Chicago under the late A. Tohei Shihan, and continued her training in San Francisco and in Berkeley, CA. From 1990 -- 1994 she was kenshusei in the teacher's training program conducted by I. Shibata Shihan at Berkeley Aikikai. She founded Eastshore Aikikai in September 1991.  She was General Secretary of the United States Aikido Federation, Western Region, from 1984 -- 2001, and General Secretary of Birankai North America from 2001 -- 2006. In April, 2007 she was awarded the title of Shihan in BNA by T. K. Chiba Shihan.  She is the current Chair of Birankai North American Senior Council. 



Enjoy this video clip of Lynn Sensei teaching at the 2016 BNA Aikido Summer Camp:

Darrell Bluhm, 7th dan Shihan

Founder and Chief Instructor, Siskiyou Aikikai

Darrell Bluhm Sensei began his Aikido training in 1970 as a student at UC Santa Cruz. In 1973 he spent two months living at the Iwama dojo in Ibaraki prefecture, Japan, training with M. Saito Shihan, as well as time training at Hombu dojo in Tokyo. In 1981 he became a student of T.K. Chiba Shihan and a founding member and assistant instructor of San Diego Aikikai. In 1983 he founded Siskiyou Aikikai in Ashland, Oregon where he has taught Aikido and Tai Chi Chuan for the past 33 years and the Feldenkrais Method for 20 years. In 1996 he was promoted to 6th Dan, in 2002 awarded Shihan title by Chiba Sensei, and in 2006 received Shihan recognition from Doshu M. Ueshiba at Hombu Dojo. He serves as a member of the BNA Senior Council and as the BNA representative to Aikikai Hombu Dojo.

Enjoy this video clip of Bluhm Sensei teaching at Bucks County Aikido in 2013:

Check our seminar schedule, prices and directions to the dojo:

http://multnomahaikikai.blogspot.com/p/mark-your-calendar-for-these-upcoming.html

Ready for your First Course in Aikido?

First Course in Aikido starts Tue. Oct 17, 2017

 Aikido practice is tasty and nourishing! Ready to dig in to your first course? For the first day, plan to arrive about 15 minutes before class.  We'll get you registered and ready to roll. 

Plan to wear something comfortable you can move in. Be prepared to practice barefoot. Before stepping onto the mat we’ll ask you to clean your feet and remove any jewelry. 

Schedule
First Course participants are eligible to take two fundamentals classes per week:

• Tuesdays, 6:15pm-7:15pm and 
• Saturdays, 10:30am - 11:30am 

Fee: $97 includes a uniform and classes two days per week. Series runs Tuesday October 17 - Saturday November 11th. 

How to register: 
Download and fill out the application form; you can bring it in with you on your first day. Make your payment for "First Course" through our online payment portal.


Location:
Aikido Multnomah Aikikai: 6415 SW Macadam Ave, Portland OR 97239 

Learn more: PracticeAikido.com

Jo Ha Kyu - universal progression of phenomena

Jo - Ha - Kyu 
by Adam Westphal

shishi-odoshi = deer scarer

Any season is a beautiful time to visit the Japanese Gardens but summertime is especially nice.  The warm weather, the lush greenery, and all the sounds that fill the natural space combine to make for a wonderful experience.    Tucked away between what is called the Strolling Pond Garden and the Natural Garden is a curious device made of bamboo called a shishi-odoshi which translates as ‘deer-scarer’.

This dual-purpose fountain and animal chaser consists of a piece of hollow bamboo resting with its heavy closed end against a rock.  A pivot suspends its middle and the open end points up towards the sky as water pours slowly and steadily into it.  Filling up with water causes the center of gravity to change, forcing the open end downward.  This shift dumps its contents, forcing a sudden reversal as the heavy end knocks back against the rock making a sharp sound.  The cycle repeats.

In many traditional Japanese arts, there is a concept called jo-ha-kyu (序 破 急).  The characters can translate in many different ways.  Jo is most commonly means ‘beginning’, ha when isolated can read ‘to break; to ruin; to destroy’, and kyu reads as ‘rapid; urgent; quick’. 

The term jo-ha-kyu first appeared in writings around the 14^th century by the renowned Zeami Motokyo, creator of the Noh Theatre.  Similar to martial teachings, his writings were hidden away, shared only within families of the Noh theatre, until they were discovered in a second hand bookshop.  He wrote, “Every phenomenon in the universe develops itself through a certain progression.  Even the cry of a bird and the noise of an insect follow this progression.  It is called Jo, Ha, Kyu.” 

This progression describes how a Noh actor should raise their arm slowly, hold it momentarily suspended, and then quickly drop it.  It also dictates the composition of the music, progressing towards faster and more climactic tones.  Even the acts of a Noh drama follow this form towards climax.  The bamboo shishi-odoshi fills slowly and just as slowly starts to teeter.  It reaches a point where it suddenly purges itself of its water and rushes back to its stationary position, punctuated with a loud noise.
In partner practice in aikido and iaido, there is a build-up of tension as the pair approaches each other, a sudden break in this tension as a technique is executed, and acceleration towards the end of the form.  The solo practice of iaido kata lends itself well to the study of jo-ha-kyu.  One can isolate movements without interference or distraction.  At more advanced levels of practice an onlooker might be able to imagine an opponent being cut down by the strikes of the practitioner. 
What forces work upon the pair or the shishi-odoshi?  It is not simply the bamboo that makes the noise.  Gravity, the water, and the positioning of the bamboo all play their part.

 

At the beginning of your next practice, you will face the shomen while sitting in seiza.  The calligraphy on the wall is a permanent record of a moment of jo-ha-kyu by the calligrapher.  If the preparation of the ink is not correct, it will be too light or too dark.  If the composition is not considered, the lines and characters will be out of balance.  If the calligrapher lingers or hesitates while writing, ink will pool.  How heavy or light the hand was that held the brush will show in the lines.

How will your next practice begin?  And how will it end?

"Let Go of Me!" Self Defense and Embodied Learning workshop

Register

"Let Go of Me!"

If someone takes hold of you, literally or figuratively, how do you release their grasp?
 

At this event we will explore common wrist grabs, options for response and how you can move your body to release a person’s grip on you. This physical practice serves as not only a metaphor for interpersonal encounters but an embodied learning experience you can carry with you and apply to your everyday interpersonal encounters.


A supple stance, both mentally and physically, allows us to move and adapt to the changing environment. The non-competitive martial art of aikido affords us the opportunity to make the conceptual physical and explore the nuances of communication and leadership in a safe laboratory of embodied learning practice. When we imbue the sensory activities with intention and awareness, the relevancy to our workplace encounters springs to life.

Benefits and outcomes include:

• Practice simple wrist releases to quickly escape unwanted physical contact.
• Learn how you can use the power of the ground to apply leverage and break someone’s grip on you.
• Understand the mechanics of the human grip and experiment with the natural levers of the body.
• Sense your instinctive response to challenging encounters and consciously introduce options for change.
• Build confidence that you can learn to change the dynamics of a developing situation in its early stages.

Please be prepared to remove your shoes and participate barefoot. Wear something comfortable you can easily move in. This event is free for dojo members. $25 for non-members. Become a member: http://www.multnomahaikikai.com/becomeamember/

Taught by Suzane Van Amburgh, Chief Instructor of Aikido Multnomah Aikikai and Founder of Space to Move.

When: August 5, Saturday, Noon- 1:15pm
Fee: $25 (Free for dojo members)
Where: Aikido Multnomah Aikikai, 6415 SW Macadam Ave, Portland Or 97239

Register now!

The Right Way to Fall - "aim for the meat, not the bone"

Is there a right way to fall?

This New York Times article describes the value in learning how to fall and strategies for minimizing injury during a fall.

here are a few excerpts...

The key is to not fight the fall, but just to roll with it, as paratroopers do. “The idea is to orient your body to the ground so when you hit, there’s a multistep process of hitting and shifting your body weight to break up that impact,” said Sgt. First Class Chuck Davidson, master trainer at the Army’s Advanced Airborne School at Ft. Bragg, N.C.

Accept that you’re falling and go with it, round your body, and don’t stiffen and distribute the energy so you take the fall in the widest area possible,” said Paul Schreiner, a black belt jiu jitsu instructor at Marcelo Garcia Academy in New York City.

...try to take the hit on the fleshiest parts of your body, like the side of your thigh, buttocks and shoulder. “Aim for the meat, not bone,” said Kevin Inouye, a stuntman and assistant professor of acting, movement and stage combat at the University of Wyoming. 

Full article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/24/well/move/the-right-way-to-fall.html?emc=eta1

or this short url link is "print friendly":

 https://nyti.ms/2jSQS1I

Kagami Biraki - New Year training

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 10, 2017. Join us for class at 6:15pm.

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.

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

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).

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)

January 2017 Winter Intensive Training

January 2017 Winter Intensive Begins!

There is a tradition in the Japanese martial arts of training intensively for a period of time in the coldest part of the winter (winter keiko). 

What’s “intensive” about the January  “Winter Intensive?”

At the dojo, we like to cultivate a sense of training seasons throughout the year. Winter Intensive is a time to focus in on a training theme, experiment with a teaching approach or try out a new class on the schedule. This year we are poised for all three.

The theme this January is proficiency with the 5th and 4th kyu curriculum. This month, teachers will focus classes on the techniques found on the 5th and 4th kyu Birankai test guidelines. We are working together to give you a focused experience of these techniques week by week. One of our goals is to cover all the techniques on the 5th and 4th kyu curriculum over the course of the month. Attend classes consistently in January and you will have the opportunity to build your confidence with performing these techniques well. At the end of the month we will conduct kyu testing.

If you are not yet 5th kyu, we encourage you to bring your mettle to training this month and set a goal to test at the end of the month. If you are 5th kyu and already preparing for 4th kyu, train diligently 3-4 times per week and you will be ready to test at the end of the month. You can do it! We will equip you. Sign up for either Jan 31 or Feb 1 and make the commitment to test on that date.

If you are currently above 4th kyu, then this is your chance to take your art to the next level by infusing familiar forms with a whole new level of centeredness, connectedness, wholeness, liveliness and openness (Chiba Sensei’s five pillars of training). Work the forms, embody the principles.

Bokken and Jo training will be offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:30pm, respectively. The relationship between body arts and weapons work is germane to our art. In January we will focus on the fundamental weapons forms as outlined on the kyu guidelines.

This January we’re also trying out new, added practice sessions:

• Wednesdays, 12:30pm, Greg Corbin will host a practice session with a focus on test preparation help.
• Wednesdays, 7:30pm, Oliva Sensei will lead zazen sitting practice.
• Saturdays, 11:45am,  Van Amburgh Sensei will host a practice session where you can bring test prep questions, get feedback on your technique and practice your ukemi.

Will the new practices sessions continue past January? It will largely depend upon the level of member support and enthusiasm through January. On reflection, in a previous year we tried out a new monday evening class during winter intensive - it was well received and we’ve continued the class as a regular part of our weekly schedule. Similarly, last January we tried out a new 12:30pm class and it too has continued with enthusiastic support.  Your participation shapes our future class schedule.

This January we have several special events lined up for you.

Special events in January:

Jan. 2, Mon, first class of the new year. Resolve to Train!

Jan. 3, Tue, Overview for the month’s intensive (First Tuesday open to all levels this month, all members encouraged to attend)

Jan. 4, Wed, 4:30pm: Fold a Crane for the New Year (public event for adults and children - concurrent with children’s class)

Jan. 8, Sunday, 1pm-4pm, intensive training session

Jan. 10, Tue, Kagami Biraki

Jan. 31, Tue Kyu tests part 1
Feb 1, Wed, Kyu tests part 2

Dojo party (date to be announced)

Note: Children's program has special practice sessions scheduled on Sundays in January 10:30am- noon.

The new year is an excellent time to renew our commitment to training, look in the mirror (kagami), break our old habits (biraki) and resolve to improve ourselves. We invite you and challenge you to step up your training, focus in on a defined set of techniques and hone them.

Sincerely,
Aki Fleshler, Suzane Van Amburgh, Jon Paul Oliva and Sean Sheedy

Shodan reflections on the questions: “Where am I? Who am I? What am I doing?”

Congratulations to Dan Reid who passed his shodan test over the weekend of December 2-4, 2016; the Northwest Regional Seminar held at Multnomah Aikikai. Part of the requirements for his test included a written essay. This essay is published with his permission below.

Shodan Essay

The warm June air inside the university gym was thick with sweat, so the announcement that Chiba Sensei’s weapons class would be held outside was a welcome treat. We were in the thick of 2007 Summer Camp, and we all filed eagerly into the fresh air with bokken in hand. After a vigorous session of suburi and kirigaeshi among the broadleaf trees, we sat in seiza on the cool grass and Chiba Sensei gave a lecture. During his talk he said that whenever he trains in any form, he asks himself three simple questions that have stayed with me ever since:
“Where am I? Who am I? What am I doing?”


These questions may seem innocuous on the surface, but when I begin to parse their
implications they reveal hidden depths of meaning. The effort to internalize them and keep them at the forefront of my mind has been a core element of my Aikido and Zazen practice for nearly a decade.

The first question is the most straightforward and accessible, but the answer to “Where am I?” is not a street address or set of coordinates. Instead, the answer presents itself when I open all my senses completely to my surroundings. I try to widen and soften my field of vision in all directions, open my ears to small and distant sounds, smell and taste the air around me, feel the light breeze drying the damp spots in my gi, feel the smooth oak of my bokken, feel gravity pulling my body downward and pressing my feet into the earth. The sensation of gravity, which is actually a relativistic distortion of space- time, opens the door to perceiving existence in all four spatial dimensions of “where.”

The second question, “Who am I?”, seems to be the most deceptive of the three to Westerners. The answer is not my name; it can perhaps be best understood through other questions. How do I see myself when I’m not looking in a mirror? What does my inner voice sound like? What do I feel like inside my skin? Eventually, I begin to understand that this is not actually separate from the first question. This realization feels similar to the Hindu maxim “that art thou,” which reminds us that the outer universe we perceive is not different from our inner universe. The spatial boundary of my skin is a convenient external reference for my individual identity, but it is permeable and temporary. There is a constant exchange across the boundary of air, food, water, waste, sweat, light, thought, and speech. Continuous streams of cosmic rays and neutrinos from the far corners of our galaxy zip through my body without slowing down or noticing that I’m here. After my consciousness dissipates in death, my body will likewise disperse into the local ecosystem. Ultimately, “I” am a finite occurrence in time; understanding the second question effectively extends the first into the temporal dimension.

Finally, “What am I doing?” can be considered an intersection of the first two questions. When I do something, the “who” of the second question projects agency to affect or alter the “where” of the first. This “doing” includes but is not limited to what we perceive as direct action; it is uke’s committed strike, but it is also nage’s receiving and blending with the energy of that strike. The interaction between partners in Aikido training reveals the fuzziness of the boundary between self and other. When uke and nage both fully commit to a technique, we become like a binary star system, each orbiting a geometric point in space between us that is our common center of gravity. In the martial tension of each encounter, the center of the technique can move anywhere within or

between our bodies depending on our ma’ai, momentum, balance and weight distribution, points of contact, and intentions. When we can perceive the center’s movement, the possibilities for reversals, kaeshiwaza, and freestyle practice begin to present themselves, until the distinction between nage and uke is simply one of convenience.

Of course, I am by no means a master of any sort, and a visceral understanding of these ideas is difficult to maintain in my daily life and practice. Indeed, they often elude me altogether. However, these three simple questions have been enormously valuable to me as I remember and return to them again and again. I will always be grateful to Chiba Sensei for giving us this gift in that lecture on the grass. 

Daniel Reid, November 2016


Dan Reid has contributed an article to Dojo News previously.  Enjoy his September article "The River of Aikido":
http://multnomahaikikai.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-river-of-aikido-by-dan-reid.html

Two new Shodans! Northwest Regional Seminar December 2-4, 2016

Congratulations to Dan Reid and Greg Corbin. They passed their shodan test over the weekend of Dec 2-4, 2016 on the occasion of the Northwest Regional Seminar. More than ten Birankai North America certified instructors were in attendance.

Greg left, Dan right; testing for shodan Dec 3, 2016

Part of their requirements included writing an essay.
Here below is Greg Corbin's essay. The next post will feature Dan Reid's essay.

Greg Corbin, December 2016:

Shodan

My daughter asked me – why Aikido?  I explained it like this.  I was first exposed to a martial art (Taekwondo) at an early age, around 6 years old, taking lessons with my father.  I liked it but as with so many things at that age it didn’t stick.  Still, the seed had been planted and I kept coming back to martial arts, formally and informally.  

Toward the end of high school and the first years of college I starting training in Taekwondo regularly and was close to taking my black belt test when school and the rest of my life became too much of a distraction.  I loved the training, and was disappointed not to continue and reach black belt, but my priorities were elsewhere at the time.  

Fast forward a few years and I found myself living alone in Boulder, Colorado.   Looking for something to fill my time, keep in shape, and meet new folks, I gravitated to martial arts again.  This time Shotokan Karate.  I was instantly addicted and knew right away that Karate was an even better fit for me than had been Taekwondo.  I don’t have the impossibly long legs the most successful Taekwondo practitioners all seem to have, I always struggled with the high and flying kicks, and the direct, seemingly simple approach of Karate just made sense to me.  Plus, the style mirrored my personality.  I loved it.  Couldn’t get enough.  Went to the dojo every chance I could and even travelled to the home dojo in Denver for special trainings.  I progressed quickly, but less than a year after I started I was on the move again.

It was more than a few years before I made it back to martial arts.  A couple years floating, a couple years in graduate school, a couple more passing through LA, then law school, a new job, a son, another new job, a daughter, pushing to make partner at my law firm, the years stacked up.  But the seed had been planted.  And as it happened, a good friend and law school classmate had his shodan in Aikido.  He had trained in Japan, but I didn’t know enough, and was too focused on school and being newly married, to learn much about his path.  What I do remember is that one evening during our first year of school he and I went to check out a local Aikido dojo.  He and I had been playing around with basic Aikido techniques at the gym and he seemed interested in getting back to formal training.  So I went along.  I remember visiting Multnomah Aikikai and talking with Suzane Van Amburgh Sensei, and yearning to train.  I just wasn’t in a place to add another obsession to my life.  

A decade passed, my kids were older, I had made partner, my wife’s veterinary clinic was on solid ground, and every day I drove home past Multnomah Aikikai.  I had been doing so for years, but one day, and I have no clue why, I decided it was time to start training again.  That was eight years ago.

So, I told my daughter, I never got my black belt.  When you do, will you be done, she asked?  Now that’s a good question.  Yes, and no.  I will have achieved a goal that’s been stuck in my mind since at least high school.  So I’ll be done with that.  But will I be done with Aikido?  No.  Here is how I explained it to my daughter.

It’s like your soccer.  You know the basics.  You can pass, dribble, trap, shoot, and play different positions.  You are starting to have a feel for the field and anticipate plays.  And now that you have those skills, you can see how much more you have to learn, and that you can be even better.  Learning the basics has opened your eyes to a deeper level of play, and you know that if you keep training you will improve and understand the game in ways you can’t even imagine now.  It’s the same for me with Aikido.

I know many of the techniques, and I’m even reasonably competent with some of them.  I know the things to watch for when Sensei is demonstrating (foot work first!), and I see connections I couldn’t have imagined when I started.  I can’t do everything, and I only do a few things well, but it’s different than when I first started.  Yes, I still need to practice katate dori ikkyo, and all the others, but it isn’t just choreography.  I know I need to use my hips more and my arms less.  I need to relax, and breath.  I need to think about the angles, and I need to be aware of where uke’s foot is.  I need to make a center to center connection, and not lose it.  I need to be light, and heavy, at the right times.  I need to look up.  I need to move, get low, and stay there.  And I know all of that leads to something more complex, more subtle, and more satisfying, and I know I’m just starting to glimpse it.

But is that enough?  It’s hard, I get bruised and sore, I’ve been hurt, and I may never need to use these techniques to defend myself.  Is getting better at a physical skill worth all that?  Maybe.  I do like being good at something, and I love the idea that the more I practice the better I will become.  It feels like the ability to improve is infinite.  It isn’t boring, and it’s nice to move after a full day at the office.  The physicality is exhilarating.  But it’s more than that.

I’m better because of Aikido.  I’m a better husband, father, lawyer, friend, and person.  I work on staying centered.  I try not to let the circumstances around me take my balance.  I recover more quickly.  I let go more easily.  I breath more often.  I used to get stress headaches all the time, but haven’t had one in years.  I think about my connection to others, and I think about how to respond to the energy (positive and negative) sent my way by them.  I try not to react out of emotion, especially anger or a desire to win.  I value community and service to others, and I do my best to accept and respect differences.  I try to be aware of my surroundings.  

I didn’t learn all of these things from Aikido, but the practice brings them to the front of my mind.  I find parallels between on and off the mat all the time, and I think about how to apply the five pillars in my daily life.  I have a long way to go, both in and outside the dojo, but without training I won’t improve as quickly.  

So, why is because I want to be better.  I want to keep exploring, I want to be better at my art, I want to be a better person, and I know Aikido is the way for me to do that.  It isn’t about rank, though the recognition will feel good and put a very old goal to bed.  It’s the path I’m on that I want to continue.

Greg Corbin

Six weeks after the flood

Dear Northwest aikidoka, Yes, we’re hosting a seminar this weekend, Dec 2-4, 2016. It has been quite a journey to bring us to this point.

Usually when we start preparing for a seminar, we begin with a set of “givens” in the basic infrastructure and then plan hosting activities on top of those fundamental components. For example we usually have a floor, a mat to train on, a roof overhead, a place to take off your shoes, a registration desk, dressing rooms, working restrooms. All of these basic accommodations were disrupted by our flood of October 14th.  At this writing, six weeks after the flood, one week before seminar begins, this basic infrastructure has been restored and we are just now putting the dojo back together.

Here’s what happened.

Friday night Oct. 14, 2016 a storm hit the Portland area. Tremendous wind and rain beat down upon our dojo and overwhelmed the drainage system. The gutter overflowed. The downspout could not drain effectively. The water came flowing down the wall to meet a ground already saturated. The water flowed in. Like an uninvited guest, the water came in and took over the place, demanding our attention. It took out the floor from under us. About 70% of our floor was impacted.

The morning after the big storm I came into the dojo and discovered the damage. I contacted senior members and asked them to come in if they could. Class that day was just the fourth session of a new beginners series. I had to ask participants to help move wet items before we started class. Everyone pitched in. I am grateful to all our students and teachers for their efforts.

How did we respond to this flood?

First order of business was to move stuff out of harms way.

As in many disaster situations, a certain practicality kicks in. Emotional response is set aside to deal with later. We set right to work and moved stuff off the wet floor. We separated wet items from dry ones to minimize further damage. Members and the new beginners pitched in to help. We got wet vacuums in and fans set up to start drying the place out. These tasks helped us assess the damage.

Next step was to consider our options.

We communicated with the landlady, we reached out to professionals and we gathered information. From there we generated options and decided what our best outcome might be. From there we defined actions to take and set into motion steps to take us in the right direction.

We decided a concrete floor would be the best solution for our dojo interior. This solution required significant preparation. We would need to move everything off of the floor in order to remove all the carpet and laminate flooring and make space for the concrete professional to come in and install the new floor. With 70% of the floor affected, that left only 30% to receive and store all the items. Most of that area is our mat space!

We stacked up part of the mats to make more floor space. We trained in a smaller area and trained with the visual distraction of all our stuff piled up just adjacent to the mat. Our habitual ways were disrupted and our training changed.

photo provided by J.P. Oliva

We had to check our habits at the door and keep our shoes on. We had moved the shoe racks and the flooring was ripped up to expose the old, uneven concrete underneath. It felt strange to walk around the dojo with shoes on, but in extreme times safety is a higher priority than observing our customs. The edge of the mat was jagged and unsecured. We had to be attentive to that and adjust our training to take care of each other during class. It served as a metaphor and reminder of a martial principle; we’ve got to adapt and be present to what is actually happening.

In the fourth week after the flood came, our new concrete floor was installed. For three days we had to close the dojo. These three days corresponded with the days following the presidential election. Personally, in those three days I observed myself fluctuating through the various stages of grief. I was grateful for the space of time to be at home and absorb the impact of the election results.

By the fourth day, I needed to come back to the dojo, teach class and be with people again. I found a certain comfort and meaning in our concrete floor. There it was, pristine, fresh, cool and not yet ready to support weight. We entered the dojo from the back door instead of the usual front entrance. We trained on the mats next to the floor but did not walk on it. The old floor is gone and the dojo will never quite be the same again. We have a new floor now. That was Saturday November 12^th.

Our new floor needed a few days to dry completely before it could be sealed and finished. During this time it was essential to keep the floor clean. Any speck of dirt, even oils from walking barefoot would compromise the finish. It was during this period that the city worked on the sewer system just down the street for the dojo and, on November 14, disaster struck again.

I was locking up the dojo for the night when I noticed the toilet didn’t look right. The bowl was so full it looked like it might overflow. A plunger did no good. I noticed the shower pan was full of water too – dirty water. Then I noticed a sound from the other room. The other toilet was overflowing and the water was rushing out from under the base and flowing all over our new floor. At the rate it was flowing the whole dojo would be flooded with dirty water in a matter of minutes.

I called the landlady who called Rotorooter and I waited for them to show up. “Thank the gods” the flooding slowed down on its own and the water receded from the toilets. At the time I did not know that the city was working on the sewer system, which caused the sewer back up. I called the concrete vendor to let him know our new floor had been compromised with dirty water.  He agreed to come in, clean the floor and put down another thin layer of concrete. After more drying time, the sealant was applied.

Monday November 21 was the first day we could start putting furniture back on the floor. Attendance was thin in the days before Thanksgiving but on Saturday November 26^th we put in a robust workday. By end of day all heavy pieces were put back in place and the mat perimeter was set back in place. Now we are attending to an issue with the mat frame; a result of another concurrent floor repair project.

This week, the final days before the seminar begins, our focus in “seminar hosting” is to make a supreme effort just to provide a reasonable space to train. Our dojo teachers and members have met the challenge and put in the time and sweat to restore the dojo to basic minimum functionality.  We’ve had to make that our priority. The usual set of seminar hosting activities you have come to expect from Multnomah Aikikai will not be prepared. I hope we can enjoy coming together and find gratitude in our opportunity to train. For us, your presence will be a welcome reward for all our efforts. We are looking forward to training with you.

Seminar schedule and information on our "Seminars" page of this site:

http://multnomahaikikai.blogspot.com/p/mark-your-calendar-for-these-upcoming.html

-Suzane Van Amburgh