Weekend Weapons Practice

Fundamental Weapons Practice for all levels this Saturday!

5th and 4th kyu weapons test guidelines will be covered on Sat Feb 20 & 27.

Saturdays Feb. 20 and 27, 10:30 - 11:30am: we will focus in on the weapons forms outlined in the Birankai 5th and 4th kyu guidelines.

This class, taught by Van Amburgh sensei, is for all levels. 

If you've never held a bokken or jo before have no fear! Come and learn.

What does sanpo mean?

What's the difference between happo giri and suburi happo?

Senior members take advantage of this opportunity to practice the newly allocated weapons test guidelines as a set!

Sunday Morning Practice with Fleshler Sensei coming up February 28, 9am- noon. Expect a combination of body arts and weapons training.

Aikido Multnomah Aikikai 6415 SW Macadam Ave Portland OR 97239

Winter Training Intensive 2016: From the Ground Up

Multnomah Aikikai provides winter intensive training in January of each year. 

Winter training is a time to sense your center; a deep ember, burning and warming your body. Nurture that ember and sense the fire within you.

Through practice with each other the fire grows and radiates, warming the hands and feet, radiating out and sparking the fire in each other.

The theme for this January’s Winter Intensive is  From the Ground Up.   Look for opportunities to condition your core, hips, legs and feet. Sense the strength of your lower body and the power the ground offers. Fuel your technique, your ukemi and your spirit.

Share with each other what you’ve learned about conditioning and taking care of your feet, legs, hips, and core.

When the lower body is strong and well coordinated you can make good use of the ground forces to support movements of the upper body. Chest, spine and shoulders become supple and free.

We’ll practice our techniques from suwari waza, hanmi handachi and tachi waza this month.

In Japan, winter intensive is a time period when people resolve to practice everyday. This January, come to the dojo as much as you can and mark your attendance every day that you come in. At the end of the month we’ll recognize the mu-kyu, kyu and dan members who trained the most.

Schedule changes and special events for Winter Intensive

For January, we’ll practice in a different rhythm on Tuesdays and Thursdays in three class segments. This will allow us to add a fundamentals class, a nikkyu and above class and a iaido/ sword handling class to our training schedule.

Tue 5:45-6:30pm, fundamentals

Tue 6:45-7:30pm, all levels

Tue 7:45-8:45pm, sword handling for aikidoists/ Iaido class

Thu 5:45-6:30pm, fundamentals

Thu 6:45-7:30pm, all levels

Thu 7:45-8:30pm, 2nd kyu and above

The rest of the class schedule, Mon, Wed, Fri, Saturday remains unchanged.

Special events:

Jan 5,  First Tuesday

Jan 9, Sat: Balance Challenge

Jan 12, Tue: Kagami Biraki; full community event

5:45pm - 6:30pm Fold a Crane for the New Year

6:45- 7:30pm Traditional New Year’s practice for all levels

7:45-8:30: celebrate with tea and sake.

Jan 15- 17, Fri- Sun: Winter workshop Power Without Struggle;

More news to come! Stay Connected!

Follow Dojo News and check in regularly with Upcoming Dates

Improve your balance. Take the Balance Challenge January 9

The Balance Challenge! Circuit Training Course

Improve your balance, safely and enjoyably, by practicing the balance challenges in this indoor circuit training course. The exercises are varied and fun. Exercises are scalable so you can practice at the level of challenge appropriate for you. Regardless of your skill level, you can improve your balance and have fun doing it!

Click to see Balance Challenge activities 2015

Saturday January 9, 2016, Noon- 1pm: 

Initial orientation session, $20. Personal training and orientation to the course presented by Suzane Van Amburgh

DIY. Self-directed training for alumni of the orientation session for $10. Suzane Van Amburgh on site and available to offer help and clarification as needed.

Multnomah Aikikai members who attend the initial orientation session for $20, are eligible to return for self-directed training (DIY) at no charge.

"The balance class is relevant for all ages willing to try it. You don't realize how your balance changes as you get older, usually not for the better. However, improvements can be made almost immediately and there are balance exercises for people of all ages and abilities. And it's fun!" 

~ Kristin Mitchell, Balance Challenge Alumna

Your Instructor and balance coach:

Suzane Van Amburgh developed the balance challenge circuit training course and continually improves the stations of the course. Suzane is a martial arts instructor (aikido and iaido), a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Teacher and a balance trainer. She conducted balance testing and balance training protocols at a physician’s office. She is the founder of the balance lab. Suzane brings fun balance challenges, benchmarks to self-assess progress, and an array of resources to help you explore and improve your own sense of balance.

The exercises:

The training course includes a variety of challenges to improve coordination, proprioception, leg and core strength, how we use our eyes, eye/ hand coordination, somatosensory functioning, use of hip joints and spine.

Our balance is influenced and maintained by the eyes, inner ear, and brain working together. The brain receives signals from the somatosensory system and processes that information along with input from the structures of inner ear and the eyes. Proprioceptors in the ankles and ribs are key to one’s sense of balance and the ability to restore balance. Leg strength and joint functioning are essential factors in balance as well.

When you improve your balance you invest in an improved quality of life. What do you feel safe doing? Even a slight erosion of confidence in you balance over time, will subtly narrow the range of activities you choose to engage in. As confidence in your balance grows, you will broaden your options, move freely and enjoy a more active life.

Whether you are rehabilitating from an injury, training for top performance, or anywhere in between, you will find the right level of challenge for you. If are interested in graceful aging, neuroplasticity, fall prevention or improved decision-making, you will find the Balance Challenge Training Circuit Course fascinating and engaging.

Questions?

Contact Suzane Van Amburgh by email: spacetomoveinfo(at)gmail.com

Find your Space To Move at Multnomah Aikikai

6415 SW Macadam Ave, Portland OR 97239

Rolling sequence video for aikido practice and teaching

Beginning Aikido students are often introduced to rolling practice in their first week on the mat. The experience of getting down on the ground and coming up again is fundamental and yet also instinctive. New students have so much going on mentally, emotionally and physically as they begin a new movement practice.

Small rolls, sometimes called "Bucky Ball" rolls or "baby rolls" offer teachers a rich opportunity to orient the new student, practice learning skills, foster attention skills and give them something they can do successfully and improve upon quickly.

For more senior students, the practice serves as a mental and physical warm up, calming the nervous system and relaxing the body.

Bringing attention to what you do and how you do it, matching your breathing to your movement and varying your intention in movement are all excellent ways to prepare yourself for aikido practice.

In this quiet (no-talking) video, Suzane Van Amburgh Sensei demonstrates a rolling practice sequence useful for all levels, from beginner to senior student.  It begins with orientation to the relative position of body parts, rocking left and right. It progresses through use of weight shifts, finding the natural levers and counterbalances of the body, smooth transitions from sitting to side lying and up to sitting again. By the end of the video, the roll has evolved to advanced sequences requiring clear intention, core conditioning, good body control and awareness of the space around you.

Let this post serve as a reference tool and "cliff notes" for aikidoists in your regular rolling practice.

If rolling is new to you, don't try this alone. Come to the dojo or schedule a private lesson with a certified aikido teacher.

Suzane Van Amburgh, shidoin, Multnomah Aikikai

Rolling sequence 5:37 recorded 2015

Trouble viewing the video? Here's the link to the video shared on google:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B71m_xdJDqYvekVBdnVSR3lBYXM/view?usp=sharing

Catch up on the videos, photos and great articles on Biran Online

Catch up on the videos, photos and great articles from our Birankai 2015 Summer Camp in Tacoma Washington.


My First Aikido Camp is a wonderful article by Meghan McCoy, a student from Oak Park Aikikai.

Senseis Darrell Bluhm and Frank Apodaca 2015

Article excerpt: 

For me, particularly since I’m still very new in Aikido, every class had something new to learn. Familiar techniques, such a katatedori suwariwaza ikkyo, had to be approached differently because I was practicing with someone I’d never met, and so I had to learn how to move in a way that worked with them. The weapons classes were immensely beneficial, especially Frank Apodaca Sensei’s weapons class. He emphasized cultivating “the eyes to see,” which I took as meaning not just watching and stealing the technique, but also seeing and feeling the energy with which someone moves. I once read that proper form is essential, but without technique and heart put into the form it’s all mechanical, and much of what I believe Aikido to be is lost.

Full article: http://birankai.org/blog/?p=1028

From the August 19th post, scroll down and enjoy the posts! 

There's a link to the Birankai Smugmug site with great camp photos...

Check out the wonderful videos tracing back to the first day of camp. Here's one from George Lyons Sensei's class; katatedori, ai hanmi iriminage chudan opening. Along with Lyons Sensei's movement, watch how his ukes move:

Here's a video of Neilu Naini Sensei of Clallam Aikikai in Washington, teaching an outdoor weapons class. Observe her clean execution of tsuki makiotoshi:

There's much more to see, watch and read on Biran Online.

Be sure to subscribe to Biran Online. It's the Aikido Journal of Birankai North America.

Follow your own Dojo News!  When you subscribe with your email address, you'll receive a notification in your inbox whenever a new article is posted.

-Suzane Van Amburgh, Chief Instructor, Aikido Multnomah Aikikai

Summer Lesson Special- $40 off Aikido lessons

Aikido Lessons at a refreshing price!

So refreshing!

Summer 
Lesson 
Special!  

This summer you can get started with a series of four aikido lessons at a refreshing price. 

When you schedule all 4 private lessons and make one payment you'll save $40!

Regular price for four lessons: $260

Summer special price: $220

Private lessons taught by Suzane Van Amburgh, 5th degree black belt, Birankai certified shidoin instructor. Learn more about Suzane Sensei.

Limited time offer. Be one of the first 5 people to book. This special price is for for new private lesson students. Lessons to be scheduled within August.

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

Schedule: Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat time slots, subject to availability.

Contact Suzane: spacetomoveinfo(at)gmail.com or use the inquiry form on this Dojo News web page.

Get started in Aikido practice this summer with private lessons!

Balance Challenge Circuit Training Course

The Balance Challenge! Circuit Training Course

Improve your balance, safely and enjoyably, by practicing the balance challenges in this indoor circuit training course. The exercises are varied and fun. Exercises are scalable so you can practice at the level of challenge appropriate for you. Regardless of your skill level, you can improve your balance and have fun doing it!

Saturday August 1, 2015, Noon- 1pm: 

Initial orientation session, $20. Personal training and orientation to the course presented by Suzane Van Amburgh

Saturdays, August 8, 15, 22, 29, 2015, noon to 1pm: 

DIY. Self-directed training for alumni of the orientation session. Suzane Van Amburgh on site and available to offer help and clarification as needed.

Cost?

Once you’ve completed the initial orientation session on August 1, you are eligible to return on subsequent Saturdays for self-directed training (DIY) at a reduced rate of $10.

Multnomah Aikikai members who attend the initial orientation session for $20, are eligible to return on future dates for self-directed training (DIY) at no charge.

Not a member? Become a Multnomah Aikikai Community Member for $20 per month.

Your Instructor and balance coach:

Suzane Van Amburgh developed the balance challenge circuit training course and continually improves the stations of the course. Suzane is a martial arts instructor (aikido and iaido), a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Teacher and a balance trainer. She conducted balance testing and balance training protocols at a physician’s office. She is the founder of the balance lab. Suzane brings fun balance challenges, benchmarks to self-assess progress, and an array of resources to help you explore and improve your own sense of balance.

The exercises:

The training course includes a variety of challenges to improve coordination, proprioception, leg and core strength, how we use our eyes, eye/ hand coordination, somatosensory functioning, use of hip joints and spine.

Our balance is influenced and maintained by the eyes, inner ear, and brain working together. The brain receives signals from the somatosensory system and processes that information along with input from the structures of inner ear and the eyes. Proprioceptors in the ankles and ribs are key to one’s sense of balance and the ability to restore balance. Leg strength and joint functioning are essential factors in balance as well.

When you improve your balance you invest in an improved quality of life. What do you feel safe doing? Even a slight erosion of confidence in you balance over time, will subtly narrow the range of activities you choose to engage in. As confidence in your balance grows, you will broaden your options, move freely and enjoy a more active life.

Whether you are rehabilitating from an injury, training for top performance, or anywhere in between, you will find the right level of challenge for you. If are interested in graceful aging, neuroplasticity, fall prevention or improved decision-making, you will find the Balance Challenge Training Circuit Course fascinating and engaging.

Questions?

Contact Suzane Van Amburgh by email: spacetomoveinfo(at)gmail.com

Find your Space To Move at Multnomah Aikikai

6415 SW Macadam Ave, Portland OR 97239