First Course in Aikido starts Tuesday May 5th

Ready to dig in to your First Course?

Tasty and nourishing to the body mind and spirit!

Aikido First Course is a beginners' series designed to orient you to the fundamentals of the art. Learn the basics of practice: situational awareness, whole body movement, rolling and falling without injury. Within just a few weeks you'll feel more centered and connected in yourself.

First Course begins Tuesday May 5, 2015. 

Registration includes a uniform and classes two days per week. Fee $90

First Course participants are eligible to take any and all of the following Aikido classes in the month of May:

Tuesdays 5:30 pm - 6:00 pm, Center Yourself

Tuesdays 6:15 pm - 7:15 pm; Fundamentals

Saturdays 10:00 am - 10:30 am, Learning Through Discovery

Saturdays 10:30 am - 11:30 am, Fundamentals

First Course participants will also be invited to participate in special events at the dojo in May e.g. The Lines of Engagement and Rolling class.

Contact us: dojo@multnomahaikikai.com

Aikido Multnomah Aikikai 6415 SW Macadam Ave, Portland OR 97239

This Saturday April 25 at 10am: Aikido Appetizer!

Our Spring Open House event is this Saturday April 25, 10am-11:30am

Aikido Appetizer
Try a taste of Aikido practice for FREE!

The Appetizer is an experiential introduction to the art and practice of Aikido. Step onto the mat and participate in fun, engaging partner exercises that awaken a sensory experience and ignite a spark. No prior experience expected.

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.

Free of charge! 

Sign-in and waiver form required upon arrival. Shoot us a quick email to let us know you plan to attend!

Aikido Multnomah Aikikai 6415 SW Macadam Ave, Portland OR 97239

Saturday events in the dojo April 2015

April 4, 11 and 18, Saturdays, 10am-10:30am: Learning through Discovery
April 11, noon- 1pm: The Lines of Engagement 
April 25, 10-11:30am: Aikido Appetizer, FREE Introduction to the Art of Aikido

  ~
 April 4, 11 and 18, Saturdays, 10am-10:30am: Learning through Discovery (for members)

The 10-10:30am time slot will shift to an open format to foster learning through discovery. The theme and focus will be 5th kyu techniques.

 The open mat format provides the opportunity for students to get together and work through the 5th kyu techniques, discovering what they know and where there are gaps in knowledge. The process of retrieving and remembering techniques can bring to light what movements have been learned clearly and where understanding is still murky.

By engaging with this process, specific questions will bubble up organically. What do you do when you don't know what to do? What resources are within you to figure out a conundrum? 

When you discover an answer through your own process of movement inquiry and your partner's feedback,  learning is absorbed at a deeper level.

 When questions are not successfully resolved,  the follow up class can address student's needs directly. Suzane Van Amburgh Sensei will be in the dojo during the 30 minute practice period and will teach the regular fundamentals class starting at 10:30am.

April 11, noon- 1pm: The Lines of Engagement (open to the public)

explore the lines of engagement:

• Investigate the moment when you encounter your partner.
• Sense your center.
• Experiment with where and when you make initial contact.
• Discover how you change the angle of encounter.
• Sense your balance.
• Follow the trajectory of your partner’s motion.
• Notice when you naturally take a step to restore balance.

No experience required. You do not have to fall down if you don’t want to. This class is taught by Suzane Van Amburgh, GCFP and shidoin aikido instructor Free to Multnomah Aikikai Members (Regular and Community members).  Open to the public for drop in fee of $10.

 April 25, 10-11:30am: Aikido Appetizer, FREE Introduction to the Art of Aikido
(Open to the public)

Get a taste of what it is like to practice aikido! 
All are welcome to participate for free. We invite the community to this special open house event. Learn more...

Aikido Appetizer and First Course

Get a taste of what it's like to practice Aikido!

Aikido Appetizer
FREE AIKIDO INTRODUCTION
 
January 31st 10 AM 
IT’S FREE!
 
Step onto the mat and participate in fun, engaging partner exercises that awaken a sensory experience and ignite a spark. Wear comfortable clothing you
can move in.


  
Aikido First Course : Dig In!
SIX WEEK BEGINNER SERIES SPECIAL
 
Starts February 3rd 
Only $90
 
Learn the basics of falling, rolling, proper footwork, and introduction to basic fundamentals. This 6 week,12 class series will get you started on the right foot.



Aikido Multnomah Aikikai 6415 SW Macadam Ave, Portland OR 97239
MultnomahAikikai.com    dojo@multnomahaikikai.com

Walk like a Samurai! Intro to Sword Handling

artist: Daniel Fruelund

Walk like a Samurai!

Introduction to Sword Handling

Wednesdays, 7:30pm
February 4-25, 2015
(Four sessions)

Multnomah Aikikai members participate free.
Series open to the public: $60



Make your body like a blade!

Use your te-gatana.

Enter and cut!

In your Aikido practice, embody the principle of the sword.


The sword is ever present in Aikido practice. Yet, how many of us have familiarity with using a sword?  Basic sword handling will enliven your Aikido practice. This series is open to all members for no additional charge. Know someone interested in sword?  The public is welcome for a fee. The series of four classes build on each other. For this reason, commitment to the series is advised.

Participants may use wooden bokken for this introduction.  If you do not have your own equipment, the dojo has a limited number of bokken available for use during class.  Please preregister by January 31.

This class runs concurrent with our regular Iaido class, led by Van Amburgh Sensei. Basic sword handling skills will be introduced based on the Japanese art of Iaido. Partner exercises may include Aikido weapons forms.

Multnomah Aikikai, 6415 SW Macadam Ave, Portland OR 97239

Learn the basics of Bokken (wooden sword) Tuesdays in December

Bokken Basics: Tuesdays in December

 In this Center Yourself Tuesday series for December, we will study the fundamentals of sword work using the wooden bokken while practicing an eight part kata. No falling is required in this class. Footwork patterns include pivoting, sliding and stepping forward and backward. If you do not have your own bokken you may borrow one from the school during class time.  Come practice! Center yourself with the wooden sword, balance and breath.

During this class we will:
•    Raise the sword in line with the spine
•    Execute sword motions relative to the center line of the body
•    Move our upper body so it’s supported by the motion of the lower body
•    Develop footwork that supports movements of the sword

By practicing these skills we will :

• make good use of the ground so that gravity becomes a friendly force

• enable our bones to transmit power cleanly so that our muscles can relax 

• engage the left hand so that it knows what the right hand is doing 

• educate the left and right half’s of our bodies to coordinate around a central axis 

• allow our ribs to expand and contract in sync with the rise and fall of the sword and breath 

• allow our eyes to settle and align with our intention 

•  improve our balance so that dynamic stability is realized

“Being centered” and “moving from center” will shift from abstract concepts to tangible experiences.

Your instructor: Suzane Van Amburgh
This class is open to the public for a $10 drop in fee. Free to Regular and Community Members of Multnomah Aikikai.
Tuesdays in December: 5:30-6:00pm

Find your Space to Move® at Multnomah Aikikai: 6415 SW Macadam Ave, Portland OR 97239

Drop in FREE for Orientation to Practice through October

Orientation to Practice - FREE in October

Practice is a mind set and an activity where you repeat an operation or movement, assessing and attending to how you do it. You introduce new variables, try something, make mistakes, form questions, change strategy and try again.

This can happen at a very mental/analytical level or it can happen with a more diffuse mindset. We can explore, play, fall, get up, try again. Sometimes we engage in practice with knitted brow and self judgement, but learning often slows down under such circumstances. Practice can be approached with an open curious mindset, a sense of humor and compassion for self.

A dojo is a place where we “practice the way.” At Multnomah Aikikai our primary practice is the martial art of Aikido. In this class, utilizing basic movements of Aikido, you will orient to the joy of practice. Whether you continue with Aikido practice or take up another practice, you will have cultivated the inner tools to direct your own learning with compassion, a sense of humor and the joy of movement.

Tuesdays 5:30 – 6:00pm, Saturdays 10-10:30am. 

FREE through Oct. 28, 2014. 

After the half hour class, we invite you to stay and observe the Aikido Fundamentals class following.

Aikido Multnomah Aikikai, 6415 SW MACADAM AVE, PORTLAND, OREGON 97239

Fall Aikido Schedule begins September 17

This Fall our adult aikido class schedule shifts focus. You'll see the same basic time slots through the week but the focus of those classes shifts.

Our beginners series, Aikido First Course, begins October 11 and runs Tuesdays and Saturdays through November 22.

Get a taste at the Aikido Appetizer on Saturday October 4th at 10am.

Visitors are welcome to step onto the mat and join us for the half-hour Orientation to Practice, Tuesdays at 5:30pm or Saturdays at 10am (through October 28). After, we invite you to stay and observe the fundamentals class.

The public is also welcome to join us for the Lines of Engagement on second Saturdays at noon, Oct 11, Nov. 8 and Dec. 13. The fee is $10.

Monday, Wednesday and Friday 6:15pm classes are core classes for members of all levels and focus on our monthly teaching theme.  Become a regular member and train in any of these classes.

Two classes on the schedule are restricted to members ranked 5th kyu and above: Tuesdays 7:30pm and Thursdays 6:15pm.

Advanced class is held once a month on the first Tuesday in the 7:30pm time slot.

Aikido Without Falling Down?

Join us for a special Aikido practice...

Saturday May 17th, Noon - 1:00 pm

Aikido Without Falling Down;
The Lines of Engagement

You can practice the principles of aikido without fully losing your balance.

Forgo falling and rolling to explore the lines of engagement:

• Investigate the moment when you encounter your partner.
• Sense your center.
• Experiment with where and when you make initial contact. 
• Discover how you change the angle of encounter. 
• Sense your balance.
• Follow the trajectory of your partner's motion.
• Notice when you naturally take a step to restore balance.

Come and play Saturday at the dojo in a safe, light-hearted atmosphere of lively, sensory learning.

Free to Multnomah Aikikai Members.

Open to the public, no experience required, fee $10.

Send us a quick email to let us know you plan to attend.
Use the contact form in the right-hand column of this page.


Contact us: dojo@multnomahaikikai.com
Aikido Multnomah Aikikai  |  503-246-8120
6415 SW Macadam Ave, Portland OR 97239

Aikido! What's it like? Watch a class

       

Observing Aikido Class

What are you watching?

No class is “typical.” We encourage you to watch several. Techniques can be applied slowly and gently or quickly and powerfully. We practice a variety of movement qualities.

Warm up period

Class generally begins with “warm ups” which may last 10-20 minutes. In our dojo this may include a combination of stretching, breathing, sensory motor coordination exercises, conditioning and traditional centering techniques. Why do we do it? Warm ups prepare us for the activity we are about to engage in physically and mentally. Each day we are different. Warm up period brings us present with our bodies and minds and orients us toward awareness in the present moment. Physically, this minimizes risk of injury. Mentally, awareness of self in its present state is paramount to engaging appropriately with another person.

Technique time

The traditional format of class is for an instructor demonstration followed by partner practice. The instructor may veer from traditional format from time to time in order to keep practice fresh and attention sharp. There are many aspects of training to explore and the instructor may draw the students’ attention to a particular facet of the art.

Etiquette provides a container and structure for the very dynamic and unpredictable nature of the martial encounter. Aikido training is appropriate for all ages and abilities. Students develop at an individual pace and learn to adapt to different practice partners. Respect, attention and appreciation for our training partners and the class instructor are highly held values.

How many techniques are there?

It depends how you count them. There is a set of core techniques that we practice from different attacks and in different configurations. There are an infinite number of variations. Because each person is unique and each encounter is unique, Aikido practice is continually fascinating and fulfilling throughout a lifetime of training.

Visitors are welcome to observe regular aikido classes anytime. Check our class schedule and drop by. No appointment needed.

Schedule: http://www.multnomahaikikai.com/schedule/

January 2014 Class Schedule

Winter Training  
Opportunities to get in more practice this January! 

New:
Mondays 6:15pm: General Adult class

Wednesdays 7:30pm: Introduction to Sword Handling. This class will run concurrent with the Iaido class. Read description

Thursdays 6:15pm new focus to class: Intermediate level training concurrent with general class. All levels welcome.

Special events

Tue Jan 7^th: Kagami Biraki training for all levels (adults)
Wed 8^th Fold a Crane for the new year; origami activity for kids and adults
Sun Jan 19th: Weapons Intensive

Pick up a schedule at the dojo...

Multnomah Aikikai, 6415 SW Macadam Ave, Portland OR 97239