I found this message on a 7-Habits of Highly Effective People calendar given to me as a holiday gift ... It struck me as aikido-relevant. <p>

"To focus on techniques is like cramming your way through school. You sometimes get by, perhaps even get good grades, but if you don't pay the price day in and day out, you never achieve true mastery of the subjects you study or develop an educated mind." <p>

There remains much study ahead.

The popularity of my last seminar resulted in being invited to give it again. Aspiring club leaders were asked to "Re-Visit a Toastmasters Dojo." And, this time around I focused on the theme: Surrender to the Discipline. To underscore the point of taking a risk when speaking in public, a backward "ukemi" illustrated that one can take a fall yet gracefully recover from any hostile "push" from a heckler in the audience. At the end of the seminar, a women came up to me and promised to visit a real aikido dojo where she's likely to start her practice.

I agree with John. For some time now, I have noticed that fewer people are routinely showing up for any of the classes. If there is a problem with the Center, schedule, teachers, students, fees, etc. please let me know about it. We can correct anything we know about.

Our classes seem to be getting smaller. Is there anything we can collectively do to increase membership?

At a second offering of the public speaking seminar ("Visit a Toastmasters Dojo"), I polled my audience on their knowledge of the martial arts. Highlights follow:

* More than half said they had heard of karate or judo.
* Roughly one-third had either visited a dojo or at least watched a martial arts demonstration / practice session.
* Approximately 10-percent could differentiate between two or more of the arts.
* No one -- zero percent -- had ever heard of aikido.

Edited by author 07-01-2002 02:03 PM
Recently I had the opportunity to lead a seminar entitled "Visit a Toastmasters Dojo" -- See also www.toastmasters.org ... The contents of this seminar come from my white-belt-observations as well as from the key points drawn from Sensei George Leonard's book, MASTERY. Few in this audience of public speakers had ever heard of aikido. Just about everyone, however, knew of the movie THE KARATE KID or had viewed the TV show WALKER: TEXAS RANGER ... Have you ever wondered why this is so? Do those who practice aikido have an obligation to explain the art to others? ... Would more folks join our dojo if we did?

Was at a conference that took me to a city I'd never visited before. My sensei from the home dojo suggested, "Go ahead and pack your gi. Find a dojo while you're away from home. Keep practicing."

Those at the hotel reported that the dojo I wanted to visit was in a "tough neighborhood." Justin, the valet attendant called that part of town "El Barrio." And then hinted that is was a good thing I was, "studying karate." (I don't know how aikido bacame karate, but that's another story.)

I was welcomed at the dojo by a fellow who was playing a wooden flute in the back courtyard. He greeted me with a smile, hand shake, and a parking permit. Then a fellow named Greg showed me the dressing room, a waiver form, and the office so that I could pay a nominal mat fee. Folks arrived from all walks of life -- leather jackets, boots, tattoos ... pick-up trucks, BMWs, pedestrians -- all spending a Friday night practicing aikido.

The valet parking attendant had good intentions with his warning of visiting "El Barrio" but he truly underestimated the friendship & harmony of aikido.

"When you can't flee and you can't fight, try to flow."

From Life's Little Instruction Calendar, Volume VII, Friday, May 3, 2002

Mental Aikido ... I'm finding new points-of-view are becoming apparent to me since starting to practice aikido. Last minute changes in client demands, minor crises at home, rude drivers, etc - are better handled by thinking about the concepts of "entering and blending" ... And when this technique doesn't work, some sort of "ukemi" allows me to disengage and start anew.

The following is contributed by Sensei Jerry Roy:

Handshake.

My daughter and I attended a function recently and quite by accident
the host reached over and shook my daughter's hand before shaking
my hand. As we walked away, my daughter told me that the host squeezed
hard on her fingers. I immediately realized an episode of "Aikido
in Daily Life." I told my daughter that her fingers were squeezed
because she was passive, caught by surprise, and did not extend
her hand into the host's grip. He grabbed her fingers instead of
her palm and squeezed before he realized what he was doing. In
Aikido, we are taught to enter into our partner's attack. By doing
so we begin to exercise control over the attack and hopefully prevent
injury. Likewise, when someone want to shake our hand, we should thrust
our hand into the grip so that we can have some control. To be
tentative, to hesitate, to do otherwise means our finger get squeezed. Ouch!

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