Deeside Aikido Club

26/06/2026

Training tomorrow.
Who's coming? 🤔
Come and see what your missing. 😉👍

23/06/2026

Classes every Saturday morning. 0900-1100.
Banchory Sports Village.
Come along and try it.
You never know, you might like it.

14/06/2026

13/06/2026

Great first class today.
Thanks to Will, Sam and Colin along with Catriona and Kirsty (not in pic)
Mighty oaks from acorns.
Thanks also to Banchory Sports Village for the excellent facilities.

12/06/2026

🙏

Note that practicing 'kata' or 'form' in the dojo is not the same as practicing 'applied' technique.
Practicing involves learning in context.

The dojo provides a controlled environment.
Kata helps us gain an understanding, it is more than just copying.
It helps us control the reflexive and the reactive.
There is an established choreography.
There is cooperation and collaboration.

Before 'improvising' we practice the 'scales', the 'physical theory' of our discipline.
We learn concepts and principles, the cognitive representations that restrict our movements, thereby changing our intentional action.
Study to become fluent in foundational elements before tackling more advanced concepts.

Our nervous system is conditioned to react not respond, so the counterintuitive body management involved in aikido requires repeated experiential practice.
We practice kata, repetition after repetition, to slowly retrain the nervous system.
Remember that simply 'knowing' is not enough, wisdom is only
acquired through experience.

Begin with kata, the form.
Progress into adding resistance appropriate for nage's
level.
Eventually, advanced students can agree to 'pressure train' into
applied technique (which may not look like kata at all).
That is the general progression.

Kata offers a toolbox to resource movement.
We break up parts, observing detail in every part of the form.
Learning is layered, so beware not to dismiss basics too quickly.

Master foundational knowledge to represent embodied traditional technique before 'releasing the form' into what is considered 'applied'.

G. Breeland 6th dan

30/05/2026

Is your tranquility a conscious choice, or is it merely a byproduct of your inability to fight back? Does your peace stand on its own foundation, or is it rented from the goodwill of others?

Miyamoto Musashi was a master swordsman who went undefeated in sixty-one duels, often using a wooden practice sword against lethal steel. He eventually retired to a cave to write the Book of Five Rings, a text on strategy that remains a staple for leaders today. He taught that a warrior must master all things, for a man who cannot defend his values does not truly own them.

A peaceful man must still know violence, or his peace belongs to whoever threatens it. - Miyamoto Musashi

The insight here is that harmlessness is not a virtue. True peace belongs to the person who has the capacity for destruction but chooses restraint. When you develop the strength to handle life's storms, your inner calm becomes an unshakeable possession rather than a fragile state of mind.

🌸

21/05/2026

Do you know what Misogi means?

Morihei Ueshiba associated daily training with misogi, which means purification. And this, clearly stated, has tremendous depth. Practicing Aikidō, repeating techniques, getting into the tatami, observing yourself, correcting yourself, and starting over works as a concrete way to clear up what one is building up: tension, anger, anxiety, old reactions, clumsy ways to respond to life.

When keiko—training—is sincere, something starts to change. Not because you repeat for repeat, but because each practice shows you where you're stuck. How do you breathe when something is pressing you. How you react when what you want doesn't come out. How your body moves when your head is full of noise. There training begins to fulfill a very serious function: it is extinguishing, little by little, thoughts and behaviors that no longer build anything good.

That's why I find this Ueshiba teaching so necessary. The dojo can also be a place where one cleanses oneself from the inside through the body, repetition and discipline. Each technique well-worked can help you remove something that’s in the way and leave something better in its place. Training every day, even if little, is also a way to take care of what you carry inside.

13/05/2026

Aikido without weapons or Aikido with weapons?

Aikido is a complete martial art that is not limited to Taijutsu (empty hand techniques), but studies body movements and relates them to the handling of weapons such as the bokken (wooden sword), the jo (stick) and the tanto (knife), always complying with the principles of Work.

Each Aikido technique has its roots in the movements of the sword: the entrances, turns, and projections reflect patterns derived from handling the bokken. This technical and strategic connection is fundamental to understanding the essence of art. Without weapon work, Taijutsu loses depth and precision. Training alone empty handed is like trying to swim in a river without water.

Studying the use of weapons in Aikido is not just to learn how to handle them, but to refine the relationship between the body, distance (maai) and control. It is an integral method that strengthens technique and mind, making Aikido a discipline that transcends the physical.

Including weapon work in our daily practice is key to achieving the true technical goal of Aikido: mastering the movement under the principles of Aiki.

Gabriel Benitez©

04/05/2026

You walk into your first class…

You’re not sure what to expect
You don’t know anyone
And you’re hoping you don’t look completely out of place

Most people who walk into their first aikido class feel exactly the same.

Here’s what actually happens:

You’re welcomed in
You’re shown things step by step
And within 10 minutes, you realise…

Everyone else started in the same place

No pressure
No competition
No expectation to be “good”

Just a friendly group, learning together

⭐️ EVERYONE IN THIS PICTURE STARTED AS A BEGINNER ⭐️