Aikido of Irvine 武産合気真如道場

Aikido of Irvine 武産合気真如道場 We are a traditional school of Aikido. This is a place you can build up both your body and spirit. Everyone with or without martial art experience is welcome!

We are a group of people in Irvine who are interested in traditional takemusu aikido. Now we have weapon training every weekday morning at University Hill Community Center.

08/21/2017

When you bow,

Breathe out.

That is your old self leaving.

When you rise,

Breathe in.

That is your new soul.

08/11/2017

If it feels too difficult...

If you want to give up...

Think back to all the times you felt that way on the mat and pushed through.

THIS is what you've been training for.

THIS is the REAL test.

Don't give up.

Reach out to your team mates and have them cheer you on.

You got this.

08/11/2017

The universe favors the decisive.

08/11/2017

There is value in not getting an answer.

There is value in not talking on the mat.

Learn to observe.
Learn to be curious and figure it out.

If your training partner is confused, not getting it...
You don't have to give them the answer.

You don't have to rob them of the opportunity to develop their kinesthetic problem solving skills.

That frustration is part of the learning process, the discovery process.

If you just give them the answer, then they have to substitute your judgement for personal development. They have to remember rules that are highly idiomatic for each scenario instead of discovering underlying principles that are universally true.

So the next time you want to be a Moses descending the mountain with stone tablets....

Consider being a goat that gets chased up the mountain... so the pursuer gets to have their own experience.

08/11/2017

If you remember the productions possibilities frontier from economics (PPF), and you imagine on one end there is you and the work you put into it, and on the other end is your sensei/ senpai and their insights....

Then know that if you show up to class and you can't remember what you did last session, then you're probably operating within the frontier, rather than on it.

I.e., output is suboptimal.

So don't worry about your skill level...

Growth isn't linear.

Just worry about putting in your share of the work.

08/09/2017

O'Sensei had 6 Rules for Training in Aikido

Rule 4. The instructor teaches only one small aspect of the art. Its versatile applications must be discovered by each student through incessant practice and training.

08/06/2017

A lot of talk about the need for 'safe spaces' has me thinking.

Contrary to popular belief, a dojo is a safe space.

A dojo is a place where you can safely calibrate the intensity up and down, so that you can do the work of facing your fears and your limitations without being overwhelmed.

This work is important because the world needs people who don't give up in the face of difficulty...

people who keep their word when it isn't convenient anymore...

people who make a decision and have the strength to follow through...

Maybe that's not where we are yet. But if that's where we want to go, if that's the person we want to become, then it is almost certainly not going to happen overnight.

It happens gradually, through practice.

You pick one place, one hour, and commit to being your absolute best there at that time. And you have a team call you out when you aren't doing it.

Do that enough times and you become what you were pretending to be.

08/06/2017

Why start new students with weapons?
Isn’t it impractical to study weapons?
What is the probability that you will get into a samurai sword duel?

First of all, if you have a samurai sword in your home you should take at least one class that requires you to practice your sword work...

(otherwise you’re like Mac from Always Sunny: constantly showing off your karate moves but having never taken one class…)

More importantly, swords and spears are like steroids for your brain’s ability to measure angles.

Being a martial artist requires a level of subtlety and nuance and precision that has to be developed over time…
and swords and spears are just line extensions of your hands that amplify angles.
The parallax created by extending the lines makes subtle changes in your hands more exaggerated and obvious...
making it easier for your eyes and brain to detect what is still too subtle for your kinesthetic sensibilities!

Lastly, all the open hand movements in Aikido come from sword work/ sword culture: the body mechanics, the emphasis on angles, the constant concern for multiple attackers, one cut one kill… all of this comes from sword work.

In short, weapons illustrate how a small change here can effect a large change over there....

So make a small change in your life today.

Future you will thank you.

08/06/2017

The verdict is in: for the next two weeks the morning weapons training will be Suburi (basic elementary movements; think of all those anime scenes with students doing the same sword cut over and over).

Address

17955 Sky Park Cir, Ste G
Irvine, CA
92614

Opening Hours

Monday 6:30am - 7:30am
Tuesday 6:30am - 7:30am
Wednesday 6:30am - 7:30am
8:30pm - 10:30pm
Thursday 6:30am - 7:30am
Friday 6:30am - 7:30am
Sunday 2pm - 4pm

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