Wow ! What a weekend of training at the K2 arena in Crawley. Yoshinkan London, headed by 5th Dan Paul Stephens Sensei hosted both Takeno Shihan, 9th Dan and 5th Dan Nakagawa Sensei. An incredible opportunity was taken by 6 Eiryukan students to meet and train with two of Yoshinkans most respected instructors. The event began with a demonstration by various dojos around the UK under the watchful eye of Sensei Takeno and Yates Sensei, 7th Dan of Taidokan Aikido. The standard was high and set the pace to the coaching for the following two days. Takeno Sensei used a traditional method of demonstrating a technique once and giving students the opportunity to try. At first it seemed a little fragmented however after a while it was clear that it helped hone the whole group together into a cohesive journey of learning. Over the weekend Sensei guided us through some amazing and inspiring technical points and plenty of big throw action too. See Eiryukans team demonstration above and get a taste for the atmosphere yourself. In summary it was a great event to attend and has left us thirsty for more seminars soon. Osu

Test yourself this month, break the mold, rock the boat, live it up and let us know how you got on come first of April. You might end up with a smile on your face like my wonderful student Alex. Pictured below at The Boiler House, Summer Demo.

There are now over 100 junior students learning and developing Aikido skills with us and nigh on 20 adults which is fantastic news. The majority of them were absolute beginners and are always up for meeting new people to join them. If you think Aikido might be for you ? Get in touch on 07925 188 363 and have a chat with Neville. All questions are important to us and current students we would love to hear from you too. Give us a text letting us know 3 things you love about Eiryukan Aikido and two things we could improve on. As a huge warm thank you we will give you an extra lesson free in March presuming you attend your regular sessions.  Eiryukan Fans I bow down, total respect for all the great energy you have all been bringing to class this winter. Keep moving forward on your black belt journey. Full Power. See you on the mat soon :)

Seasons Greetings Eiryukan Fans. Did you receive a certificate of excellence at the party? Sensei really wanted to give everyone an award for their dedication and efforts this year. The standard of Aikido has been out of this world in 2011 and it was a tough job deciding who stood out from the crowd. As you can see from the photo even the white belts at the front are showing incredible focus and clearly have their eyes on black belts in the near future. This was a special opporunity to practice Aikido, have a few snacks and meet new friends from 8 different Lincoln classes. It was great to see so many getting on well and sharing their skills. For the first time junior members had the opportunity to see the Monson Street Dojo up close, again kindly loaned to us by Paul Chambers Sensei.
All belt grades stood up in front of everyone and demonstrated moves, keen eyed seniors voted for the best of the bunch and top players got an energising chocolate christmas goodie. A selection of the senior students showed free style techniques and player of the year, Louis Sanguy even put Sensei through his paces throwing him round the dojo. Kelly took some really refreshing Aikido pictures which you can view on Eiryukan Facebook, feel free to tag yourself and show the world your super Aikido. Well done everyone, keep practicing your kamae/stance over the  holidays and come back fighting fit in the new year. We have lots of exciting things coming up in 2012, so stay tuned and Merry Christmas.

It was with great pleasure that Eiryukan hosted a mini seminar for two visiting Aikido Martial arts clubs on Saturday. The Shoshinkan from Nottingham and the Goryukan from Stafford, both Yoshinkan style schools. The setting was the excellent Monson Street Dojo, home of Lincoln Aikido Club run by Sensei Paul Chambers. A big thank you to him for allowing us to use the venue for the afternoon.

Under the watchful eye of O’ Sensei at the kamizawa, all participants trained together in a peaceful yet energised spirit. It was refreshing to experience the different characteristics and traits of all individuals and as mentioned by the instructors present, Jay Savery Sensei and Tadashi Narita Sensei, the effort to create Yoshinkan form was true.

Eiryukan have previously travelled to Goryukan to train and we look forward to visiting the Shoshinkan in the near future. A big thank you to all for attending and training with great spirit. Osu!

Hearty congratulations go to Julie for making 5th Kyu grade last Wednesday night at The Ark, Hykeham.  I happily presented her with her Yoshinkan Certification and red belt last night at The Boiler House.  Julie often says that students who find martial arts the hardest, making the most effort to achieve, last the longest and get the most from it.  I have observed her continued dedication with ups and downs over the previous few months and she has pushed on with great spirit through the highs and the lows.  A definite example of excellence.  Its understandably easy to allow petty things to get in the way or give up when the going gets tough, and thats why only those special few can enjoy Aikido to its full.  He who climbs the highest peaks gets the best view or in this case she :)

Julie and Sensei Neville

At the end of the day, how fast one progresses in terms of grades is not so important, rather that the level and quality of the knowledge is raised. An increase in awareness of the level of precision. An understanding of where we are now.  If we know where we are we will never be lost.  So look round your rooms and see where you are first.  Maybe thats good maybe we feel the need to do something else, or more importantly try a different way of what we do.

Be aware in whatever you do this month!

For all you Aikido Fans, your first step in becoming a black belt is learning how to tie one :)  Here’s our world famous clip for you to learn from.  Look forward to seeing your belt looking crisp and smart.