Archives for 2020
Aikido for Kids! – Next Class August 8
Join us! USAF Aikido Online Class Saturday, August 1
A Message from Yamada Sensei 2020_07_29
Calling All Kids!
2020 New USAF Dojo
The USAF would like to welcome the following new member dojo:
12/04/2020:
Aikido New London COunty
Chief Instructor: Crystal Aldrich
60 Cove View Road
New London, Connecticut 06320
11/03/2020:
Crescent City Aikikai
Chief Instructor: Yordan Yordanov
5620 Tchoupitoulas St.
New Orleans, Louisiana 70115
10/27/2020:
Houston Aikido
Chief Instructor: Jonel Romero
16511 Diana Lane
Houston, Texas 77062
7/10/2020:
Staunton Aikikai
Chief Instructor: James Jacenich
16 W. Beverly St.
Staunton, Virginia 24401
2/13/2020:
Santa Fe Budokan
Chief Instructor: Damon Apodaca
190 A Nine Mile Road
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87508
2/13/2020:
Shoshinkan
Chief Instructor: David O’Donnell
4450 N Tenaya Way
Las Vegas, Nevada 89129
USAF Aikido Online Class Series
The USAF Board and Working Group are excited to announce the official kickoff of the USAF Aikido Online Class Series on Saturday, July 18 at 1 pm EST (12 pm CST / 10 am PST) featuring guest instructors Harvey Konigsberg, Jim Soviero, and Sylvie Firestone. Each class will host instructors exclusively from our diverse USAF family and will be held every other Saturday.
Additionally, we are pleased to offer USAF Aikido Online Class Series for Kids! The first class will be held on Saturday, July 25 at 1 pm EST. These classes will also be conducted every two weeks, alternating with the adult series. All ages are welcome.
These weekly Zoom classes are open to everyone and will run concurrently on Facebook Live through the official USAF Facebook page.
Join the Zoom Class, July 18 at 1 pm EST: https://zoom.us/j/99239932965?pwd=QXBSOXdsZGNEQ1NrT0M2emJGQk9BZz09
See you online!
Dan Promotion Applications Mailed to Aikikai June 5th, 2020
Test applications mailed to Aikikai Hombu Dojo on June 5th, 2020 for registration of dan rank
Shodan
- Daniel Barrett – Aikido of Northampton
- Bobby Bissram – Aikido of Nassau County
- Miles Black – Miami Aikikai
- Torrence Fossland – Litchfield Hills Aikikai
- John Freund – Aikido of Charlotte
- Daryl Hodges – Portland Aikikai
- Andre Jacobs – Aikido of Nassau County
- Jesse Martin – Miami Aikikai
- Yosvani Montelongo – Miami Aikikai
- James Plunkett – Aikido of Charlotte
- Joan Prives – Center Island Aikido
- Eric Rodriguez – Miami Aikikai
- Emmanuel Rueda – Miami Aikikai
- Chris Swan – Portland Aikikai
- William Zezelic – Center Island Aikido
Nidan
- Gustavo Colon – Aikido Chiheisen
- Daniel Francoeur – Ottawa Aikido Center
- Kiley Haftorson – Alamo Area Aikikai
- Claudio Lopez – Florida Aikikai
- Michael Lynch – Kenosha Aikikai
Sandan
- Robert Humphreys – Allegheny College Aikikai
- James Hyde – Aikido of Charlotte
- Alan Smith – Twin Cities Aikido Center
- Scott Stein – Palm Beach Aikikai
- Takumi Suzuki – Portland Aikikai
Yondan
- Jerry DeWees – Twin Cities Aikido Center
- Stephen Miller – Kenosha Aikikai
Yamada Sensei’s Article for Honbu Dojo Newsletter
Yamada Sensei was asked by Honbu Dojo to write an article for their newsletter. Yamada Sensei wrote the article in Japanese and also provided a copy translated into English. Sensei asked that this article be shared with USAF members and his students around the world:
To the Members with Gratitude Yoshimitsu Yamada I am writing this at a small park in front of my apartment. It’s 7 am. Beside me, some ten doves are pecking at bread crumbs. Every now and then, a brave sparrow couple dares to intrude. What a heart-warming sight! Were I given a cup of Italian espresso and a Cuban cigar, it would be beyond my bliss! But, under the current circumstances … When the birds retreat to their nap, the park may find a lonesome man dancing in a frenzy to his smart-phone music while, away on a bench young lovers, sitting 6 feet apart, may still affirm their love. To our generation who never knew the Spanish flu of 100 years ago, the “Corona attack” was a horror no one had experienced to date. Saying this in the past tense sounds as if the issue has come to an end, but unfortunately, we must still fear and be ready for a second and third wave. Bearing this firmly in mind, let me tell you how we have faced and coped with this catastrophe. Please allow me to begin with a personal experience. In February every year, I go to Japan to take care of both personal and official business. It was the same this February. At that time, I had heard about the corona virus, but I was not aware that we were in any immediate danger. However, when I checked in at my usual hotel, I noticed something was amiss. February is China’s New Year, but the Chinese tourist groups that normally fill the hotels were strangely absent. Then, having learned the news of infections on a cruise ship, I immediately decided to return to the US. Alas, the corona virus traveled faster than me, and upon return I found New York under an emergency order. In March, we were told to stay home and close our Dojo. Frankly, at this point, I felt that this would be like a vacation, but for more than two months now I have been inundated with phone calls and letters that required my attention (never mind vacation). Then my thoughts were full of “negatives” – declining Aikido membership, financial problems with the dojo, disappointing cancelation of domestic and international summer camps as well as more than a dozen training sessions, etc. that I look forward to and enjoy. Most painfully, I learned about the passing of our members and their loved ones due to Covid-19. When I felt the most despair, it was the very people whose future I worried about that helped lift my spirit. Nearly every day I received phone calls of encouragement from members around the US and the world. Hearing their words, I was happy they felt a part of the Dojo, that Dojo is theirs; further, I was touched by the passion they have for Aikido and the affection they feel for Dojo and Sensei, i.e., me. As time went on, they came together which led to their developing an on-line class program. This act by Aikido members reaffirmed for me how important Aikido, Dojo and students are to me. All this made me very proud of them. They are my treasures. The corona episode, which initially made me feel so negative, has in the end made me appreciate the positives. Thank you all! Let us persevere together! You and I have Aikido!! |
Invitation to Share Dojo Virual Classes
Dear USAF and Sansuikai Instructors:
We hope this finds you healthy and well, and that you are managing to adjust to the many new challenges we face in our daily lives.
One of these challenges is how to keep dojo members connected and engaged while our schools remain closed. A growing number of USAF and Sansuikai instructors are holding virtual classes – some of you may be offering classes available only to your dojo members while others are providing classes accessible to anyone through Facebook and other social media outlets.
To help create a centralized location for these USAF and Sansuikai dojo resources, we invite you to share your class invitations, videos, links to your You Tube page, etc., on the USAF Facebook page. Sharing in this manner will help create easier access and visibility for members and the aikido community at large. It will also help everyone stay in touch, remain connected, and support each other as we work on sustaining our physical dojos while keeping the art of aikido alive.
We kindly ask you refrain from posting any videos or materials that have children present, unless it is the instructors’ child(ren) attending the class with them. In addition, any information that is not posted by, or on behalf, of the dojo’s Chief Instructor requires the CI’s approval. Please also know that all posts will be monitored to ensure they are being shared only by USAF and Sansuikai instructors and are instructional.
If you have any questions and/or difficulties sharing to the USAF Facebook page, please email laura@usaikifed.com. Thank you for all your hard work and commitment to help keeping our community together!