Have you ever had trouble throwing your partner because you weren’t able to draw them in enough?
Of course you don’t want to be overtaken by your partner, but in order for you to have some influence on their position, you need to bring them into your center to some degree.
In...
Have you ever had a really tough day, you’re totally fried, frankly, you don’t feel like going to the dojo (and you’re the instructor), but you go to the dojo, you jump over hurdles, and no one shows up.
First of all, please know that you’re not alone. This happens to...
Every year I do my best to travel to Japan to train and give a demonstration when Doshu or Dojo-Cho visit our Dojo in Kamakura, Japan.
Until his passing in 1996, it was Yamaguchi Sensei who came and gave a class and demonstration at AKI's dojo at Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine in Kamakura,...
Do you sometimes feel unstable when you're executing a technique and you don't know why?
Or maybe you have chronic pain and training seems to exacerbate it?
Of course, there are many possible reasons for this. But one possible reason could be that you're not maintaining The 3 Lines of...
Because of the COVID lockdowns and rebuild, this was my first in-person seminar in nearly 3 years! We weren't really sure what to expect, what with people just beginning to train together in person once again. Turns out, we had a great turnout. Vince Sensei, Arlene Sensei, and I had a blast...
Every year I travel to Japan to train and give a demonstration when Doshu or Dojo-Cho visit our Dojo in Kamakura, Japan.
I usually take some students with me. In this video, you'll see a white belt as one of my uke. He was 16 years old at the time and it was his first trip to Japan. It was no...
This video is from a Livestream that Numata Sensei gave in 2020. The entire class is excellent, but for those of you doing Body Alignment classes with me, please take special note of 20:55 - 21:58. He says numerous times, "Keep line. Keep line.", referring to the yellow/red centerline. He's...
This is one of my absolute favorite videos of Takeda Shihan's demos. It was filmed before I arrived in Japan in 1987. I'm guessing it would have been filmed in the late 70's or early 80's.
As it relates to our study of body alignment here on this website, it's fascinating and impressive to see...
I recently saw a great blog post that maps out key benefits of martial arts training for kids.
The post begins:
“In a culture that seems to glorify violence in everything from music to video games and television shows, the idea of enrolling your child in martial arts training...
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