by Robert Wolfe
As the dojo enters the New Year, we’re making some important changes and additions to the schedule of classes.
First, Mike Nickels will oversee an open mat period on Wednesdays from 6:00 to 7:30 pm, prior to the aikido class led by John Butz.
Second, the Monday time slot previously dedicated to toho (swordsmanship) will now be designated as practice time for Shinto Muso-ryu Jo. The primary reason for this change is the fact nearly all the people who train in toho/iaido as their sole art are commuting members of the dojo who attend practices only on intermittent Saturdays. The switch will permit greater utilization of the dojo, and judging from what we’ve seen already the Monday practice time is going to prove popular with the members training in SMR Jo.
With toho/iaido practices constrained to one per week, anyone participating in that practice as their sole art will be accorded a commuting-level membership rate, whether distant or local.
The Saturday morning schedule remains as it was: aikido from 8:30 to 10:00 am; toho/iaido from 10:00 to 11:30 am; and SMR Jo from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm.
Aikido uniform
Starting this month, we will drop use of colored belts for un-graded students. There will only be white belts and black belts, but any student having passed the first examination will be able to add a blue hakama to the uniform. Working with Bob Stroud at Bogubag.com, we’ve found we will be able to purchase good, Japanese-made hakama in a very reasonable price range.
Dojo logo attire
Also in January, I expect to add a link from our web site to the online catalog of Xtreme Stitches (the company that produced our recent order of polo shirts with the dojo logo). Members of the dojo will be able to order direct from Xtreme Stitches any item in the catalog, with the dojo logo, and a little of the purchase price will kick back to help support the dojo.
Kagami Biraki
Since Meik and Diane Skoss will be attending the observances at Relnick Sensei’s dojo in Woodinville, Washington this year, we are going to make our celebration of the Japanese New Year somewhat low-key. On Thursday, January 15th, we will take the last half-hour of both the aikido and SMR Jo practices to stage demonstrations in which everyone attending that evening will participate. These demonstrations are really for the kamiza (dojo shrine) and it’s far more important that everyone participate than it is that everyone does something spectacular. If a first-day aikido student can manage no more than a forward roll, that will be fine. We’ll all sit down, then go out on the mat in groups of several people with relatively equivalent experience, everyone will execute a technique or two, the group will return to their seats, and the next group will demonstrate.
This New Year’s observation will be on a weeknight, so we won’t do any kind of party that evening, but I would like to resume our old tradition of the dojo post-holiday party, maybe on a weekend in early February.
Closing thoughts
I’d like to thank everyone for having helped make 2003 something of a renaissance for the dojo. We now have all the pieces in place for continued personal and collective growth, with access to the finest instruction available anywhere and opportunities we only dreamed of a few years ago. I’m very grateful, and I look forward to even greater experiences for us all in 2004.
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