So, here's what i did....

Sorry for the large lapse in blogging. I realize it's been 5 months and no one may even still be reading this. That's cool because i use this thing to write down my random scattered thoughts on aikido.

The last 5 months were filled up mostly with life. I had a job that kept me busy so much i didn't make it to class very often. 3 times in fact, which isn't a record or anything. The year i was in Orlando i MAY have posted twice.

My last class at Pat's was my last class in Mississippi. I recently moved to Bellingham, WA where my best bud John of Johndo fame resides.

My last class was rather mind blowing. I guess since Pat knew i was leaving he decided to blow apart some of my ideas and leave me at aikido square one. After doing the class norm of tegatana we worked on hanasu. I have always had a problem with the second move in this kata, Hon Soto te Osu. I have felt rather led footed and one step behind with this technique all the years i've been doing it. I asked for some advice on how to make this move work smoothly and Pat told me to try and accomplish the technique on one foot at a time always causing a same hand/same foot to fall. Wow, said I. Instead of simply stepping around like i have been, i allowed uke more freedom to move me in whatever direction he was going making my aikido (i think) crazy better. I know you're supposed to allow uke to determine how the engagement goes... but this was really working great!

The whole class allowed me to re evaluate all the footwork and positioning that i seemed to have taken for granted in tegatana. With just a slight shift in focus my aikido (i think) as become a bit more free flowing and a bit less cluttered.

So fast forward about a month later and here i am in the top north corner of the United States. John and I, in an effort to keep ourselves training, have decided to do a video blog here. We're not trying to teach anything by any means, we're just recording our sessions so that we can 1)get advice and 2) have something that shows what we're doing, that we're doing something, and shows where we are at and were we need to go. I look forward to hearing what people think and trying to overcome my extreme anxiety over seeing myself move and flop about like a pregnant ox.