Aikido of Gainesville
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We will hold the July birthdays party on July 28th. It's near the end of the month again so the Herron family can attend. We will have cupcakes, ice cream, grapes, bananas, chocolate milk and orange juice. I hope the kids come with more appetite this time. The last one most of the kids were already full on donuts before they arrived.
We had a demonstration out at the big Kids' gym called Sun Country in Jonesville on July 11th. It went very well. We demonstrated for two groups of kids for 30 minutes each. The first group was about 50 kids from about 5 to 8 years old so Kindergarten up to 3rd grade. The second group was 4th to 6th grade. I showed a lot of Iaido to the first group. I thought we were just arriving about a half hour early, but that was the time they wanted us to start, so instead of having extra time for the first group, I ate up a lot of time with the sword demonstration. It was so fortunate that the Herron family wanted to help out and also Christopher showed up too. They demonstrated techniques from the first 4 tests. They were Terrific! When the second group came in, we showed them some Iaido. Mainly the kids in both groups wanted to touch the sword to see if it was sharp. It's not. It's specifically for Iaido. Then our kids showed their stuff, then we had the kids in the second group play with some of the really simple anti-bully techniques.
Did you notice the new video at the top? This is almost all Kids and a good portion of it was shot by the Kids and of the Kids. The last little clip is of the Kids, by the Kids, for the Kids. I can't keep from smiling when I view it.
The times for the Kids and Teens Classes will be starting at 9am and the Teens classes will begin at 10:30am. The new fan motor is running much faster, creating more wind in the dojo, so summer will be fine this year. I really love the new fan motor. The fans are facing inward and moving so much volume of air, it's rolling the air around all over the place making it reasonably comfortable despite whatever the temperature is and where ever you are in the dojo.
It occurred to me that the senior Kids students are not asking to play games at the beginning of class anymore. They come in the door and want to start right into regular practice right away. For one thing, their techniques are becoming more complex. Which means they have to focus more to understand and advance. But it may be that they have started to realize that the Aikido is the "play" and they have graduated to a higher level of play. I'm starting to hear "I love this technique." or "This is my favorite Bo kata". And just a few months ago the statements were "This is hard." Now it's becoming "This is fun."
I have decided to offer extra discounts of extra classes for parents or students who help clean the dojo while their kids or teens are in class. I'm swamped so much of the time with keeping track of the dojo financially, keeping up the websites, doing maintenance, processing new videos and such that the cleaning is not up to snuff. I think this can work out as a win-win for the dojo and the parents.
The Aikido of Gainesville Dojo will be closed on Tuesdays during the day. I might be there to do maintenance, but I will not be teaching on Tuesdays. There will regularly be a Free Community Service Aikido Class on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 8pm. Tuesday Evening practices may not always be open. Please call ahead of time to determine if there will be a class that evening. Call first Jun Evangelista 352-222-0872. If no answer or Jun is not teaching, call Keith McInnis 352-258-4725.
We had a demonstration out at the big Kids' gym called Sun Country in Jonesville on July 11th. It went very well. We demonstrated for two groups of kids for 30 minutes each. The first group was about 50 kids from about 5 to 8 years old so Kindergarten up to 3rd grade. The second group was 4th to 6th grade. I showed a lot of Iaido to the first group. I thought we were just arriving about a half hour early, but that was the time they wanted us to start, so instead of having extra time for the first group, I ate up a lot of time with the sword demonstration. It was so fortunate that the Herron family wanted to help out and also Christopher showed up too. They demonstrated techniques from the first 4 tests. They were Terrific! When the second group came in, we showed them some Iaido. Mainly the kids in both groups wanted to touch the sword to see if it was sharp. It's not. It's specifically for Iaido. Then our kids showed their stuff, then we had the kids in the second group play with some of the really simple anti-bully techniques.
Did you notice the new video at the top? This is almost all Kids and a good portion of it was shot by the Kids and of the Kids. The last little clip is of the Kids, by the Kids, for the Kids. I can't keep from smiling when I view it.
The times for the Kids and Teens Classes will be starting at 9am and the Teens classes will begin at 10:30am. The new fan motor is running much faster, creating more wind in the dojo, so summer will be fine this year. I really love the new fan motor. The fans are facing inward and moving so much volume of air, it's rolling the air around all over the place making it reasonably comfortable despite whatever the temperature is and where ever you are in the dojo.
It occurred to me that the senior Kids students are not asking to play games at the beginning of class anymore. They come in the door and want to start right into regular practice right away. For one thing, their techniques are becoming more complex. Which means they have to focus more to understand and advance. But it may be that they have started to realize that the Aikido is the "play" and they have graduated to a higher level of play. I'm starting to hear "I love this technique." or "This is my favorite Bo kata". And just a few months ago the statements were "This is hard." Now it's becoming "This is fun."
I have decided to offer extra discounts of extra classes for parents or students who help clean the dojo while their kids or teens are in class. I'm swamped so much of the time with keeping track of the dojo financially, keeping up the websites, doing maintenance, processing new videos and such that the cleaning is not up to snuff. I think this can work out as a win-win for the dojo and the parents.
The Aikido of Gainesville Dojo will be closed on Tuesdays during the day. I might be there to do maintenance, but I will not be teaching on Tuesdays. There will regularly be a Free Community Service Aikido Class on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 8pm. Tuesday Evening practices may not always be open. Please call ahead of time to determine if there will be a class that evening. Call first Jun Evangelista 352-222-0872. If no answer or Jun is not teaching, call Keith McInnis 352-258-4725.
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The primary question: What constitutes a good dojo? How do you recognize a good dojo?
1. The Sensei (instructor) is knowledgeable, helpful and safe. 2. The techniques work and can be powerful, but don't always need to be powerful. 3. The senior students look out for and help the junior students and keep things safe. 4. Everybody is learning a lot and having fun. |
There are Dojos that stand a lot on visual image and ritual because they can't stand on knowledge and there are Dojos that forego a lot of ritual and may not look like much but they have an abundance of knowledge. We are in the latter group.
TEST US! There is an overwhelming abundance of knowledge here.
TEST US! There is an overwhelming abundance of knowledge here.
To see and learn more about the dojo, go across the top menu to "About". On the drop down menu click on "Location". On that page there are 10 videos showing the dojo with explanations of what I have on the walls.
Under the videos menu I have added instructional videos for both Iwama Style and Nishio Style. I will begin showing how I teach the techniques, as time allows. You may find them very informative.
If you want to get in contact with me email; sensei@aikidoofgainesville.com or 352-494-7816.
Under the videos menu I have added instructional videos for both Iwama Style and Nishio Style. I will begin showing how I teach the techniques, as time allows. You may find them very informative.
If you want to get in contact with me email; sensei@aikidoofgainesville.com or 352-494-7816.
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Beginning June 4th Aikido for Kids will start Mon, Wed, Thu & Fri at 9:00am to 10:30am. Aikido for Teens start Mon, Wed, Thu & Fri at 10:30am to Noon. If you desire to come for the whole time in the morning I'm OK with that too. The more time spent in class becomes more learned which means the faster the advancement. Free Saturday classes will remain in the mornings until further notice. Kids 9am to 10:30am and Teens 10:30am to Noon AOG web sites with information about Kids classes are; Aikido Kids of Gainesville, Stop the Bully Using Aikido and Bully Defense Using Aikido These sites have more information about what to expect in Kids and Teens classes and Anti-Bully techniques. Thursday Free Class times are 6:30-8:00pm. There is now a weapons class from 8:05 to 9:00pm following the free class. |
The Nishio Sensei videos shown above here are advanced techniques. I start practically everybody in the Iwama Style to build knowledge and a foundation of basic techniques. After you have the knowledge to pass the third test, then you will better understand and appreciate the Nishio Style techniques which are strong and fast.
Calendar of all Aikido of Gainesville Events
Classes will be tracked by the use of a punch card. The number of classes purchased will be written on the punch card and when the number of punches are completed a new card may be purchased. There will be no time restrictions on the cards.