BALANCE Payet Shihan is an incredible teacher.  His style of teaching is quiet and reserved with a little bit of well timed humour. This weekend focused on BALANCE. Every Aikidoka has had to listen to people drone on about how fake Aikido looks because one person is effortless tossing around another and pinning them with [...]

LESS THAN A WEEK AWAY! Shihan Jacques Payet is making his way to Canada. I cannot tell you how excited I am for this event. For those of you that read this blog on  a regular basis you will know that my love of Aikido and in particular the teachings and principles of Yoshinkan Aikido. [...]

SIMPLE COMPLEXITY Life can be get so busy. I am sure I am “preaching to the choir” in this respect. For those who have taken time out read this blog I want to first say thank-you and secondly say that I am sorry that I have been so lax in writing. My intent was for [...]

Aikido Network Hosts Jacques Payet Shihan In celebration of a common passion for Yoshinkan Aikido, the Aikido Network in London, Ontario, Canada is pleased to announce that Jacques Payet Shihan is confirmed and visiting exclusively, Feb 24th-26th. We are honoured to host Payet Shihan during his visit from Japan. Payet Shihan, 7th Dan Yoshinkan, is the [...]

Aikido for Self Defense Aikido was rooted in self defense and Yoshinkan Aikido has remained true to its heritage.  Most of us train and study Yoshinkan Aikido not for self defense but for the many other aspects Aikido offers.  However, if one is to study Aikdio, and particularly Yoshinkan Aikido, one must delve into “self [...]

Atemi in Aikido In Japanese martial arts, the term atemi (当て身, atemi?) designates blows to the body, as opposed to twisting of joints, strangleholds, holding techniques and throws. Atemi can be delivered by any part of the body to any part of the opponents body. They can be percussive or use ‘soft’ power. Karate is a [...]

….. kamae!   Allways be in kamae.  ALLWAYS!

Aikido vs Karate

Control The First Move Shodo means “first move” and seisu means “to control”. Therefore, shodo-o-seisu literally means “to control the first move”. However, shodo-o-seisu is easily misunderstood; it has a deeper meaning than simply overpowering one’s opponent with speed or technique. The true meaning of shodo-o-seisu is to keep calm, to be ready with the [...]