No Borders in Aikido

The beauty of aikido lies in its universality.
It is possible for everybody, be it woman, man or child.

Aikido possesses so many facets, so that everybody can approach this free of borders art form from his point of view.

Tendoryu Aikido Live and learn (Lifelong learning)

At the beginning of my Aikido career, I participated in a large sport-festival, which took place in Stuttgart. My group rehearsed a choreography and later demonstrated it with momentum, vigor, and enthusiasm in front of the many spectators. In the moments directly to follow, as we received such a powerful applause,

Milestones and Graduation

Looking back, my Aikido story is one of my most treasured memories in my experiences with Tendoryu Aikido. I have gained valuable insights for my life.

For me, every person (every creature) has its own development, its own destiny and its own individual path. These individual paths have many separate paths in themselves. Many decisions are to be made, where often you do not know what impact or consequence follows them. Sometimes you get stuck in life’s habits, or you feel afraid, helpless or hold back. A crisis, a stroke of fate, an Illness or changes have an effect on life.

Deutsch

I started Aikido in March 1985, when I was 12 years old. At that time, I practiced with a group full of boys, who often made me angry. Later also women/girls started practicing with me. Some of them have stayed a few years but sooner or later the majority has quitted.

AIKIDO, 32 eventful years

I started of with Aikido back in 1987 in the city of Braunschweig (Germany). The flowing movement was fascinating to me as it is still today.

In 1990 I joined for the first time a seminar with Shimizu Sensei. It was very amazing and exciting for me as I could see Shimizu Sensei in a Dojo. It looked very different to what I was used to. At that point in time it was christal clear for me that I had to start Tendoryu Aikido right away.   

I have been doing aikido for over 25 years now. Sometimes more and sometimes less.

Aikido has become a solid element in my life. It accompanied me during the good times as well as the bad. Especially during crises in my life, the thought of aikido and the physical training have helped me to find myself and given me the strength to carry on.

Living is learning. Learning is living.

Being grateful for what was.

Herewith I send many thanks to Shimizu Sensei, for setting up his aikido school, for inspiring his teachers and bringing us all together within Tendoryu.

Aikido from the womans's point of view.

Since mid-2016 I'm running my own dojo, but continue to train myself twice a week.

I'm the deputy head of the association and youth officer.

Two experiences have been particularly well remembered:

To be one with everything.

Español

7 years ago I decided to start teaching Aikido Tendoryu and with the years I discovered that "to teach", is "to learn" twice.

Aikido – my dance to an inner music

For as long as I can think, self-defence was an important topic to me. After school lessons I tried and studied exercises from a book with my friend. At a Jiu-Jitsu try-out during my apprenticeship, I got to know the essential elements of Judo, Karate and Aikido.

Beauty is the splendor of truth

Deutsch

In Aikido, there is no competition, compared to other martial arts, the essential point is that in Tendoryu Aikido the spirit of Budo is still alive.

This spirit is expressed in the circular, aesthetic movements that accompany Shimizu Sensei's request to move in a natural way, beyond cheap showmanship and deliberately spectacular techniques. Tendoryu Aikido is based on an inherent naturalness that we gradually give rise to with our Aikido practice- just like a sculptor who uses his chisel to carve out the artwork layer by layer, which is already in the raw material, in order to make its inner radiant power visible. Beauty comes from inside, both in art and aikido and reminds us that beauty always has something to do with realization and awarenes.

Movement. That’s what I need. Moving in any way. But how?

It’s spring 1999.

I moved away in another city on my own. I had a new job and I wasn’t in balance. A friend gave me a book about aikido. Words as harmony and training body and mind appealed to me.

Let’s give it a try.

Development by practicing Aikido

Deutsch

Any time I am asked which effort I get by practicing Aikido many things come to my mind, but there is one point of view which I’d like to focus on here. This topic is as important for women as it is for men and sometimes it only becomes accessible to some people after they have been training Aikido for many years.

Since 2003 I am a member of Tendoryu Aikido.

This form of aikido allows polarities to come together in me.

From the view of Carla Gerber (born July 2018), daughter of Julia and Krzystof

Deutsch

I was sleeping comfortably when suddenly I was gently rolled from side to side. Look! I recognized, it was a summer Sunday morning in 2018 and my mother was practicing Aikido.

Until one month before I was born, she was doing Aikido. All Aikidokas were very considerate and we could train Aikido in a wonderful way. The Aikido training worked for us very well while I was still growing in my mother’s belly. It strengthened her mentally and physically during the difficult time of pregnancy. I just really enjoyed it because I like action.

Aikido and abstract art

I would like to congratulate Shimizu sensei for the 50th anniversary of Tendokan school and wish best of luck! Sensei must have had so many experiences with his students during half a century of existence of Tendoryu aikido, I can imagine because so many things have happened to me during mere nine years of practicing this style of aikido

The tall tiny lady from Grosshadern

Deutsch

Thinking of aikido and women, I first think of that woman who has proven to me that it is really true: you do not need to be tall and strong to be able to practice aikido.

Aikido – an amazing, fantastic, awesome…wonderful sport

My whole life I have always been into sports – and especially Aikido! Why?

Let me tell you something about the life of a mother of two boys in Germany-

– doesn't matter if you want to do sport!

My name is Barbara Pflüger. From the beginning of my training before 18 years, I am member of the Dojo in Rüsselsheim. Since two years I have the 1. Dan. I am proud of it, but more important for me is the training. Aikido helps me to develop my body and my spirit. That power supports me also in my daily life. Not to forget the importance of my friends who train with me. I only regret that I didn't find Aikido earlier.

The reason I started Aikido:  I was fired in 2003 before X-mas.

Nederlands

Dec 2003:

I'm a mechanical engineer in the process of precision mass production of the old types of beam televisions.