When, years later, a new Dojo opened near my place, I started practicing Tendoryu- Aikido together with a colleague.
Initially the formal requirements were strange to me. The round movements and the necessary coordination were difficult, but I perceived them as aesthetic and effective. Especially after attending my first seminar with Shimizu Sensei in Rheinberg in 2002.
I didn´t want to give up, practiced tenacious and finally made improvements. The etiquette didn´t stay mere form but became a naturally part of the training and helped me to slough the daily routine while training.
Sensing Shimizu Sensei, showing each participant of the training at Herzogenhorn the entry of Shiho Nage, was a special inducement to me. It was an absolute coercively movement without a noticeable approach or physical strength.
After 18 years of practice Aikido has become an essential part of my life. For a long time now, self-defence is not my urgent motive anymore but of course Aikido gives me self-confidence.
In my opinion it is the big round movements that distinguishes Tendoryu-Aikido from the other styles of Aikido (not only in an aesthetical regard).
The inner bond to the partner that develops during the training is even more important to me. Each movement has a rhythm which makes me feel if the performance is harmonious or not. And it speaks to something inside of me that goes far beyond mere movement. Just as music and dance do for others.
Prospective I would like to help other women on their way to self-assertion and show them the martial art I value so much later on this way.
Iris Martin from Moers, 3. Dan Tendoryu Aikido, 2000
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.