Keeping the dojo open while the building is closed

Summary of suggestions for dojo activities from the DojoCho Forum and on dojocho video calls. Many thanks to all who shared.

Books for individual reading or dojo discussions

Suggested by various dojocho, we have no personal experience with most of these.

Holding the Center: Sanctuary in a Time of Confusion by Richard Strozzi Heckler
Enlightenment through Aikido by Kanshu Sunadomari
Conscious Breathing: For Health, Stress Release and Personal Mastery. Gay Hendricks.
The Way of Harmony for Shirt Sensei’s breathing and sword forms author John Stevens.
Healing Tao Breathing by Mantak Chia
Cultivating the Ch’i by Stuart Alve Olson, Chen Kung Series Vol. 1, p. 64, Mobilizing the Chi
The Harmony of Nature by Mitsugi Saotome
Principles of Aikido by Mitsugi Saotome
Light of Transmission by Mitsugi Saotome
Spiritual Foundations of Aikido by William Gleason

Video for individual viewing or dojo discussions

Videos of Saotome Sensei seminars 1990-2000 are being made available on Youtube. Currently available links are listed at the bottom of this page.
Videos of senior ASU instructors are available on the ASU archive YouTube channel. On youtube, enter “asu archive” in the search and find the ASU logo in the results.
Check the “Aikido Schools of Ueshiba” channel on YouTube for an eclectic collection of videos.
Suburi demonstrated by Jim Alvarez Sensei: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1QPaMfPjpdDPXKJ0n7MqLbVVJNi3sEpIb?usp=sharing

Virtual classes

Some dojo are holding lectures or discussions. Outside guest instructors are invited in some instances.
Some dojo share video or live stream drills and exercises suitable to solo practice.
Some dojo practice group meditation through a videoconference.
Some dojo are incorporating or entirely focused on social interaction as inherent to the dojo spirit.
North Country Aikido has compiled this list of classes, check to see if visitors are invited. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fnauCxoFmQFFg8T7w7A7nR_08D68U0Z4MxU3rslDwM8
Email Bond Street Dojo (aikido@nullbondstreet.org) to join in a rotation of class/Zoom events available to their members.

Communication Tools

Solo training encouragement

Checklist: members are emailed a checklist of activities to complete each week
Challenge: periodic email challenging members to complete, for example, 100 shomen cuts, or 50 tenkan, or as many punches as possible balancing on one leg
Scavenger hunt: find, for example, response to tsuki starting with tenkan, response to kosadori with no tenkan, response to bokken shomen cut
Keep all ranks challenged by increasing the number or difficulty of tasks for advanced students For instance, (one repetition + number of promotions) so unranked student performs one, shodan performs 8, godan performs 11.

Stay informed in swiftly changing circumstances

Go to asu.org
From the menu at the top of the page, click on “Dojo Directory”
Scroll to the bottom of the Dojo Directory page and open the “Dojo Directory Login”.
From the drop down menu, select your dojo.
Enter your password. if you have lost yours, click on “Lost password”.
On the left side bar, click on “Dojo Cho Forums”.
Click on “Visit the Dojo Cho Forums”.
Click on “Private:General” and join in the discussion.

Dojocho videoconferences are being held more frequently. If you are a dojocho and are not seeing emails with instructions for joining, contact Wendy Whited, wendy@nullasu.org
The ASU Newsletter is published more frequently. If you aren’t seeing Newsletter contents through your dojo, subscribe directly here: http://eepurl.com/gn_WTX

Saotome Sensei Phoenix videos

1990

1991

1992