Can you believe that we organized 22 events in 12 months and had almost 300 people training with us? It will take you a few minutes to flip through our annual report, which is 32 pages of pure pictorial delight. The photos will remind you of all we’ve experienced and where we’ve been. The text is short and to the point, so if you’re interested in the behind-the-scenes details of the dojo, you’ll find some. You can find the full report inside the article…
We’ve arrived to Berlin on Friday evening and slept the first day in Kranich dojo. Martin and Vanda were already training in the other dojo and before sleeping we all went to a Chinese restaurant to have some nice dumplings (and accidentally practiced a bit of Chinese)
In the dojo, right before sleeping, we’ve tried to click a button with “Ó-Sensei” written on it.
A great joint training of tuishou (pushing hands) of aikidists and taichists under the guidance of Jan Pletanek.There are some lovely photos in the article and if you would like to participate next time, we are planning another such Friday evening on 26 May – see the list of seminars for details.
Saturday seminar with Zdenek Reguli, rehearsals and then Christmas party until Sunday morning! This was a really great event, check out the photos!
It seems that we are starting a new tradition – this was our second sleepover in the dojo and it was a great success again!
We are very happy to organize trainings for teachers of the Czech Aikido Federation. It is an opportunity to share our way of teaching Aikido with other Czech clubs and also to get inspiration from their work. At the same time, these meetings broaden the pedagogical and human horizons of our young teachers. And also we can all practice together.
These photos are more art than documentary. Take a good look, they can tell you a lot about aikido!Take a good look, these pictures can tell you a lot about Aikido!
Aikido is also work in the vineyard, we agreed with our youngsters. One Saturday in October, we enjoyed the fresh air while picking grapes on the hill above Žernoseky, where Bogdan Trojak has a vineyard and we sometimes help him out.
We woke up early in the morning and arrived at the place in the morning fog. We couldn’t see even a few meters, almost by touch we were picking and cutting the tassels, our fingers wet from the cold dew.
We did two demos at two festivals that weekend! This one was on Saturday at the very spicy Asia & Chilli Fest at the Exhibition Grounds.
Exercising in the fresh air, friends, great food,… and because of these extra bonuses, we enjoy aikido so much.
For us the Akimatsuri festival means meeting friends, lots of good Japanese food and culture… and also an aikido demonstration that we have to prepare and perform.
“I would say that the Aikido Marathon brought me a beautiful and unforgettable experience, a unique exploration of how fatigue affects me – and a huge surprise, because the training sessions and the unique atmosphere charged me so much that (despite all my initial assumptions) I kept practicing over and over, nights, mornings… and enjoyed it so much
At the same time, I think that I also learned in the “actual” aikido practice, the changing dynamics (thanks to the brisk change of teachers and their styles) added another amazing dimension to the aikido marathon. I experienced (for me) completely new approaches and what’s more, I found elements to take away in each one…
The more I think about it, the more I believe that putting all those wonderful impressions into words is impossible…”
Lenka, 18-years-old high school student
This was our 15th summer school in Třešt’ under the guidance of Martin Švihla. 7 days and 6 hours of practice per day. Plus lots of time together over meals, evening talks, ambient music concert, board games and… just a week with good friends and aikido.
Almost 10 people were preparing for this year’s dan examinations, so we organized the preparatory seminar of the Czech Aikido Federation in Vinohrady with great pleasure.
On Saturday morning in Prague, around 100 children started their first training on the big tatami… and it was a line from one side of the hall to the other. Check out the photos! And we weren’t all there yet, because the bus with the Ukrainian kids got delayed at the border and arrived a bit late. After a warm-up together, we divided into age categories – small kids, bigger kids and teenagers – and started real training sessions full of varied movement, games and most importantly aikido.
We sat on the mats after practice, resigned expressions on our faces. I think Honza broke the silence: ‘When is the next training? And where?”
On that Thursday in November, the first snow fell in Stockholm. The beginning of winter. We slept on the tatami at the Iyasaka Aikidoklubb (there’s an insanely noisy air-conditioning system running at night) and got up at six in the morning. An hour practice, a quick change of clothes and a subway ride to Vanadis, where there was another morning practice at another club. Then we had breakfast at the cafe where Astrid Lingren used to go (Pipi Longstockking was written in the tenement across the park) and the lunchtime training was starting, which of course we also attended. Three workouts in half a day wouldn’t have been too much, but we kept up the pace of 3-5 hours of exercise on our sixth day in Stockholm… and we still had three more intense days to go.