As you will see as you continue to read, our dojo has been in transition these past few months. As we re-emerge from our silent period, Marcella Mosher and Bob Martini have decided to pass on the reins of publishing Nikyo Monthly. Bob and Marcella have done an awesome job of publishing this newsletter for 3 years. Mike Lewis with the assistance of Judy Warner has offered to assume responsibility for publication but to limit it's publication to four times a year. Hence a new name in the future - Nikyo Quarterly - but with the continued intention to offer a forum for our members to write on topics related to their practice. We hope you will continue to enjoy our efforts. For more timely updates on the dojo, we now have a blog, www.aikidorochester.com. It has links to our dojo calendar and to our award-winning website, www.bodymindandmodem.com.

Transition, Transition, Transition

As 2008 approached, our dojo neared its 25th year of existence. Begun as a class at RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) under the direction of Jonathan Bannister, over the past 25 years Aikido Kokikai of Rochester has trained many aikidoka and grown into a well rounded dojo with many practicing black belts. (Watch for an announcement of a commemorative t-shirt shortly.)

However, nothing can ever remain the same and that is for the good. Change is essential for growth and for development. Last November, Paul Gardner announced his departure from our dojo to establish his own independent dojo, Eastern Skies Aikido Kokikai. After many years of teaching at our Rochester dojo, he realized it was time for him 'to follow his own path' - as Paul explained to me when he announced his decision. Paul's vision for Eastern Skies is to share the magic of aikido.

Eastern Skies is located at Perinton Rec Center with classes twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursday. You can learn more about Paul's dojo at http://easternsky-aikido.com. Needless to say, our entire dojo wishes Paul the best of success in his endeavor. It takes a lot of effort to grow a dojo and we know he will be successful. And, we look forward to continuing to see him and his students at our new regional practices and other events.

And More Transition, Transition, Transition

No sooner had we adjusted to Paul's departure when Jim Lahue announced his departure! Jim decided in February to end his long time practice of aikido to devote himself more fully to a personal spiritual journey. Wow! After more than 20 years of sharing the chief-instructorship of our dojo with me, this news created quite a stir. There are very few of us practicing who remember the dojo without Jim's calming presence. We all acknowledge Jim for his years of dedication to teaching and practice. We appreciate this was a major decision for him, not made lightly, as is totally characteristic of Jim. We all wish him the very best as he explores his Christian beliefs with the dedication he gave to aikido.

Over the past four months since Jim's announcement and ensuing departure, we have adjusted and adopted, using our aikido training to flow with the circumstances. Our dojo has emerged with a new vitality. We are offering the same full roster of quality classes but with a broader base of support for the administration of the dojo. We are on the path to a true community dojo.

If you visit, many of the faces are the same. Our core adult instructors are Judy Warner, Jim Austin, Rick Packard, Mike Lewis, Brian Martens, Marcella Mosher and Candace Martens. Anthony Chirico, Scott Stoner, Mark Grey, Christian Haacke, and Bob Martini also teach regularly during any given month. Our children's program is now headed by Christine Steerman and Harold Leve.

We are particularly proud of a growing presence of outreach programs within our community. Keep your eyes open around Monroe Country for demos by our newly formed Regional Demo Team, headed by Brian Martens. Our first demo was at the Memorial Arts Gallery for their Asian Family Heritage Day. This summer, we will be presenting an aikido program at the Monroe County Fair. We welcome suggestions for other possible demo venues. We also now have a two-hour Self-Defense Awareness class, designed for non-martial artists that we are happy to offer to interested groups.

So, as we move through our 25th year, Aikido Kokikai of Rochester is going strong. If you are practicing, see you on the mat. If you are a former student, come on back and give us another try. And, if you are a curious observer, how about stopping by and checking us out.

Judy Warner
Chief Instructor

With Jim's departure, Judy Warner remains as chief instructor, supervising instruction, students and relations with Kokikai International. However, with Judy's encouragement, we have decided to more fully utilize the corporate structure of the dojo available to us.

Our dojo is now jointly owned by all black belts of sandan or higher rank. This allows for recognition of our senior members who have so generously donated their time and energy to our dojo all these years. We have a Board of Trustees consisting of Jim Austin, Mike Lewis, and Judy Warner to help with policy decisions and oversee the fiscal responsibility of the business. And, the business/physical plant/promotion aspects of our dojo are coordinated by our new dojo officers: Rick Packard, President; Christine Steerman, Vice-President; Robert Martini, Treasurer; and Brian Martens, Secretary.

Note from the editor: This is the second article Andrew has so kindly written for our Aikido in Dailiy Life column. It's one I asked him to write over 10 mnths ago. At first Andrew and I struggled with the title. Andrew wanted an edgey title that would catch people's eye and make them want to read the article. I wanted something a bit tamer that sounded more aikido like. After a bit of back and forth we compromised on a title then I don't remember what happened but here we are 10 months later.

Andrew, thank you for your patience!

Readers, please enjoy the long awaited, much debated, lastest Aikido in Daily Life...

I know what you are thinking, "Marcella or Rose are too old to be beat up 5-year-olds; a mere 3 to 4 years younger than Marcella and Rose, a 26-years-old man like you probably should not be beating up 5-year-olds." I used to think this too but that was before I was jumped by 10 5-year-olds; that's like being attacked by 5 10-year-olds or 2 20-year-olds and 6 toddlers.

Now that I have established the real and present danger of 10 5-year-olds, let me explain how I survived.

RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) has a daycare center on campus named Margaret's House. I volunteered at Margaret's House with the pre-K class; it was on such a day that the incident occurred. It was a summer day and, as was the custom, the pre-K class went out side to play.

On most days the kids like to play on the swings, the slide or the jungle gym but on this day the children were acting different. The kids were in an open area playing what I thought was friendly game of tag; in retrospect I see that they were really playing a game of Set-a-Trap-for-Andrew. I got a little too close to the horde of children, seeing the opportunity, one of the 5-year-olds tried to grab me. The child had Frankenstein-esque characteristic to his attack; charging me with both hands extended. Because the children are our future, I decided to meet my young attacker with the minimum force; I let him almost grab me, then I stepped a side and pushed him though the opening.

After foiling my attacker I thought that I was safe but that is when the frenzy started. One after the other, the children attacked me. I ran backwards, when a child got close to catching me I opened the door and help him though. Every kid came at me 2 or 3 times, luckily, the children got in each others way; so, only 1 5-year-old was actually close to grabbing me at any time. Just as suddenly as it started, the onslaught ceased. Thank goodness for the natural enemy of the 5-year-old's attention span; shiny objects.

I have never had anyone commit to an attack like these 5-year-olds; I think this is the reason for my success. The children were very easy to misdirect because they put all their energy into catching me and I only needed to give a little push to redirect an attacker; also, having 200 pounds on any single attacker may have tip the scales in my favor…but only slightly.

A few weeks ago, Bob Cotter mentioned a book he was reading and that he thought I might enjoy. He was right. The book is great and I would suggest everyone should put it on their must-read list.

Zen Body-Being was written by Peter Ralston. Peter is a world champion martial artist. He has studied some aikido but it is not his specialty. However, the mind/body principles that he writes about are at the core of our art. His book presents his model and suggests exercises for increasing your mind/body awareness.

So, here is an idea for the summer. Pick up a copy of Zen Body-Being and read it. Let us know if you would like a special book discussion/mind-body class where we can compare notes.

Summer Camp Test Prep - Organized by Marcella Mosher And Brian Martens begins Monday, June 2 at 7:00 pm and runs for six weeks, for more details see the dojo blog.

Black Belt/Instructors Meeting - Tuesday, June 10 at 8:00 pm.

Testing in the Dojo - Thursday, June 19 at 7:00 pm

Guest Instructor Gary Snyder Sensei - Saturday, June 28, watch the dojo bulletin board and blog for more details.

Summer Camp- Villa Nova University, Villa Nova, PA, July 17-20. Registration forms are available in the dojo.

To accomplish great things, we must not only act,
but also dream, not only plan, but also believe.
~ Anatole France