Hot, thirsty and a little tired Karl, Alex, Uncle Kevin and I propped our bikes up against a picnic table. This was the perfect resting spot, the playground at the Macedon Canal Park. We had just ridden our bikes from Fairport to Macedon and the park was the designated halfway point in our trip. The park provided shade, picnic tables, drinking water, a bathroom and lunch near by. What more could we ask for?

While Uncle Kevin went to find the drinking fountain Karl, Alex and I decided to check out the playground. We started with the teeter-totter, moved on to the monkey bars and with a little coaxing from Alex, Karl and I climbed up into the fort that housed the slide. Alex slid down first and waited at the bottom for us. Karl was going to go last that meant I was next.

The slide was a well butt-polished piece of metal, nice and fast! Down I went with a swoosh and when my feet hit the sand patch at the bottom, I did the perfect O-toe-toe stumble and went right into a forward roll! It happened just like that, poof! My aikido instincts saved my face and neck and made a great impression on Alex and Karl.

Wanted: Aikido in daily life stories, anecdotes, thoughts, or observations!

We would like to have a regular column entitled "Aikido in Daily Life" and are interested in hearing about your daily life aikido experiences. Do you use your aikido off the mat? How? When? To share your stories please contact Marcella Mosher (sixmts04@hotmail.com) or Bob Martini (rmartini@rochester.rr.com).

You may have seen it hanging on the bulletin board in the dojo or you may have received it in an email from Cecelia Ricciotti Sensei, a paper entitled "Making Sense of Freestyle". It is an extensive document covering the many aspects of freestyle and was prepared by some of the most senior members of Kokikai.

Bob and I each choose a portion of the paper that spoke to us and decided to write a little about it. Please don't let our thoughts be a substitute for reading the paper in full.

From Bob:

I was reading the "Making Sense of Freestyle" document that was sent out before summer camp and it occurred to me that in the section, "Expectations of the Uke" there are answers to many of the questions that I struggle with in daily practice. Some of the questions are How fast should I attack? How heavy should I be? How much should I resist? How do I deal with the possibility of accidentally hitting nage? It also had very good reminders about positive mind, clear and sharp attacks as well as logical attacks and proper distances.

It has helped me to make my everyday practice better for my partner and myself I suggest that you take another look at it with not just testing in mind but every day practice as well.

From Marcella:

Often when I've shown any of my test videos to friends or family who don't practice aikido I get the most flack when they see the freestyle portion of the test. The most common comment is that it doesn't look very real. I usually blush and try to explain…"but, but", I sputter, "it's meant to test your heart", I say tapping my chest which immediately conveys the wrong message. I struggle with how best to explain or validate what freestyle is for us. Then I read the following in "Making Sense of Freestyle", listed as one of several things that freestyle is designed to test:

Your heart. It is set up purposely in favor of the uke, so that nage can experience a nearly overwhelming challenge. In this way we and you can understand your perseverance, determination and character.

Your heart, your perseverance, determination and character, I like it! I like this explanation of the purpose of freestyle. It truly conveys what I mean when I say, to test your heart and tap my chest.

Hopefully our thoughts will spark your interest in reading the entire document, "Making Sense of Freestyle".

For instance, Marcella Mosher loves to write. I recently learned from a friend that she has three articles published in Shelter Tails, a book created by the Humane Society of Wayne County. The stories are fun and engagingly written. If you know any animal lovers, Shelter Tails might just be that special holiday gift you have been looking for. You can order it at www.hswaynepets.org.

Be sure to acknowledge Marcella for her achievement the next time you see her, and if you are aware of any other special achievements by members, maybe you would like to write about it for the next newsletter.

The following people were promoted to 6th kyu (first orange belt): Chuck Albrecht, Joe Biddle, Elena Biddle, Ray Easton, Brian Mullaly, Andrew Sackett, Travis Stafford, Craig Steinberger.

Brad Dingman, Violeta Gotcheva, Juan Pena were promoted to 5th kyu (second orange belt) and Lynn Baerman, Robert Cotter, Phillip Delaus, Alan Tamayo were promoted to the rank of 4th kyu (first blue belt).

Congratulations to all!

Come One, Come All, Come Clean! - General dojo clean up on Sat. Oct. 7 at 11:30 am
Halloween Seminar with Leon Brooks Sensei - Sat. Oct. 14 and Sun. Oct. 15, see the dojo bulletin board for more details
Video Night - National Geographic: Fight Science, Part 2, Thus. Oct. 19 at 8:00 pm

When an opponent comes forward, move in and greet him;
if he wants to pull back, send him on his way.
~ O Sensei