In case the design renders weren’t sufficient for you to pre-order your event t-shirt, now some shirts actually exist in real life…. Once you have booked on the weekend, head on over to our dedicated T-shirt page here.
Yes it’s here!!! The 2022 event t-shirt is ready for pre-order for£20 Once you have booked on the weekend, pre-order yourself a souvenir t-shirt to pick up at the event. We have a dedicated T-shirt page here.
We know it can sometimes be a struggle to find convenient accommodation for seminars. For Aiki Connections 2022, we’ve got you covered. Just stay in the dojo. Just make sure to book it in with us. And don’t forget your sleeping bag.
A very focused session tonight, with the aim of minimum effort, maximum effect. As always, a varied degree of success was achieved. But we loved every minute of it. We also celebrated Dangerous Dave’s birthday.
Absolute cracker of a study group session last night. Kudos to all who always travel so far to train together. Then we finished off with our attempt at the requisite beer softness (albeit in the wrong order).
We took a Sunday field trip to East London to visit Hikarikan Aikido and spend a day exploring soft kuzushi. Here’s to many more!
Timetabling meant we had a smaller, yet highly focused group training this time. An absolutely cracking evenings training, (without any cracking).
Great study group session tonight. So happy to see everyone and to continue our progress. Hoping we can get together for another meeting this month.
The first Study Group training session of 2022 is done. Focus and attention on basics was the order of the day. Much enjoyment and many laughs were had by all. Such a great group.
Two study group sessions this month, as everyone is keen to focus in on improving. With a great group like this, training is such a pleasure.
A thoroughly enjoyable study group session tonight. Considerable progress was made. Then we had beer. Such lovely people. Lee couldn’t make it. Thankfully his dogi was able to stand in for him.
The next Daito-ryu Study Group Session is 7pm, Friday 8th October in Swalecliffe, Kent. If you would like to attend, get in touch and introduce yourself.
What a splendid way to spend a Friday evening. To meet up with some wonderful friends, and crush them.
We did it. We finally, after such a long hiatus, have been able to resume study group practice. It was so great to see everyone. Nice new dojo too! Here’s to much more Daito-Ryu.
In light of the government’s announcement to extend the lifting of restrictions for 4 weeks, we will now resume training in late July instead. We will announce the specifics soon…..
First Study Group meeting back after Covid restrictions is 2nd July 2021. And we have a dojo…. Unit 2, Oyster Bay,Estuary CloseSt Augustine Business Park,SwalecliffeCT5 2QJ If you would like to try Daito-Ryu with us, get in touch via the contact page.
This new DeepNostalgia from MyHeritage is very impressive. I thought I’d give it a whirl with none other than Takeda Sokaku himself.
This was my second time attending a seminar with Howard Popkin and the only disappointment I came away with was that the time between each opportunity is as long as it is… Howard has a confident yet quiet delivery and whilst he is friendly, open and safe in his delivery…
Training with Howard Popkin Sensei provides a unique insight into Daito Ryu and some of its elements which translate into Aikido. His techniques are are incredibly soft – almost effortless – and yet they are impossible to resist. Although this is infuriating at first, Howard’s detailed explanation and step-by-step demonstration…
Today would have been the first day of Aiki Connections 7. We will get our weekend soon, just not yet. Stay safe everyone.
Hi all, Just to let you know we have postponed our annual Aiki Connections seminar for May 2020, which we will reschedule. We have already been in touch with everyone who had already booked on the weekend. Please watch this space for future announcements. Please stay safe. Our best wishes…
This article on Police Arrest techniques adapted from Daito-ryu is very interesting. Considering how we practise kamae in our branch of Daito-ryu, I was particularly interested in this, the 8th Footnote… “The insistence of Hisa on hanmi (半身, lit.: “half of one’s body”) is interesting since it is not usually prominently…
It’s Aiki-jujutsu 😉 Image credit Griffinisland on Reddit. Well done to them, great job!
You expect occasionally to take a little leap forward in your understanding of things. What you don’t plan for, is to have your mind blown open by new possibility and instead end up realising that what you thought you knew just wasn’t anywhere near the whole picture at all. This…
Fantastic news, we have sold half of the available places on the 7th annual Aiki Connections weekend in May, with Howard Popkn and Joe Brogna. If you would like to participate in the most fun weekend on the calendar, we advise you book your spot sharpish. Book your place at…
Before I fortunate enough to start training Daito-Ryu Ginjukai in 2014, I was an avid practitioner of Aikido alone. Through my good friend Neil Saunders, in 2009 I was lucky enough to meet Robert Mustard of Yoshinkan Aikido, a Canadian Aikido teacher who had been famously depicted in Robert Twiggers…
It is five years since the passing of Okamoto Seigo. We have to thank him for all he did to openly spread awareness of Daito-Ryu Aiki around the world, and for passing his skills to our teachers so we can all continue to benefit from his memory. We will do…
Shihan Certification & Hiden Ogi scroll awarded to Okamoto Seigo by Horikawa Kodo What are the basic techniques of Daito–ryu? Okamoto: These are basics that were created by Shisho (Kodo) in Hokkaido. In our case we have changed them a little, but basically speaking they are the same. If one…
My own martial arts training started with Shaolin kung fu, then jujitsu. So since starting training in Aikido, my biggest battle has been with acquiring softness and trying not to use brute strength in techniques. As one part of my early investigations into aikido I investigated the source of Aikido,…
When I was younger, I had a very good friend who I spent more hours training with than I can remember, and thanks to him I carry some of the injuries I do today and likewise for him I would imagine. We were stupid and probably pushed close to the…
A two-day seminar with Howard Popkin and Joe Brogna. As martial artists we tend to walk a fairly similar path. We try out a style, find it is a good fit for where we are at that time and we either stick with it, or as our life and needs…
Aikido folk often pay lip-service to the fact that their art derives from Daito-ryu, but not many get the chance to actually train in aikido’s parent art. I was fortunate enough to be able to share a mat with Howard Popkin and Joe Brogna at the Aiki Connections seminar recently,…
Reposting this article for the benefit of our Study Group members (and anyone else who might be interested of course). Last year I wrote the following article for the British Aikido Association magazine “Shizentai”. The intended audience is mainly Tomiki Kenji lineage aikido folk. I very much like the name…
For our last Herne Bay Study Group session of 2019, our intrepid band of merry Daito-ryu practitioners spent an evening studying kotegaeshi with a focus on Aiki sage. Genuine progress is very noticeable, and I couldn’t be happier with how the group is going. My thanks to everyone involved, and…
Tickets are now on sale for Aiki Connections VII, 30th-31st May 2020. Visit our Event Page to book your place.
What a great night we had on Friday in Herne Bay, with considerable progress being achieved.
This interview with George Ledyard is well worth a read over at the Aikido Journal website. It is entirely applicable to Daito-ryu, which George mentions a few times with regard to training methodology and skill transmission. The Role of Ukemi in Aikido – Part 1 The Role of Ukemi in…
Looking forward to seeing our fantastic group in Herne Bay tonight, to diligent training and to concentrating super hard as always. And no we aren’t at this level (yet).
It was “Study group on tour” shenanigans this weekend.Will and Tom joined me for a weekends Daito-Ryu training in Bristol and Torquay.As is becoming the tradition, Will kindly brought some booze with him which obviously we had to taste in advance.Daughter made some crafty Daito-Ryu gifts to take with us.And…
Another super enjoyable study group session in Herne Bay, with much progress on the eternal journey towards softness being made.
An awesome bunch of budoka came together yesterday in Herne Bay for more enjoyable Daito-Ryu endeavours.
Some more Aiki Connections feedback, this time courtesy of Rob Ayre. “The line between Aikido and Daito-Ryu is fast disappearing for me. Everything I want from Aikido exists in Daito-Ryu. The subtle and soft movements with devastating effects are worthy of sincere study. To be unable to move or to…
Back fresh from my week in the USA, which included the three day Daito-Ryu Ginjukai Honbu Weekend (among other things) on Long Island, New York. I had a fantastic time, and learned so much. It is great to train and benefit from the experience of so many other Ginjukai members.…
Last night, all eyes were on Herne Bay seafront as our intrepid gang of Daito-Ryu enthusiasts met once again for more action. We were joined for the first time by our friends Lionel, Lisa and Mark from Essex. Fresh from their first experience of Daito-Ryu at Aiki Connections 2019, they…
Some cracking feedback courtesy of Stu Marshall…. What can I say that hasn’t already been said multiple times with greater eloquence and insight? Not much. It’s all true what people say. Every bit of it. Unless it’s anything other than superlative, in which case it’s an outrageous fabrication. Fake News.…
