Thanksgiving

Hi everyone,

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates the holiday!

In keeping with the theme of feeling gratitude:

• For what do you feel thankful in your current aikido training?
• In what ways have you expressed the gratitude that you feel?

Thanks to everyone who participates here on AikiWeb!

-- Jun

Jun Akiyama wrote: Hi everyone, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates the holiday! In keeping with the theme of feeling gratitude: For what do you feel thankful in your current aikido training? In what ways have you expressed the gratitude that you feel? Thanks to everyone who participates here on AikiWeb! -- Jun

Amongst other things, I feel very grateful for a number of great training contacs I made through aikiweb in 2010.

I am expressing my gratitude right now: thanks Jun!

Gratitude is an often misused, and even more, a little used word in describing the benefits of an art form like Aikido.

Although not specifically translated in his writings, it remains crystal clear that the Founder's legacy of hope, vision and appreciation for Aiki, is reinforced by his humble gratitude for those gifts he received, and which have now passed on to us.

To be sure, he would have applauded a national observance of gratitude such as Thanksgiving, and to his memory, I wish all in the Aikido world, the Aiki Web staff, Jun Akiyama and all my special friends everywhere, a truly Happy Thanksgiving!

In onenes,

Funny timing; just did a blog post on this...
I'm thankful to have aikido as part of my life, thankful that as others have, I've persevered thru health issues and my internal barriersto keep training. I'm thankful that aikido also offers me a worldwide community from which I draw strength and to which I can contribute. I'm thankful I can integrate my creative work with my aikido as a craftsperson. I'm deeply thankful for my teacher, Gayle Fillman, the dojo culture she has nourished in our small town, and the opportunity she had given me to develop and to start learning to teach.

I am thankful to be a part of something so big and traditional and deep.
And of course for my amazing teacher and other black belts, teachers and kyu ranks who have helped me so far and are some of my closest friends
Happy Thanksgiving and good training to all

I'm thankful for a teacher who is letting me do only weapons practice while I'm recovering from surgery and can't take ukemi.

I'm expressing my thanks by saying "thanks" and by being the best student I can be.

I am thankful that the dojo has welcomed me back after a long time gone. I am almost thankful that my body can almost do what it used to do. I am thankful that my mom's generous estate allows me to keep training. I am thankful that I have friends at work who want to try aikido. I will be hella thankful if/when Bujin reopens so I can get a new hak. Really, just glad to be alive.

Thanks, Jun for Aikiweb!
I am grateful to have a dojo at my house and that students come to train with us.
I am grateful for commitment. Aikido is something I have done for a long time and it has been good.
I am grateful for my health.
We give back by encouraging people to train whatever their financial situation. By welcoming and being happy to train with whoever shows up for class. By being glad to see people.
Mary

Thanks everyone. It is great to be back in contact with Aikido
people. Your posts bring back memories of teaching at a
small YMCA dojo, and of attending other dojos and training
camps.... I'm grateful to past teachers and training partners and
to students who moved and resumed training years later and
kept in touch... too many things to list in a Quick Reply.
"Later," D.