Teaching on Zoom

Adjusting to training and teaching on zoom has been a challenge: lots of fun sometimes, painful other times and sometimes just weird.

I am empathic and feel people's energy in class. Teaching on zoom feels like I am on another planet. I can see people and hear them but I can not feel their energy. I lost my enthusiasm when we first went to zoom because I felt so lost. I wasn't aware of this until a few months in. Now I have my enthusiasm back. I realize that this is just another training opportunity. I am grateful for the courage to keep showing up when it feels hard and boring. We have a sign that hangs in our dojo that says, 'Accept what is and move on.' It doesn't mean we have to like it. If I don't resist the change, it won't be so painful. Of course, I can't change any of this until I become aware of it. I am back to loving class again and am embracing the challenge.

Ron started today's class with ki exercises for warm ups. Then he demonstrated kokyu nage from yokemen, where he retreated, then entered and led uke's arm up while turning and then down into a back fall. Except no one is falling or rolling because most people are practicing alone. The next yokemen uchi kokyu nage started the same way and as ukes arm was led up, nage entered and kept turning, leading uke down in a circle. Next, we did yokemen uke sumi otoshi reversed...same beginning and then nage glided in with a rounded arm under uke's arm pit, sending uke off into a big roll. His last technique was yokemen uchi kota gieshe, same beginning and then tenkan, keeping solid contact on uke's wrist with both of nage's hands while letting the wrist still slide through.

I introduced a build a kata exercise, emphasizing mindfulness. I started with a strike with my short stick. We practiced that for a minute or two and then I called next. The next person in alphabetical order added a strike to mine by calling it out. We all practiced that for a bit and then I called next again. We had five people in class so we ended with a short kata. Then we demonstrated how we each did our kata. It was interesting to see the interpretations. We did that exercise again and finished with a ki kata.

the way you are teaching and reconnecting with your members sound really nice.

I attended 2 Zoom aikido seminars this year: one was ok, and the other was, let's just say, very painfully choppy to watch. The local aikido dojos around here didn't have any Zoom or online sessions. I greatly miss them and I can't believe it's already almost 2 years since I've stepped on the mats.

You are welcome to trains with us.

Last class we practiced kata tori ikkyo, kata tori kote geishe, kata tori irimi nage and kata tori kokyu nage the traditional way first. Then we envisioned holding a large ball in our arms and practiced those techniques again, concentrating on extending energy and weight under side. Training with an invisible uke has made us dig deep to find ways to strengthen our aikido principles. Ron and I are blessed that we can train together but some of our students are practicing with their own invisible uke. Some techniques like ushiro tekubitori kokyu nage are harder to visualize and feel than others, like, tsuki kote giesha. Most of the folks that train with us are very experienced and rise to the challenge. We have one student who is an orange belt and is just thriving in this practice. I am grateful we still are gathering and training with the circumstances that are presented to us in this now.

Mary Eastland wrote: Last class we practiced kata tori ikkyo, kata tori kote geishe, kata tori irimi nage and kata tori kokyu nage the traditional way first. Then we envisioned holding a large ball in our arms and practiced those techniques again, concentrating on extending energy and weight under side. Training with an invisible uke has made us dig deep to find ways to strengthen our aikido principles. Ron and I are blessed that we can train together but some of our students are practicing with their own invisible uke. Some techniques like ushiro tekubitori kokyu nage are harder to visualize and feel than others, like, tsuki kote giesha. Most of the folks that train with us are very experienced and rise to the challenge. We have one student who is an orange belt and is just thriving in this practice. I am grateful we still are gathering and training with the circumstances that are presented to us in this now.

I think back to my first 2 years of training and a big benefit came from the solo practice of really imagining the feeling of training with invisible partners. To call back to mind the feeling of being thrown, while moving by myself seemed to open some things up. Of course, "taking ukemi" in the corporate parking lot on lunch breaks was pretty useful too.

Class today was a bit chilly. Our heater is broken and it is 0 out. We had 5 in our zoom class. We worked on Kata tori and got warmer.

6 people on zoom today. 40 minutes of fun and movement.

definitely fun! Love seeing the kokyunage. Will be dizzy afterwards

So glad you had fun Justin.

Saturday we had 6 on Zoom. Grateful to be training. Has anyone opened their dojos yet to in person classes?
I would like to hear about how that is going.