Marc Abrams Sensei- Durango, Co: 7/9-7/11/10

Waza is kata. Kata has endless depth. This seminar will explore the endless depth of waza by focusing in on
aspects of our waza that we typically pay little attention to.

Friday July 9: 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Saturday July 10: 9:30am - 12:00noon & 2:30pm - 4:30pm
Sunday July 11: 10:00am - 12:30pm

$15 per session
$50 for full seminar
(please arrive 15 min early to register & pay.)
The Mason Center • Room 3-4,
301 East 12th Street, Durango
3rd Ave. & 12th Street, behind the tennis courts

Marc Abrams, 4th Dan, Shin-Budo Kai Aikido
Abrams Sensei has practiced martial arts and
fighting sports for 37 years and has studied aikido
directly under Imaizumi Sensei for 22 years.
He currently is chief instructor, 4th Dan, and
founder of the Aikido Arts of Shin Budo Kai dojo
in Bedford Hills, New York. In addition he hosts seminars
and actively practices Shindoryu Ushiro Karate.
He is a devoted student of the martial arts and an
excellent and innovative teacher.

Durango Shin-Budo Kai AIkido is a registered Non-Profit Corp.

For more information:
Mark Winkworth - markw@durangoaikido.com
For dojo map and DSBK info see the web site.
durangoaikido.com

Marc Abrams

Excellent Seminar Marc! Not only did the sequence of the classes make sense to even the newest beginners, but we will be using the concepts covered with fresh eyes from now on. And not just on what we covered at the seminar, but on every technique, every day. And I'll watch Imaizumi Sensei much more closely from now on as well.
Thanks for the opportunity to see things from a different perspective and improve all of our aikido.

Marc Sensei:

Thank you so much for coming to teach! I very much enjoyed your energy and wisdom. It was more than a bit disconcerting, however, to find that the aikido I've been doing the past eleven years is basically agenda-based, scarcity-mentality-centered, and rooted in "something is wrong here." You helped me see through your example that I can begin the alchemy of turning "Oh no!" into "Oh yes!" It's possible that I can learn to love people (and myself) enough to see the bigger picture: an attack is merely energy moving. Any emotional content contained therein is what I as nage have brought to the table, and it behooves me to closely examine that content and look at the interpretations I choose.

Thank you for the disintegration of my skewed perceptions of what aikido is, and the encouragement to build from the ashes something that is more whole and complete.

Michael Wilkinson, Durango Shin-Budo Kai

Michael Wilkinson wrote: ... to find that the aikido I've been doing the past eleven years is basically agenda-based, scarcity-mentality-centered, and rooted in "something is wrong here."

Hi Michael,
sounds very interesting to me and somehow potentially close to work I have been doing with another teacher - so would you (or Marc Sensei himself) maybe elaborate what these concepts mean? If such explanation makes sense without the physical aspects involved.... that would be great.

Have a nice day

Nicholas

Nicholas Eschenbruch wrote: Hi Michael, sounds very interesting to me and somehow potentially close to work I have been doing with another teacher - so would you (or Marc Sensei himself) maybe elaborate what these concepts mean? If such explanation makes sense without the physical aspects involved.... that would be great. Have a nice day Nicholas

Nicholas:

A conflict is simply a form of communication between two or more people. The attacker is providing us with an opportunity to connect to and "listen" to that person. If we can free ourselves of our own fears, anger, ...., we can "listen" well enough to know what to do to stop the conflict. Learning to connect in a positive manner allows us to listen, while not providing the "feedback" that the attacker is looking for. An easy way to summarize it would be to say that the uke chooses the technique, not the nage.

I think that is what Michael was referring to. Please feel free to continue this dialogue.

Regards,

Marc Abrams

Marc Abrams wrote: The attacker is providing us with an opportunity to connect to and "listen" to that person. If we can free ourselves of our own fears, anger, ...., we can "listen" well enough to know what to do to stop the conflict. Learning to connect in a positive manner allows us to listen, while not providing the "feedback" that the attacker is looking for. An easy way to summarize it would be to say that the uke chooses the technique, not the nage.

I would love to see this posted on dojo walls.

Marc Abrams wrote: Nicholas: A conflict is simply a form of communication between two or more people. The attacker is providing us with an opportunity to connect to and "listen" to that person. If we can free ourselves of our own fears, anger, ...., we can "listen" well enough to know what to do to stop the conflict. Learning to connect in a positive manner allows us to listen, while not providing the "feedback" that the attacker is looking for. An easy way to summarize it would be to say that the uke chooses the technique, not the nage. I think that is what Michael was referring to. Please feel free to continue this dialogue. Regards, Marc Abrams

Hi Marc,
thanks for the explanation and great to know that other lineages on the other side of the planet work on similar things as well. While I cannot speak for him and he would probably use different terminology, I take very similar messages from training I did with Patrick Cassidy in the last couple of years.

Specifically, I was wondering whether "scarcity mentality centred" and "agenda-based" would provide me with an additional perspective on stuff I sometimes do, if you have time to explain.

Cordially

Nicholas

Nicholas Eschenbruch wrote: Hi Marc, thanks for the explanation and great to know that other lineages on the other side of the planet work on similar things as well. While I cannot speak for him and he would probably use different terminology, I take very similar messages from training I did with Patrick Cassidy in the last couple of years. Specifically, I was wondering whether "scarcity mentality centred" and "agenda-based" would provide me with an additional perspective on stuff I sometimes do, if you have time to explain. Cordially Nicholas

Nicholas:

Those are Michael's terms not mine. My assumption is that the he is talking about our pre-set mindful states, and states that are set-off when faced with confrontation. I would assume that agenda-based, is similar and may include the tendency for us to think that we would do one thing in one situation and one thing in another situation (as though we controlled all aspects of the experience).

I can only hope that all of us Aikidoka are working on similar stuff, but then again, I know better!

Regards,

Marc Abrams

Hi Marc,

thanks, the terms sounded interesting and I took them in a similar way you did, I was just wondering whether there was more there.

I can only hope that all of us Aikidoka are working on similar stuff, but then again, I know better!

Yes, that's why it makes me happy.... :-)

Have a nice day

Nicholas