“My ex-wife chose the paint colors,” Trebb explains as we set food and silverware on the dining table. He must have seen me eyeing the...

“Dude! That is so smooth!” My uke, Tim, makes this declaration while teetering on his toes, one arm so twisted his spine bevels. He looks...

Face down. Prostrate on my belly. With my head turned to one side, one cheek smooshed and spread like a pancake on the griddle. That’s...

Since the day I started training in aikido 2 1/2 years ago, I have admired everyone in a hakama and wondered what it would be like to...

“It’s like we’re psychic,” Holly marvels. “How did you know what I was thinking?” I ask. We repeat the experiment. She shuts her eyes. I...

The above picture comes from Scott Carlton’s recent 5th kyu test—the first demonstration a person gives to establish their rank as a...

I downloaded the dating app, entered a punchy profile, and uploaded some pictures. My index finger hovered over the submit button. I...

On the path toward correct perception, is there ever really any room for regret? Recently Mark Sensei asked us to consider the difference...

I recently had a wonderful conversation about the mindset of martial arts with a college professor. He is particularly qualified to speak...

“Don’t change the kata,” Sensei Mark reminds the class. We stand in pairs down the mat, like characters in a Jane Austen novel about to...

In my early years of aikido, connection was not emphasized. I first conceived of connection as something to break away from. Someone...

I’ve always thought of myself as the kind of person who treats everyone with dignity and respect. In the short 21 months that I’ve been...

Finally: the answer to the conundrum which has bebuggered our dojo and its instructors—maybe all dojos and instructors—since the dawn of...

My shaky signature on the little sign-in card betrayed the fact that I was choking back some fear. This was Day One of my aikido...

For almost 15 years, Durango Shin-Budo Kai has been a community resource for boosting mind-body unification, refining the spirit, and...

Which Way Is Down? I’ve always been a bit clumsy. From bumping into walls to drawing surprised glances when I dance in public, I have...

I’ve been thinking more about the principle of relaxing completely.  It is inextricable from the other key principles, but it is one of...

Martial arts require practicing new ways of moving, thinking, and interacting with others. Aikido relies on several key principles that...

I could have gone blind the light was so bright. It blazed so abruptly. I didn’t have time to take cover and shield my eyes. This...

Mark Sensei commonly reminds us to move around our own center, regardless of what uke may be doing or not doing. After spending my entire...