TRAINING
Training in Aikido is a multifaceted endeavor. It must be an inclusive experience that is aimed at addressing the overall nature of our being. For this reason, the training curriculum at Senshin Center consists of the following:
BODY ART
Body Art, or “Tai Jitsu,” makes up the heart of Aikido technical training. Body Art classes are designed to kinesthetically cultivate the practitioner in Aikido’s tactical architectures.
WEAPONS I
Weapons I classes have the practitioner training in the use of the sword, staff, and knife. Such training is used to further refine the practitioner’s understanding and application of the art by increasing the overall intensity and making more critical matters of timing, distance, and connection.
JIYU WAZA
Jiyu Waza is manifesting the art in live training environments. Such training is used to cultivate the practitioner in the transcendence of form. Jiyu Waza is used to bridge the gap between theory and practice, between knowing and doing, and between thinking and being. Jiyu Waza is the arena wherein practitioners look to cultivate what the Founder called the art's deepest understanding: Takemusu Aiki.
IAI BATTO-HO
Iai Batto-ho is the art of drawing the Japanese long sword. Iai Batto-ho training is used to further develop one’s sword technique, to spiritually connect the practitioner to tradition, and to cultivate mental and physical discipline by emphasizing a centered mind and the practice of precise movement.
ZAZEN
Zazen is Zazen. The form of Zazen practiced at Senshin Center is called “Shikantaza.” In Shikantaza, the practitioner drops all thought of discovery, relaxation, recuperation, attainment, etc. – one just sits.
STRIKING
Striking training further develops the practitioner’s understanding of the art by developing the natural impact weapons of the human body. Such skill helps fulfill the interrelated nature of all the close-quarter combat tactics.
NE-WAZA
Ne-Waza training further develops the practitioner’s understanding of the art by complimenting the vertical plane with the horizontal plane and the middle and long ranges with close range.
BODY CONDITIONING
Body Conditioning classes are designed to provide the practitioner with an operational fitness, or that level of physical wellness necessary to endure the trials of regular practice and to posit the body as a weapon.
WEAPONS II
Weapons II classes have the practitioner training in the use of modern firearms. Such training is used to keep the art relevant and alive. Training consists of dry-fire and range training, and it also makes use of live training environments utilizing airsoft weapons.