Aiki Communications ...

The Website of Bryan Park Aikido, J.S. Reynolds Community College Aikido Club and the Randolph-Macon College Aikido Club, all in the Richmond, Va., area. Affiliated with the Takemusu Aikido Association.

Tim Sheldon, 4th Dan, Chief Instructor and Web Editor. Assistant Instructors: Adrian Beard, Nidan, and John Gentry, Shodan ... Brian Hill, Nidan, is chief instructor of River City Aikido, and Susan Moore, Shodan, is Chief Instructor of Prince George Aikido ...

Lineage: Morihei Ueshiba, Morihiro Saito, William Witt ...

Click here for practice schedule ...

• Bill Witt Visits Randolph-Macon College for Seminar
• Bill Witt Seminar Photos
• Photos, Memories of Morihiro Saito
• Columns Featured on AikiWeb
• Hitohiro Saito Visits Reno
• Morihiro Saito Shihan Passes May 13, 2002, in Iwama
• Tribute to Saito Sensei from Mark Larson
• Mark Larson Visits Fredericksburg
• Saito Sensei and Bill Witt: The Early Years
• Photo: Hitohiro Sensei Playing Drum at Seminar Party
• Photos from Hitohiro Saito Seminar
• Outdoor Training Photo in Richmond Times-Dispatch
• Message from Hitohiro Saito Shihan
• Patricia Yarrow's Report from Iwama
• Update on Iwama Uchideshi Program
• Bill Witt Remembers Saito Sensei
• Hoa Newens: Saito Sensei's Legacy
• Stan Pranin: Morihei Ueshiba and Morihiro Saito
• Bill Witt: Three Ways To Evaluate A Dojo
• Witt Moved by Support for Seventh Dan Promotion
• See Wall St. Journal Story on Aikidoist Richard Heckler
• See Reno Gazette-Journal Story on Reg Reid
• Aikido FAQ website, with visuals
• Bujin Newsletter ...
• News Updates from Aiki Web ...

In the News:

(Drawing top left, Bryan Park view by Susan Moore. Photo at top right: Bill Witt Shihan demonstrates a technique at 1998 Seminar at Bryan Park in Richmond.)

(Photo: Dave Spangenthal demonstrates a kokyu nage technique with Gail Argenbright at a J.S. Reynolds Community College practice.)

Training at J.S. Reynolds C.C.

The principle training site for Bryan Park Aikido is the gym at J.S. Reynolds Community College, 1701 E. Parham Rd., between Woodman and Brook roads. Chief Instructor Tim Sheldon teaches Aikido I and II  on Tuesday and Thursday evenings during the school year as part of Physical Education curriculum. See calendar for specific times. Click here for syllabus.

Bryan Park Aikido's outdoor, all-weather Jo (wooden staff) and bokken (wooden sword) practices continue year-round. See link to calendar above. The outdoor training includesTaijutsu practice, where the blending movement is practiced without the fall.

There are also separate running suburi practices. We run a one-mile route through the park, stopping at intervals to practice suburi, kumijo and kumitachi. We also do rolling, downhill and uphill, at one point during the run.

The training site is Bryan Park, near the intersection of Bryan Park and Westlake avenues.

Riai - In Aikido, the weapons training is the same as the hand-to-hand training. The basic movement of kotegaeshi or shihonage, for instance, can be done with or without the bokken. This interrelationship of the weapons and hand-to-hand training is called Riai. O'Sensei conducted most of his Riai training in Iwama. You can develop excellent strength and definition in your Aikido techniques by practicing Riai, combining weapons and hand-to-hand training.

(Photo: Susan Moore, left, Brian Hill, Adrian Beard and Gail Argenbright at Pat Hendricks Seminar in Charlottesville, April, 1999.)

The Value of Morning Practice

"You practice early every morning. Why ?

"Master Ueshiba practiced early in the morning, Master Tsuda as well ; I continue to practice early in the morning. That's the first reason. The second reason is that only those who are very determined, very well motivated, come in the morning, because to be here at this time, you must get up at around 5:30 AM. In the morning we are fresher than at the end of the day and it's easier to practice “non-doing”, at least for beginners. We are also more “involuntary” - still a bit half asleep, we are not yet entirely into our “social being” that we use during the day, to encounter others and go about our work : smile when we should, or not; say “thank you”, etc. In the morning we arrive at the dojo still clean, not very structured yet, and there is something more authentic there."

From an interview with Regis Soavi,
by Monica Rossi, “Arti d'Oriente”, February 1999
Discussing the teaching of Itsuo Tsuda (1914-1984)
Aikido Journal