What does it mean to be a yudansha (black belt) in a smaller dojo? When you cross that threshold, what does that transition begin to feel like? It is turning out to be different than I really expected. I had spent awhile thinking through what it means to be a black belt and had landed on the idea of being a beginner again. In many ways, especially in the learning of Aikido, that is definitely true… you know enough of the basics to start learning the connecting fabric that und

The existential question for people studying Aikido, or the martial arts in general, in today’s society want to be, “why do we do this? Why do we train?”. If you have not had people ask you this question yet, it’s probably because you haven’t been training for very long, and/or the people around you are not that aware of the time commitment and effort you put into it. If they were, they'd be scratching their heads wondering what the heck you’re doing. I actually had a cousin