August 9^th-13^th (inclusive)

Juniors 4-13 years are you interested?

All days 9.30-12.30

For more information or to book a place, please see Barbara.

The Junior timetable will be amended for the summer holidays:

Tuesdays – One class only 5.30-6.30 (no 6.45-7.45)

Wednesdays- no class

Fridays- one class only 6.15-7.15 (no 5.15-6.15)

Saturdays- classes as normal timetable

All Juniors welcome on all classes regardless of grade.

Juniors also welcome on Thursday morning class 11.00-12.30

Temporary changes to take effect from Tuesday July 27^th until Tuesday 31^st August (classes as normal on 31^st)

Frank Burlingham 5th Dan I.O.A. is visiting us with some of his members on Saturday May 8th. There will be a course during the afternoon from 2pm-5pm. All welcome .

See Gallery for latest course photos of Shihan Jones’s recent visit.

The following classes will be cancelled over the Easter Weekend.

Friday April 2nd - Junior Aikido 5.15-6.15 (All juniors welcome on 6.15-7.15 class)

Tai Chi -7.30-9.00

Monday April 5th- All classes

Tuesday April 6th-Junior Aikido 5.30-6.30

Wednesday April 7th -Junior Aikido 5.30-6.30

All other classes running as normal.

Pat sadly passed away today March 17th 2010. She died in hospital after a short illness.

Pat was a senior instructor for the U.K.A and accompanied the late Shihan Smith to our dojo on numerous occasions.

Latter years, since Shihan Smith’s death she taught at the annual Lowestoft course.

She became a good friend to us at Yama Arashi over the last years and will be greatly missed.

It is another huge loss to the Aikido world and our thoughts and sympathy go to Pat’s family, friends and all at the U.K.A.

Shihan Gwynne Jones will be teaching at The Phoenix during the weekend of 10th/11th April 2010. Please refer to the calendar for training times. Anyone wishing to attend this course please contact the dojo.

The calendar page has been updated to include all the currently scheduled events for this year.

See gallery for photos from Sensei Haydn Foster’s course and 2009 Dan grading.

 Sensei Barbara announced the beginning of the grading: “Richard Bradford”. That’s me. First up. Breathe. It’s a verb, an action word, and not exactly a new concept in life yet I find myself physically unable to do so. As with the Aikido moves I have just stood up to do for my very first grading, it is nothing new but since I stood up my chest feels locked. No spare brain power for breaths and no desire for the act of breathing to get in the way – everything focused on remembering the techniques. No spare brain power except for the nagging knowledge that it will be impossible to complete the entire grading holding my breath.

 Three techniques in and my chest feels encased in cement. Didn’t think to bring a hammer and chisel and never expected to feel so tunnel-focused on the Aikido itself. Not seeing stars yet but bound to soon. Damn, forgot an atemi – still too busy fighting for air. It’s like trying to inflate an internal balloon made of industrial rubber, by sucking through a capilliary tube. I’ve heard it said that in martial arts, before you can overcome your opponent, you first have to overcome your inner self. Lungs, in this case. Dave, the people’s Uke given that he did so for five of us, is kindly playing ball with whatever I do.

 Somehow I draw enough air to finish the grading without passing out and kneel back down, panting to recovery and thinking that ‘at least next time it will be easier’, a bit of ‘been there, done that’. Sensei  Marianne (Mary Anne?) who chatted to us afterwards and told the tale of a Tai Chi breathing technique instructor who even went purple during his Aikido grading. Do Aikido-ists reading this agree that the idea of it getting easier, ‘been there, done that’, never happens? That it is always that intense regardless of grade. Does that put me off taking another grading? No. Just between now and then I am going to learn to hold my breath for 3 minutes or, failing that, at least learn how to discretely pause for a second to allow air in. Either way, I love practicing Aikido at Phoenix Aikido and remain very grateful for all the kindness, knowledge and expertise that has been sent to me and all the others who train there; with an extra personal thanks to the three instructors whose classes I normally attend: Barbara, Steve and Colin; and thanks too to everyone else. Hate to quote a supermarket but ‘every bit helps’. And, as with every organisation, the style and character of Phoenix Aikido comes from the top down; in this case from the founders, Senseis Barbara and Tom Moss.

 Richard Bradford  6^th Kyu