Julie Poitras Santos Aikido Class

Last night Julie Poitras Santos Sensei taught an open Aikido class to the Gunnison community that was held at the Wrestling Gym at Western State College. The attendance was larger than I was expecting, with ten of us total. Joey attended but Jake and Andrea could not come because of other commitments. Santos Sensei started class with a long warm-up that included introducing some back ukemi practice. As this was the first Aikido class most of these students have ever taken, Julie did a great job showing and having the students practice basic tenkan and irimi movements as the basis for many Aikido principles and techniques.

We also did this new connecting and movement exercise where uki and nage move as a unit up and down the mat with the intention of both partners maintaining the same distance and connection. My partner was a women in her twenties who had physical limitations and difficulties with spoken communication. I worked with her for most of the class and I found the entire experience to be illuminating about myself and Aikido. I have never practiced Aikido with an individual who I had to communicate in such a clear and simple manner. I really felt I had to strip the technique of the night's Aikido into their simpler components. Santos Sensei was always able to explain or show the technique to me and my partner at just the right moment, helping both of us when we continued through practicing the various techniques. Practicing with this woman, who's strength I felt when we trade off being uke and nage, has expanded my conception of what ability-level is necessary to practice Aikido. I would guess my reflective answer to the question, "Who can practice Aikido?" would likely be, "most people", but I had never explicitly thought about those physical and communication boundaries until last night. Given my recent post about Platonic Aikido, the more variation I experience in Aikido, the more people who experience and participate, a communal understanding of this martial art develops that benefits us all.

Julie Poitras Santos Sensei visit really increased Aikido's visibility in Gunnison and I also enjoyed getting to know her and after tonight' lecture, I found it interesting how her Aikido influences her art. I am happy that everything worked out and I have to thank Ivy for helping arrange everything. Her class was a success and I look forward to summer camp, now that I am getting to know more people.