Aikido of Escondido

108 Meditation Practice - Sat 12/19 We will be having our last class of the year this Saturday 12/19 and we will be doing a modified version of our annual 108 meditation practice. Typically you would choose a technique as your focus but due to Covid restrictions we will be doing things a bit different. There are 9 partner changes during the practice so we will be doing a kumijo for every 3 changes. This will give you 36 times attack and defense for each kumijo which should al...low some good focus. I would like to focus on kumijo 1B, 2B and 3B as they allow for connection and timing practice. Please find time this week to practice with the videos on Patreon to prep you. Don't worry if you are not sure about them as we will go over them before starting the actual 108 practice. Time: 9:30 - 10:30 am Location: Timken Park - 3195-3199 Timken Cir, Escondido, CA 92027 As usual, masks and social distancing will be required. Thanks, Sensei

It has been exactly 9 months since the last class where we actually made contact and threw each other. Monday will be 9 months from the last no touch group class held in the dojo. We have had virtual classes and several months of socially distant weapons training in the park but I really miss good hard training with everyone. Hopefully 2021 will be a better year.

Nice weather for outdoor practice. Worked on using the jo for aiki development and kumijo #5. #aikidoofescondido #aikido #aikijo #aiki #kumijo #escondido #sandiego

Cooler weather today for weapons training in the park. Good to see Justin back.

Good training with everyone this morning. A bit cooler weather finally. Worked on jo kata 1 and kumijo 1A and 1B.

Another training day in the park. Good to see some students I have not seen in person since this thing began.

I have been getting requests from our community to post more videos on mobility and pain relief lately, so I have begun posting content and wanted to make this one publicly available. This is a great one to start relieving neck pain. It is the first one of many that I will be posting. Make sure to check with your physician before starting any new program. Please consider joining our community on Patreon to get access to a large library of videos.

Just a reminder that I will be teaching the joint Ryushinkan/Kaizenshinkan zoom class tomorrow from 6-7 pm. Please bring a spare belt as we will be working on solo exercises using it. Thanks and see you there.

We are sad to report that after serving our community for over 20 years, Aikido of Escondido is closing its physical location due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant economic downturn. It was not an easy decision and we worked very hard to try to keep the dojo going during these difficult times. We were unable to receive any assistance from the SBA, grants or our landlord so we have reached the point that it is no longer sustainable in the current environment. The doj...o was a labor of love for us, so, like many other dojos, it was barely breaking even before the pandemic. With the forceable closure of businesses by the Governor and many students being laid off or having their hours cut back, it has become a financial burden that we can no longer shoulder. Lucy and I want to thank everyone who has supported the dojo over the past 20 years and especially those that continued to support it over the last few months. We have met so many wonderful people and made a lot of friends through the dojo over the years. We are proud that the dojo has had a great positive impact on many people's lives. As you know, during the forced social distancing closure, I created online resources for our children and adult Aikido groups as well as our fitness group. I provided one-on-one video calls to those that wanted them. We continue to partner with Ryushinkan dojo of San Diego to co-host live Zoom classes twice a week. I have created a Patreon page that will be used for posting new videos and other content going forward. Currently over 25 videos have been posted and more are being uploaded every week. Please take a look and consider supporting the dojo by either joining there (https://www.patreon.com/Kaizenshin) or contacting me directly for other options (Paypal, Venmo, etc.). I have already looked at possibilities for in-person training and will let everyone know as we progress, and social distancing rules are lifted. I want to make sure we stay connected and train whenever possible. I will do my best to help people with their training goals. I will be putting funds aside as we look to open a physical location again sometime in the future. Thank you again for your support over these past 20 years we look forward to training together again in the near future.

I have uploaded a new video on basic sword postures to our Patreon page. Please take a look and consider becoming a patron to support our work.

Uploaded introductory instruction video in the three basic kettlebell swing variations. Two hand swing, one hand swing and alternating swing. This video is viewable by everyone so check it out.

I have created new videos for our online classrooms and our Patreon page. Please check out some of the public videos and consider supporting our work.

Reminder that our live zoom classes are on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 6 pm. I will be leading class tonight and hope to see you there.

Since we are all still social distancing, I have created a Patreon page. If you are not familiar with Patreon, it is a funding platform similar to Kickstarter with one major difference. Instead of raising a lot of money for one project, it utilizes small re-occurring tips for various content that I create. I have created various tiers with different benefits and bonuses. There is no obligation and you can start and stop anytime. Please consider supporting our dojo and my research on martial arts, fitness and the related arts. https://patreon.com/Kaizenshin