The Santa Cruz Aikido Summer Retreat

I haven't posted in over a month because I have been too busy with my Aikido classes or too busy recovering from my Aikido classes.  After two months, I have come to the following conclusions: 1) Aikido burns a lot of calories 2) Aikido is hard 3) the philosophy behind Aikido gives me insight into my mom's life and subsequently whether I like it or not -  it  provides insight into my own life as well.

In this short period of time Aikido has strengthen my core muscles and improved my overall cardiovascular conditioning.  After my Beginning series of classes I was able to attend the Intermediate and the All Levels hours which meant I could take in an Aikido class (or two) everyday if I wanted to. At first I found some of the non-beginning classes intimidating but with all of the blue, brown, and black belts who regularly attend I am always learning from all of my Aikido partners.  I foolishly or bravely (I can't decide) signed up for the 20th Annual Santa Cruz Aikido Summer Retreat featuring Linda Holiday Sensei and Mary Heiny Sensei with special guest Senseis': Denise Barry, Kayla Feder, Michael Friedl, Danielle Smith, Jurg Steiner (I really love Jurg!), Kimberly Richardson, and Jack Wada, which took place on July 10-14. (Santa Cruz Aikido Summer Retreat 2013 Video) Wow!  It was like cramming two months of Aikido into five days.  I didn't think my body would survive it but I somehow made it to the finish line.  There were a couple of times when I was watching the demonstrations before we broke off into groups or pairs that I thought, "No way am I going to be able to do that."  Especially when the practice involved freestyle randori which has you take on multiple attackers using any Aikido technique.  I think randori means chaos which was exactly what it felt like. I would have sat that exercise out but Michael Friedl Sensei kept urging me on telling me I only needed to use one signature move.

It was during the retreat that I realized Aikido is hard. The philosophy behind the techniques has to do with spirals and other forms of movement found within nature.  Aikido apparently is most effective when you are relaxed, centered, and aware of your body.  The least effort produces the greatest of results.  Seriously!  I can't recall the last day I was relaxed.  The centered and awareness stuff my mom talked a lot about and were key components in the numerous meditation sessions from my childhood.  My mom had me sit in seiza (proper sitting) posture all the time.  It is basically a formal sitting posture where you sit on your ankles (which believe me does make me aware of them).  The last time I was able to sit in seiza (without cringing) was when I was 7 before I took that dare to jump off the monkeys bars backward and tore a tendon in my right ankle.  I later tore a tendon in my left ankle during a Belmont High vs. Franklin High basketball game in high school.  For some reason after that my ankles were never quite the same. Sitting in seiza is still the hardest part of Aikido for me.

Virginia Mayhew siting in seiza posture

Much of the tradition surrounding Aikido comes from Samurai culture.  The do gi (uniform) we wear during training was once used as Samurai underwear and the hakama comprises the over pants worn when Samurai rode horses.  All of the techniques done when knee walking is done because Samurai had to sometimes fight on their knees.  Its not too hard for me to imagine what it must have been like to constantly be subjected to physical assault.  Some women live with that on a daily basis just because they are women. When my mom demonstrated Aikido on the Johnny Carson Show back in 1962 in New York City she used a scenario showing how Aikido could be of value to women.  She did a scene where she was on a date with Ed McMahon and they were at the movies.  Ed played a boyfriend who wrapped his arm around my mother. She demonstrated that if your boyfriend got "too fresh" and his arm wandered into a region of your body you were uncomfortable with well you could apply the Aikido technique of kotegaeshi (turning wrist lock) and be in control of the situation. After the taping of the show, the very next day, Ed McMahon walked on the set with his arm in a sling. When Johnny asked what had happened to him.  Ed replied, "I went on a date with Ginny Mayhew."

Virginia Mayhew sitting comfortably in seiza

     

Belmont High School (Los Angeles) Varsity Basketball Team (1987-1988).  I am the one in the back row who wore a black shirt under a white jersey on picture day.

Beginnings

Yesterday marked my first full week of learning Aikido. Louise Sensei and Aimen Sensei from Aikido of Santa Cruz are great instructors because they understand that not everyone comes to Aikido with experience in the martial arts, and they do a fabulous job of explaining the purpose of each movement.  This first week I learned that ukemi, the art of falling, is a key component of Aikido.  Much of the practices of Aikido are based on partnering work where one student takes the role of uke (the person who receives the fall) and another student takes the role of nage (the person conducting the Aikido technique that causes the fall). So half of Aikido is falling!  So far we have learned the sitting forward and sitting backward rolls.  Personally, the important lesson I learned this week was not to wear a bra with a metal shoulder clasp while on the mat.

My mom had a lot of experience with falling when she first learned Aikido from Yasuo Ohara Sensei in 1961. She had already spent five years pursuing a black belt in Judo studying under George Yoshida of the New York Judo dojo.  She and two other Judo students, Eddie Hagihara (her husband at the time) and their friend Barry Bernstein had heard about Aikido and began studying it with Yasuo Ohara Sensei, who was in town attending New York University.  They all began training in the basement of a home of one of their Judo friends.  My mom was especially inspired by Kochi Tohei Sensei who had brought Aikido to the States and who had a dojo in Hawaii.  My mom wasn't happy with Judo because she felt it focused too much on competition and trying to best one another rather than on learning the spiritual principles behind the martial art.  So when she heard that Aikido was a martial art that focused on love, compassion, and cooperation she had to learn more about it.  She went to Japan to receive her shodan and then returned to New York. While in Japan she had the opportunity to be uke to O-Sensei who told her that because she was a woman she would understand that true strength and power comes from within.  In 1963-1964 my mom started a full on publicity campaign to generate public interest that would support a dojo in New York City.  This involved an appearance on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, demonstrating Aikido at the United Nations and discussing and presenting Aikido for many of the NY based newspapers.

Virginia Mayhew was the director of New York Aikikai in 1963-64.  She often took side jobs working as a belly dancer at a Greek night club in order to pay the rent.  Once Yoshimitsu Yamada Sensei arrived in New York from Tokyo she went back to Japan to study with O-Sensei full time.