I would love to come along to the StongeHenge event. Please let me know if I have managed to secure one of the last spots.
Hi Andre – great to hear from you again. Yes you have secured – one – just go to the paypal link and click now. Good to have you coming.
Best,
Matt.
Hi going to use this to motivate me to get into shape and trim down for the hoodie photo, please feel free to throw me about if I don’t make this goal 🙂
You’re on Will!
When people ask my why Aikido I simply say because Aikido is not the aggressor.
Before I found Chorlton Aikikai I already knew Aikido was something that I would personally enjoy learning because I had a brief encounter with Aikido over 20yrs earlier even though it would take me a long time to do that. And the best thing about it for me, is because it is not about anybody else and that I am not in competition with anybody but everybody involved is there to help me grow and develop in it which is a big plus because I am surrounded by selfless people a rare quality in today’s world.
Nearly 2yrs into my AIKIDO training I knew that one day something would click and I would get it, because I already understood some what I saw, but because I only trained it once a week with our fantastic teacher Sensei Hywel Nicholas who always doesn’t mind going the extra mile with a slow learner like myself it kept me determined to see it through. And he always encourages us to visit other classes, which is a good thing because every instructor is slightly different in the way they teach which is a valuable and priceless asset to a student who can take it all on-board.
Then early on this year I got invited to train at Stonehenge with Sensei Matt Hill, which I jumped at the chance. Though I got to say nearly didn’t make it, as we were driving down we had a little snow up in Manchester, then the further south we went the little snow started to turn into a lot of snow. And then as soon as we hit Birmingham the snow had shut the motorway, at 2am that is not what you want to see.
Then our little friend SatNav stepped in to guide our super cool and calm driver Sensei Paul Sparks through the back streets and A roads and have to say we drove very slowly but took full advantage of the situation even though we knew that we might not make it through, because the sights we saw on the way was amazing with all that snow that covered the houses, trees, cars, etc.
Suddenly we were out of the snow and back on track and a few hrs later we were driving up towards our destination, and if I am honest as we where driving towards it I thought is that it, what is all the fuss about those little stones in the field until I was standing within the stones then my thought was whaw this is amazing.
As everyone gathered there to start our session in this amazing mystical dojo, from behind the stones appeared Will the Welsh Wizard which instantaneously united the group and gave them a happy memory that will last for ever. Then after a quick wardrobe change Will the 6th kyu from Chorlton Aikido Club joined the group.
Before the class Sensei Matt Hill gave a little talk about circles and the connection with life, aikido and our venue, which was very interesting to say the least. Then we all took a moment to ourselves to reflect, realize where we were and capture that moment in time. Now usually if I was standing in a field amongst some stones on a cold, grey damp morning I think I would be miserable and just want to go home. But have to say that morning it was different because it had such a mystical feel to it and the other factors did not come in to play whilst we were within the circle.
We started with a little meditation, followed by some light but effective warm up then we did our aikido class, which was masterfully taught, by Sensei Matt Hill because from the beginning to the finish every single move we did was linked to each other. And a personal favorite of mine was when Sensei Matt Hill introduced me to Atemi with the slightest of tough but instantaneously lit a light in my mind and there was that little thing that I knew one day would click and fortunately for me it was right there right then.
Now one would think it can’t get any better than that, but after the class Sensei Matt Hill gave everyone a Boiled Egg and have to admit at that moment in time it was the best thing that I had ever tasted 🙂
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I would love to come along to the StongeHenge event. Please let me know if I have managed to secure one of the last spots.
Hi Andre – great to hear from you again. Yes you have secured – one – just go to the paypal link and click now. Good to have you coming.
Best,
Matt.
Hi going to use this to motivate me to get into shape and trim down for the hoodie photo, please feel free to throw me about if I don’t make this goal 🙂
You’re on Will!
When people ask my why Aikido I simply say because Aikido is not the aggressor.
Before I found Chorlton Aikikai I already knew Aikido was something that I would personally enjoy learning because I had a brief encounter with Aikido over 20yrs earlier even though it would take me a long time to do that. And the best thing about it for me, is because it is not about anybody else and that I am not in competition with anybody but everybody involved is there to help me grow and develop in it which is a big plus because I am surrounded by selfless people a rare quality in today’s world.
Nearly 2yrs into my AIKIDO training I knew that one day something would click and I would get it, because I already understood some what I saw, but because I only trained it once a week with our fantastic teacher Sensei Hywel Nicholas who always doesn’t mind going the extra mile with a slow learner like myself it kept me determined to see it through. And he always encourages us to visit other classes, which is a good thing because every instructor is slightly different in the way they teach which is a valuable and priceless asset to a student who can take it all on-board.
Then early on this year I got invited to train at Stonehenge with Sensei Matt Hill, which I jumped at the chance. Though I got to say nearly didn’t make it, as we were driving down we had a little snow up in Manchester, then the further south we went the little snow started to turn into a lot of snow. And then as soon as we hit Birmingham the snow had shut the motorway, at 2am that is not what you want to see.
Then our little friend SatNav stepped in to guide our super cool and calm driver Sensei Paul Sparks through the back streets and A roads and have to say we drove very slowly but took full advantage of the situation even though we knew that we might not make it through, because the sights we saw on the way was amazing with all that snow that covered the houses, trees, cars, etc.
Suddenly we were out of the snow and back on track and a few hrs later we were driving up towards our destination, and if I am honest as we where driving towards it I thought is that it, what is all the fuss about those little stones in the field until I was standing within the stones then my thought was whaw this is amazing.
As everyone gathered there to start our session in this amazing mystical dojo, from behind the stones appeared Will the Welsh Wizard which instantaneously united the group and gave them a happy memory that will last for ever. Then after a quick wardrobe change Will the 6th kyu from Chorlton Aikido Club joined the group.
Before the class Sensei Matt Hill gave a little talk about circles and the connection with life, aikido and our venue, which was very interesting to say the least. Then we all took a moment to ourselves to reflect, realize where we were and capture that moment in time. Now usually if I was standing in a field amongst some stones on a cold, grey damp morning I think I would be miserable and just want to go home. But have to say that morning it was different because it had such a mystical feel to it and the other factors did not come in to play whilst we were within the circle.
We started with a little meditation, followed by some light but effective warm up then we did our aikido class, which was masterfully taught, by Sensei Matt Hill because from the beginning to the finish every single move we did was linked to each other. And a personal favorite of mine was when Sensei Matt Hill introduced me to Atemi with the slightest of tough but instantaneously lit a light in my mind and there was that little thing that I knew one day would click and fortunately for me it was right there right then.
Now one would think it can’t get any better than that, but after the class Sensei Matt Hill gave everyone a Boiled Egg and have to admit at that moment in time it was the best thing that I had ever tasted 🙂