It wasn't until I was a graduate student that I decided to begin praticing
a martial art. I remembered reading as a kid about an art that was smooth,
flowing, and that wasn't about hurting the attacker. I don't know if what
I had read about was Aikido, but that's what prompted me to begin it's study.
My first dojo was the
Aikido Center of
Atlanta under Rodney Grantham Sensei. I studied regularly from about
1983 to 1987, attending 4-5 days a week. However, upon getting my PhD
and moving away I let my practice lapse. It wasn't until my oldest son, Mike,
began taking Aiki Jitsu that I began thinking about picking up Aikido again.
I found a
Kodokan Aikido
dojo at Virginia Tech which was
very close by. I practiced regularly for four years and enjoyed the dojo
immensely. Truman Capone Sensei was a wonderful teacher and was a tremendous
help in getting me back onto "the path". As a result, I was able to rise to
1st Kyu before moving away. When I took the job in Columbus, I
was a little apprehensive about being able to continue my Aikido since the
closest dojo is about 30 miles away (and is in a different time zone as well).
However, I've been extremely fortunate to have found such a wonderful group
in the Aikido of East Alabama.
I'm particularly impressed with the ASU style of practice (and with
George Reynolds Sensei). While ASU represents a substantial
change from how I understood Aikido before, to me it corresponds more
directly to what I had thought Aikido to be so many years ago.
