“Life is a divine gift. The divine is not something outside of us; it is right in our very center; it is our freedom. In our training, we learn the real nature of life and death. When life is victorious, there is birth; when it is thwarted, there is death.

A warrior is always engaged in a life and death struggle for peace.”

-Ueshiba Morihei O-Sensei

Any words that could adequately express what many of us are feeling today would fall woefully short of the mark. We hope that all of you are free from harm and in good health.

We had planned to begin seeing some of you again more regularly this week for practice, but we have decided to postpone our return to some in-person training for the next few days. We will continue an online-only schedule until it is clear that travel to and from the dojo can be done safely. Many businesses and property have been damaged in our area, but thankfully the dojo remains unharmed.

When our practice of Aikido was created, it was not merely for the purpose of creating yet another fighting art. Atomic bombs had just been unleashed on the world, laying bare the full potential of our capacity for destruction and the ultimate conclusion of opposition to one another. And rather than simply desiring a more peaceful world, we engage ourselves in practices that can injure and maim to help guide our way in repurposing them for healing and growth.

While the recent period of uncertainty and pain in our lives enters a new phase, a pain that is all too familiar to many of us but often invisible to most of us is exposed and endures. In the face of continuing threats to our health, lives, and communities, it is an act of bravery to treat each other with kindness, care, respect, and affection; as practitioners of a martial Way, we must be brave.

Let us continue boldly down this path together.