Back to basics

Well, my first class after vacation and was able to ease back in with a beginner's course class. I was actually the senior student today! Wow!

The General taught the class and had us do a little ab workout to start off, and then we practiced suri-ashi, sliding the feet along the mat when moving. A good aikidoka (Aikido practitioner) never picks his feet up off the mat.

We also practiced pivoting, which then moved us into shumatsu dosa. Shumatsu dosa are two movement patterns with many basic components used in other techniques. Truthfully, the class covered a lot of basics, but all the things covered are important for executing more advanced techniques.