At our dojo, we are fortunate to have a very talented and very patient yoga instructor. She comes into the dojo on Saturdays and Sundays and teaches for about an hour. Some of her students also study aikido; most, however, come in strictly for yoga.

On Sunday mornings, when I can convince myself that it’s okay to get up early every day of the week, I become one of her students. I have found that yoga is a very interesting movement system when you compare it to

One of the interesting side effects of martial arts training is a surprising interest in weapons work. I say “surprising” because, if you were to ask most people why they study a martial art to begin with, the first thing they are likely to tell you is that they want to learn self defense. Why then, are they focused on weapons? Time and time again, I field phone calls and questions from prospective students who want to know about studying the bokken or the jo. And wh