One of the most interesting and oldest teachers in Aikikai Hombu Dojo is Miyamoto sensei… and we went to his seminar in Toulouse in November.

One of the most interesting and oldest teachers in Aikikai Hombu Dojo is Miyamoto sensei… and we went to his seminar in Toulouse in November.
Two weeks of exercise and twice daily training, that’s how the trip to the French island of Oleron could be described in a nutshell.
This year’s youth camp was exceptionally held neither in the Slovak Paradise nor in the Jeseníky Mountains, but in our favourite Třešt’. The main content of the whole event was morning training on tatami and afternoon outdoor training with joe, where we developed liveliness, activity and mobility…
Once again we have prepared two dates of suburban aikido camps for children aged 6 to 12 years old for the beginning of summer. Both runs were successful and the kids and teachers had a lot of fun.
One Sunday in June, we did a little work and a little practice in the vineyard of Bogdan Trojak in Zernosky. We really worked hard all day and we knitted less than 4 rows… out of an infinite number of lines.
A great reminder of how much human work is behind every tasty mouthful of food and every good sip of wine.
One of the best things about Aikido is that you can stop by virtually any club in the world and just work out with the locals. And also that aikido seminars are open events where people from all over the continent meet. So meeting new people and places through the practice of aikido is really easy. In this short text, we recap a few of our travels this spring.
This evening was unpredictable, it was the first time most of us had been to a karaoke bar. Is anyone gonna show up? And who? The possible group changed all Friday, people checking in and out as their schedule continually changed. In the end, eighteen of us showed up. First singing attempts, first drinks, uncertainty gradually dispelled by laughter. Fortunately, there are those among us who can skillfully balance between awkwardness and wit and managed to pull the others down. But we had no idea what awaited us later…
We’ve arrived to Berlin on Friday evening and slept the first day in Kranich dojo. Martin and Vanda were already training in the other dojo and before sleeping we all went to a Chinese restaurant to have some nice dumplings (and accidentally practiced a bit of Chinese)
In the dojo, right before sleeping, we’ve tried to click a button with “Ó‑Sensei” written on it.
An article about our suburban camps, summer schools and camps appeared in the magazine Archa, published by the Czech Council for Children and Youth. You can read it in full here.
These photos are more art than documentary. Take a good look, they can tell you a lot about aikido!Take a good look, these pictures can tell you a lot about Aikido!
Aikido is also work in the vineyard, we agreed with our youngsters. One Saturday in October, we enjoyed the fresh air while picking grapes on the hill above Žernoseky, where Bogdan Trojak has a vineyard and we sometimes help him out.
We woke up early in the morning and arrived at the place in the morning fog. We couldn’t see even a few meters, almost by touch we were picking and cutting the tassels, our fingers wet from the cold dew.
Green hills, cold streams, narrow rock passes and in the middle of it all young people from Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Ukraine practicing aikido for a week.
We were in the Slovenský ráj again and it was wonderful!
This was our 15th summer school in Třešt’ under the guidance of Martin Švihla. 7 days and 6 hours of practice per day. Plus lots of time together over meals, evening talks, ambient music concert, board games and… just a week with good friends and aikido.
That weekend there was to be a camp for young aikidists in the vineyard in Žernosky. But it was much, much more…
One weekend in May, Martin led two seminars at the Dojo De La Roserai in Toulouse, France. Friday and Saturday were for adults, Sunday for children and teachers of children. And the whole week before that he and Vanda spent in Bordeaux… so here are his notes from the trip: