Blog

Articles written by Ivan Melo and Cathy Okada. Most articles are also available in português and español.

Aikido Is For Everyone*

by aikidogyodokan.com | 26 September 2026 | Blog, Cathy Okada | 0 Comments

Return to previous articles Written by Cathy Okada *Terms and Conditions Inclusion and accessibility can be a wonderful and fruitful thing. Before starting the dojo, I worked in schools for over a decade and I became very used to creating music lessons where everyone...

Iron Wrapped in Cotton

by aikidogyodokan.com | 23 September 2026 | Blog, Ivan Melo | 0 Comments

Return to previous articles. Written by Ivan Melo For a while, I had been wanting to change the calligraphy piece in the dojo’s kamiza. The first one, Kenshō (見性), stayed on display for more than two years. I cannot say exactly what was driving me to change the piece,...

Mitsuzuka Takeshi: A Centenary Tribute

by aikidogyodokan.com | 18 September 2026 | Blog, Ivan Melo | 0 Comments

Return to previous articles. Remembering a Direct Student of Nakayama Hakudō Editor’s note: This article has been published to mark the centenary of Mitsuzuka Takeshi’s birth (1926–2008). It is based on a written interview graciously provided by his son, Mitsuzuka...

Two weeks in Aikido

by aikidogyodokan.com | 11 August 2026 | Blog | 0 Comments

See previous articles TWO WEEKS IN AIKIDO- REFLECTIONS FROM A NEW STUDENT by Clara Mainardi Why Aikido? Cathy sensei asked me on my first ever class, and I must admit I felt pretty embarrassed to say I knew absolutely nothing about it or any other martial art.In the...

Budo in the Age of Tourism

by aikidogyodokan.com | 5 July 2026 | Blog, Ivan Melo | 0 Comments

See previous articles BUDO IN THE AGE OF TOURISM: The Tourist and the Pilgrim in Aikido Training Written by Ivan Melo Recently, I was watching a conversation between philosophers on YouTube. The discussion revolved around the loss of the sacred in everyday life in the...

Kata: The Book of the Body

by aikidogyodokan.com | 24 June 2026 | Blog, Ivan Melo | 0 Comments

See previous articles Written by Ivan Melo In the society we live in today, writing occupies a central place in the transmission of ideas. Books, articles, manuals, and documents are important ways of preserving and transmitting knowledge. But no one truly learns...

A Year of Gyodokan

Oct 10, 2024 | Ivan Melo

A reflection, written by Ivan Melo, September 2024 As we return to training after our short summer break, with great memories and sharpened skills from the Aikido of London summer camp, we can’t help but to also remember it’s been a year since Gyodokan opened its...

Aikido Styles

Jul 22, 2024 | Ivan Melo

Written by Ivan Melo In the world of Aikido, it has become extremely popular to talk about styles. The most common one, is considering a political entity or institution a “style”. “They are Aikikai”, “he is from Iwama”, “she does Tomiki” and so on. Also often...

Hai, Sensei!

May 20, 2024 | Ivan Melo

Article by Ivan Melo “The Japanese way of teaching and learning anything, whether it is art or making sushi or practicing Zen, is a lot of watching, eventual doing, being super confused and yet not asking questions, having someone inevitably correct you, and then...

Kenshō- Seeing One’s True Nature

May 2, 2024 | Ivan Melo

Pictured: "Kenshō" Shodo piece by Ivan Melo on Gyodokan Kamiza. About our new dojo calligraphy piece. by Ivan Melo (18.04.2024) This week our dojo got a new calligraphy piece for the kamiza, the altar to which we face at the beginning and ending of every class. ...

Aikido, Gardening and Teaching

May 2, 2024 | Cathy Okada

Picture: John Humphris and Cathy Okada, Nishinomiya 1989. A tribute to my late Grandad. by Cathy Okada. Originally shared 11.04.2024During lockdown in late 2019, a family member revealed a cool fact of my family ancestry- we are descendants of Mototsugu (Goto)...

Bag of Rocks

May 2, 2024 | Ivan Melo

Picture above: "wa" or "harmony". Shodo piece by Ivan Melo. About Aikido training, harmony, and transformation. by Ivan Melo (31.03.2024)The art we have chosen to learn, is or has the potential to be a multilayered and multidimensional practice, which has the capacity...