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Congratulations, Robbie on your Nikyu promotion! You're getting closer to black belt every day. It will happen before you know it. You're doing great. Thanks for your dedication! 
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Heather and Roy have some vacation time planned in August and to say thank you to our loyal students for giving us some time off, we're offering a once-in-a-lifetime sale. Classes in August are half off! Be sure to stop by the YMCA or sign up online here today and take advantage of the sale. The classes we are closed are August 2, 7, 21, and 23. See you for some fun on the mat soon!  We will have no class on Monday, July 17. But, don’t fret! We return to regular classes on Wednesday. See you on the mat soon!  Congratulations, Bridget, on your yellow belt promotion! You're learning lots and we're proud of the job you're doing. Keep up the good work!  The YMCA is closed on Monday, May 29 in honor of Memorial Day. Regular classes will resume on Wednesday, May 31. Have a wonderful weekend and we look forward to seeing everyone soon!  Congratulations, Heather, on getting interviewed by Martial Arts of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow! You can read the interesting article where Heather talks about her martial arts career here.  Congratulations, Roy, on getting interviewed by Martial Arts of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow! You can read the interesting article where Roy talks about his martial arts career here.  Sorry everyone, there is no class on Wednesday, April 19. But, don't fret! Our regular classes will resume on Monday, April 24 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM at the YMCA. Have a great weekend!  The next Windsong Dojo Seminar dates have been announced! It will be held Friday, October 13 through Sunday, October 15 and sessions will be for aikido, jodo and judo. We'll post more details as they become available. In the meanwhile, start planning your trip. We hope to see you there!  Today is the last day to nominate Roy and Heather Gawlick for the 2023 Chamber of Commerce Business Awards. Show your support of the dojo by filling out the survey here. Thank you!  I recently came across an interesting interview of David Witt talking about Karl Geis and how he became such a skilled martial artist. Roy and I attended many seminars with Karl over the years and he was the head of our organization until his death in 2014. The article can be read here. Enjoy!  Congratulations, Robbie, on your brown belt promotion and also to Brittany, on her yellow belt! You guys are doing great and we look forward to lots more fun to come. You'll be black belts before you know it.  Henry Copeland was a wonderful mentor and friend. He passed on March 6, 2023. His Obituary can be read here. You can read an article about him written by Pat Parker here. He was an incredible martial artist and loved by many. We all called him "Big Henry" not just because he was so tall, but also because he had a big heart and big presence in the room. He was an incredibly strong man and could be a brick wall when he wanted to be. But most of the time, he would throw you with such skill you never even felt the fall. One second you would be upright. The next you would be staring at the ceiling wondering how you got thrown to the floor. In one of my favorite tricks of his, he would start by placing his hands above my arms so that he was barely touching the arm hairs. I couldn't feel a thing. Then, we would step back and forth in sync. His timing was so incredible he would simply lift one hand and I would go flying through the air. It was amazing! One time during a seminar, there was a huge crowd of us all trying to sleep on the spring-loaded mat in Houston. Henry had to get up in the middle of the night. He was so large his steps shook the whole floor. Someone yelled, "Henry! We're trying to sleep!" Mid-step, Henry changed his walking and seemed to disappear. I watched him continue walking, but no one could feel him. It was incredible. I couldn't think of anyone else who could do that - much less such a large man! Roy and I started dating during a seminar. Henry was very protective of me and wasn't sure about this whole Roy thing. We could almost hear him rack an imaginary shotgun in Roy's direction, like a daddy on a front porch. (Roy survived and we're happily married. He can still see Henry watching over me to make sure he's keeping in line!) When I first met Henry, I thought speed, power, and precision were the keys to being a good martial artist. He corrected those mistakes and taught me the beauty of a light touch, patience, timing, and high level kazushi. He took me under his wing and was incredibly patient and never gave up on me. He was a quiet man and one of the smartest men I've ever met - and I grew up in a community with one of the highest rates of PhD per capita in the United States. I owe my martial arts career to him. Thank you, Henry for all the wonderful memories. You are deeply missed.
We had a wonderful time at our ribbon cutting with the Chamber of Commerce celebrating our partnership with the YMCA. Everyone has been so welcoming and friendly. We look forward to many years together. Join us at the Y today!  We were so excited to be featured in the local newspaper, The Daily News! We even made our picture on the front page. Can't get much better than that! To read the full article, click here: https://tdn.com/news/local/business/talking-business-shinju-dojo-brings-aikido-classes-to-the-ymca/article_56da402a-a421-11ed-b871-0738c2c77df6.html#tracking-source=home-top-story  A quick reminder to all our students there will be no class on Wednesday, January 25. But, don't cry, regular classes will resume on Monday, January 30. See you soon! While you have the night off, use it to sign up with the YMCA for February classes: https://longviewmymca.org  Thank you to everyone who came out to the Solstice Lantern Walk on Saturday. The weather was fantastic and we had a great turnout. We had a ton of fun and it was great the Cowlitz River Kayakers joined the fun by lighting up the lake. See you at next year's walk! https://www.friendsofgalileo.com/solstice.html  Congratulations, Robbie, on your green belt promotion! You'll be a black belt before you know it. Thank you for being a part of Shinju Dojo. We love having you as a valuable member of our dojo family.  We have some exciting news! Starting Monday, December 5, Shinju Dojo will now be holding classes at the YMCA of Southwest Washington in Longview! Check it out! Mondays and Wednesdays 6:00 - 8:00 PM YMCA of Southwest Washington 766 - 15th Avenue Longview, WA 98632 Monthly membership rates: YMCA members - $30.00 non-members - $60.00 To sign up for classes with the YMCA, stop by in person or use this link. All classes are on a month-to-month basis. We never have contracts. We do not charge for promotions or demonstrations of rank. Please contact us at (360) 998-0749 or sensei@shinjudojo.com, and we'll be happy to answer all your questions. Ready to sign up today? In addition to signing up with the YMCA, we also ask that you download our application, fill it out on both sides, sign it, and email it back to us. We'll contact you to finalize the process.  I recently received an email from a student at the University of Colorado asking for survey participants. If you would like to participate in her survey, please read her message below: Hello, My name is Maegen Jaeger, a graduate student from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. I am reaching out to you in the hope that you, your instructors and your students will voluntarily participate in a survey research study that I am conducting. The purpose of this study is to gather information regarding injury in martial arts schools in the United States. This study will consist of a short survey concerning the injuries sustained during the practice of martial arts and the conditions in which they occurred. This survey can easily be completed in less than 5 minutes on a phone or computer. It is meant only for adults, 18 years and older. I have included a link in this email, as well as an attached flyer with a QR code leading to the survey. I ask for your help in sending the link to your students as well as posting the flyer with the QR code in an easily seen spot at your school. Please ask all of your adult students to complete the survey, whether they HAVE or HAVE NOT been injured. Participation in this survey is completely voluntary. If an individual agrees to participate in this study, no identifying, personal information will be gathered. The link to the survey is: https://surveyuccs.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1zyN8MTJI4EL9NI If you or any of your students have any additional questions or concerns regarding participating in this survey, please do not hesitate to contact me, Maegen Jaeger (mjaeger@uccs.edu). I hope you and your students will consider participating in this study! Thank you for your time, Maegen Jaeger  Long time friend David Russell was interviewed recently on Martial Arts of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow about his experiences learning aikido under Karl Geis. The interesting article can be read here: Interview with Longtime Karl Geis Student David Russell: His Time with Geis  Our friend and mentor Tim Larson was interviewed recently on Martial Arts of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow about his experiences on how the Tomiki system of aikido evolved under Karl Geis. The interesting article can be read here: https://maytt.home.blog/2022/09/21/interview-with-kihara-aikido-instructor-timothy-larson-a-personal-look-at-karl-geis/  Congratulations, Robbie, on your orange belt promotion! You're doing great and we're so glad to have you in class!  Wow! We had an incredible seminar while David Lusk was here from Houston! Tim Larson brought his crew over from Poulsbo and we really polished up our jodo fundamentals. Everyone worked hard, filled their brains, and went home with huge smiles on their faces. Our regular aikido students got a real treat during their class, too. David worked on helping everyone learn the secrets of throwing with minimal effort whether doing jodo, judo, or aikido. A wonderful time was had by all and we can't wait for the next time we all get together. It was a perfect way to wrap up summer. See you next time! Congratulations, Alex, on your green belt promotion! We're so happy you are a part of our dojo family. You are doing great!  |
AuthorHeather and Roy Gawlick love Aikido and have a passion for sharing it with others. They hope you'll catch the Aikido bug, too! Archives
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