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This listing has the most popular offer available in the USA
Aikido in Fredericksburg has offered the best Uchideshi facilities since the opening of their state of the art dojo in 2009. An Uchideshi is a “live-in student” who participates in intensive training supervised by their 6th dan chief instructor with the support of dozens of black belt senior students. With the opportunity to train 20 hours per week or more, progress to blackbelt and beyond can be swift.
The program at Aikido in Fredericksburg is modeled after the Iwama Dojo in Japan, which emphasizes environmental stewardship, appreciation of the outdoors, and connection with the natural world. The dojo facility and grounds were designed using efficient and natural methods and materials, to provide healthy opportunities to interact with the surroundings. Aikido in Fredericksburg is a Virginia Green Facility.
You will participate in the regular schedule of excellent classes at the Aikido in Fredericksburg dojo. There will be between 1 and 5 classes each day.
The Uchideshi (“inside student”) program at Aikido in Fredericksburg is an intensive residential apprenticeship designed for students wishing to thoroughly develop their understanding of Aikido while contributing to the Aikido community in the greater Fredericksburg area. No previous martial arts experience is needed.
Aikido in Fredericksburg is one of the few dojos with an Uchideshi program that accepts beginners as well as dan rank holders. Beginners and advanced students of Aikido can participate and will receive an immersion experience of direct transmission of Aikido. As an Uchideshi, you will challenge yourself, have fun, and learn traditional Aikido via this immersion program.
This is a program modeled in the Japanese tradition. If you want to immerse yourself in Aikido meaning wake, sleep, eat, drink, breathe Aikido, then being an Uchideshi could be for you. By living in the dojo, you will have the opportunity to participate in up to 25 classes each week, to spend off the mat time talking with Sensei and fellow deshi, to enjoy a library stacked with books and videos, and to commit yourself to the path of Aiki.
You can take pride that training, dojo life, and the needs of the dojo and Sensei will come before your wants. Apart from training in as many classes as your body permits, Uchideshi work at least one hour each day for the dojo. That includes daily chores, assisting with repairs, and special projects. In addition, in the warmer months, outdoor landscaping/gardening assistance is required. When there are events, seminars, or parties at the dojo, Uchideshi help prepare for, take care of tasks during, and clean up after the event.
Being an Uchideshi entails more than just training a lot. It means learning to be of service, it means learning how to connect with people on and off the mat (blending), it means finding out about your shortcomings and how to grow and overcome them. It means learning how to be observant, not just on the mat (which is called martial awareness), but off the mat as well (being present). Being an Uchideshi is a communal lifestyle that may take a bit of getting used to. The latter being said, Aikido in Fredericksburg has superior dorm-style rooms and a beautiful building and grounds in the “green” dojo.
Now that your eyes are open – being an Uchideshi is awesome! You get to do what you love, and you will improve quickly, which is very satisfying. Kyu and even dan tests can come quickly. You get to train a lot! There are morning classes on six days, so getting up, opening the dojo, and being on the mat early before class makes for an early morning. Noon classes twice a week, and evening classes on five days. Be prepared for your body to initially respond with aches and pains. Be careful that these don’t turn into or result in injuries. You will learn to take care of yourself.
After each class, the mats are swept. The long pauses on the training schedule between morning and noon classes and noon and afternoon/evening classes can be deceptive. You will have to buy and prepare your own food, do your dojo chores, take care of your laundry, write/journal into your Uchideshi notebook, rest, and recover. All of that can leave little free time for activities outside the dojo. Little, but still some. Uchideshi are encouraged to engage in the larger community.
As Uchideshi you are expected to strive harder to develop your technique and be a model student on the mat, Aviv Sensei pays extra attention to you. You may or may not like this.
You do not need to do every class but you may want to. What does the schedule look like on an average day? Getting up at 6 - 6:30 a.m., then morning training with weapons and taijutsu. Breakfast fits in before class or after depending on how early you get up. The morning is free for chores, landscaping, free training, or test preparation, rest, or personal errands. The morning goes by fast on days with a noon class – remember that you are on the mat half an hour before class starts. After lunch, there is another opportunity to do everything you might have done in the morning.
The dojo has an extensive Aikido library with books and DVDs. The afternoon is a good opportunity to read or watch some of that preserved knowledge. Youth and children’s classes are in the late afternoon and Uchideshi are expected to assist with those. Then one or two more adult classes with only short breaks in between, and it is 9 p.m. or later. Time for some dinner and bed, so that the next morning, and the morning after, and the morning after are doable with energy and joy.
You have access to guest instructors and special events that occur every month. You may want to travel with Sensei to a seminar that he is teaching at or attending. Uchideshi gather as a group with Sensei and Donna at least once a week for a meal to celebrate our successes and identify areas for personal improvement. When your Uchideshi stay is over, you will have grown as a person, developed new friendships and memories, and your Aikido will be markedly improved.
Aviv Goldsmith Sensei began Aikido training in 1975 at the New York Aikikai. In 1986, he began studying Iwama-Style Aikido in Reno, Nevada, with Wolfgang Baumgartner Sensei being his primary instructor, and has enjoyed deepening his understanding of this Aikido tradition ever since. “Iwama-style Aikido really made sense and stuck with me more than the other styles that I had previously studied. The teaching methodology and the techniques are precise and easy to assimilate,” he reminisced. From 1987 until Saito Shihan’s passing in 2002, he trained annually with Saito Morihiro Shihan, 9th dan.
One group dinner per week is included. Typical dietary preferences can usually be accommodated.
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
87 km
Transfer not provided
Richmond International Airport
76 km
Transfer available for additional US$100 per person
Washington Dulles International Airport
86 km
Transfer not provided
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport
135 km
Transfer not provided
Please book your flight to arrive at Richmond International Airport (RIC). Transfer is available upon request for 100 USD. Alternatively, you can arrive at one of the following airports.
If you arrive at Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD). Take a rental car, Uber, or possible rideshare to the venue. Travel time is 1.5 - 2.5 hours depending on traffic.
If you arrive at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) or Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). Take a rental car, Uber, or Amtrak to Fredericksburg. They can pick you up at the Fredericksburg train station for a nominal charge.
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