Abiding Spirit Center

Training is on today and tomorrow, despite the cold!
Qi Gong (Saturday only) 7:30 am
Iaido 9 am
Aikido 10:30 am

Congratulations to everyone who received promotions at the 2026 Aikido Hombu Dojo Kagamibiraki ceremony, including our Chief Instructor Lisa Tomoleoni Shihan! Here's a list of all promotions:

aikikai.or.jp

Happy new year! Thanks to everyone who joined us for our Hatsu Geiko!

Happy New Year!
あけましておめでとうございます！今年もよろしくお願いします。

Cupping for better health, contact us for an appointment!

🩸 It’s not just a bruise—it’s a biological switch.

We’ve all seen the purple circles.

From Olympic swimmers to your favorite CrossFit coach, cupping therapy has been trending for years.

Most people assume it’s just for deep tissue release or pain relief.

But a groundbreaking 2025 study just completely changed how we look at those marks.

Researchers published their findings in PLOS ONE, focusing specifically on university baseball players.

They wanted to see if cupping did more than just loosen tight shoulders.

They split the athletes into groups: one received real "dry cupping" suction (-400 mmHg), and the other got a "sham" version with barely any pressure.

They measured them for 8 weeks during intense preseason conditioning.

The results were wild.

The athletes who got the real cupping didn’t just feel better.

Their bodies physically recovered faster at a nervous system level.

The study found that cupping significantly improved the recovery of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS).

Specifically, it helped the athletes switch out of "Sympathetic" mode.

That’s your body’s "fight or flight" stress response—the state that burns energy and halts recovery.

And it switched them into "Parasympathetic" mode.

That’s the "rest and digest" state where actual growth and repair happen.

In the high-stress world of athletics, the ability to flip that switch quickly is the difference between burnout and a breakthrough.

So the next time you see those purple circles, don't just think "pain relief."

Think of them as a remote control for your nervous system. 🧠

References: Chen, C. L., & Tang, J. S. (2025). Effects of dry cupping on exercise, autonomic activity and sleep in baseball players during preseason and in-season conditioning. PLOS ONE, 20(2), e0319479.

We had a wonderful day at the Dojo! Training, end of the year Cleaning, Food, Fun and friendship! Thank you to everybody who put their efforts in! No weekday evening training this week, we will have training on Saturday, December 27th, and our last training for the year will be Sunday, December 28, followed by our first training of the new year on January 1- Iaido at 9 am and Aikido at 10 am. See you on the mat!

Please join us December 13! In person (Chicago) and live streamed, all affiliations and levels of experience welcome, see you there!

Two Views Seminar- Moore/Tomoleoni (In person & Virtual) — Aikido Shimbokukai Join us for a special one-day event on Saturday, December 13, 2025 , from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM (Central Time) , featuring instruction by Meido Moore Shihan (7th Dan) and Lisa Tomoleoni Shihan (6th Dan) . Don't miss this unique opportunity to learn from two distinguished teachers offering their i

What a wonderful day at the Dojo! Successful tests, my first day back with my new hip (though I wasn’t able to do much!), wonderful community, thank you everyone!

Aikido testing this Sunday, October 12, at 10 am!
Two San Dan candidates and four kyu candidates of various levels. Everyone is welcome!

aikikai.or.jp