Center Point Aikido

Nice interview with Sensei Okamoto -

NY Aikikai Welcomes Okamoto Shihan Interview with Okamoto Shihan in anticipation of the her seminar or...

https://www.dailyzen.com/journal/?utm_source=aweber&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-zen-august-edition-on-the-way

The Japanese idiom "Dokuritsu Doppo" (独立独歩) translates closely to "stand alone, walk alone." It is not a preference for solitude; it is the recognition that a road only builds the man who actually walks it.

Support does not feel like a debt. It feels like an advantage, and it is one; you will move faster with it than without it, and every measurement available to you will confirm that. There is no moment where the help declares what it is taking. It simply works, visibly, in your favour. That is the whole of the disguise.

Dokuritsu Doppo is the recognition that nothing was taken from you, and that is what it cost.

Strength that is never demanded is never built, and you cannot notice a thing that did not happen. There is no wound to point at. No moment where you felt it go. So you mistake how far you've come for what you're made of, and you will go on mistaking it until the day something arrives that the help is not there for.

A tree grown inside a forest rises fast and thin. Sheltered on every side, it never has to answer the wind, so it writes nothing into the grain; it spends everything on height and borrows the rest from the trunks around it. The tree in the open field grows slower and denser, and records every wind it has survived directly into the wood.

When the storm comes, the forest goes down together.

The tree in the field was never sheltered. That is the only reason it is still standing.

Doshu doing just about every technique there is, and most excellently.

2001　道主演武 dosyu　合気道 aikido Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

Success is not always measured by the outcome.

Sometimes, the greatest achievement is simply choosing to show up with your whole heart.

Ganbaru (頑張る) reminds us that effort, sincerity, and resilience have their own value.

You may not always see the results immediately.
You may face uncertainty, setbacks, or moments of doubt.

But every time you keep going with courage and kindness, you strengthen your spirit.

Keep showing up. Your journey is already shaping you.