Seminar with Ludvig Jönson

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Created: Sunday, 06 May 2018 12:00

An exceptionally talented young aikido teacher came to our dojo last weekend: Ludvig Jönson from Stockholm taught a weekend seminar with his artistic signature style. The 26-year old Swede presented a variety of highly dynamic techniques which required intricate falling skills. He showed how to master these from unusual angles, and how to come down softly and unharmed, while having a lot of fun with those explorations. Visitors from all over Germany attended the seminar to push their limits under Jönson's supervision.

Direct entry throw No matter whether the attacker swipes you off your legs, throws you over the hip, or simply uses a wrist lock in an attempt to immobilise you: there is always a way out of this inconvenient situation with the help of an elegant roll or soft fall. The solutions presented by Ludvig 'Ludde' Jönson looked simple and graceful, but required many years of training and a good measure of willpower and daring. The seminar participants practised with attention and sobriety, but still had a lot of fun with the humorous and playful instructor.

High fall Jönson has been practising for about 20 years, and from very early on he was noted as a talent beyond the borders of the Swedish capital, as an enthusiastic researcher for exceptional and dynamic solutions for how to respond to a serious attack. Even though he has a preference for artistic forms, the techniques he presented at our dojo were soft and easy on the body, and he was making sure that the participants enjoyed themselves and met the challenges with a smile on their face.

Preparing for a hip throw "I am very glad that Ludvig Jönson accepted our invitation", says Klaus Meßlinger, head of the dojo. "He stands for many of the best qualities in aikido: precision, sharpness and dynamic execution, and at the same time showing a remarkable calmness, a relaxed posture even during the stormiest of attacks, always keeping a smile on this face. This left quite some impression with the participants." Meßlinger is looking forward to inviting the young Swede again in the future.

If this made you curious about aikido: regular classes are Tuesdays from 19:00–21:00 at the old gym of Grundschule Stierstadt, Thursdays from 20:00–22:00 and Sundays from 18:00–20:30 at the TV Weisskirchen club house. For a free trial class, come in comfortable sports gear; we practise barefoot. Find out more in the FAQ section.

Please visit the image gallery for impressions of the seminar..

Seminar with Mouliko Halén

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Created: Friday, 09 March 2018 18:28

The importance of the fasciae—the bands of the conjunctive tissue that create body tension—is being discovered by many movement arts in the last couple of years. Mouliko Halén explained in his seminar at Aikido Oberursel how they can be used in the daily practice of the Japanese martial art. The teacher, who is also a part-time shiatsu therapist, showed a number of exercises that activates this inner core tension. Visitors from all over Germany came to Oberursel to attend his classes.

Guiding with body tensionMouliko showed various ways to use the long-stranded fascia bands—which connect across our bodies from fingertips to toes—for healthy and effective movement patterns. He demonstrated how they can be used in aikido techniques to gain more security and presence. Another focus of the seminar lay on the 13 kata, a pre-defined partner exercise for defending oneself against a sword with the help of a wooden staff.

Working from the centerMouliko has been teaching aikido professionally for a few decades, and he shows limitless enthusiasm for the subject. He is equally interested in the inner and outer forms of the techniques, in the flow and in the structure. Having studied a variety of martial arts, his heart is with aikido for which he was awarded the 7th dan from the Aikikai headquarters in Tokyo. It is in his nature to keep exploring new paths, crossing boundaries between aikido and other arts.

Practising the 13 kata"I am really glad that Mouliko Halén for the fourth time accepted our invitation to teach at Oberursel", says Klaus Messlinger, head of the dojo. "His interest in the significance of fasciae for the inner forms has developed over the past years, as have his findings on how these principles can be applied in standard aikido techniques. This combination makes him such an interesting teacher." Mouliko's next seminar in Oberursel is planned for spring 2019.

If this made you curious about aikido: regular classes are Tuesdays from 19:00–21:00 at the old gym of Grundschule Stierstadt, Thursdays from 20:00–22:00 and Sundays from 18:00–20:30 at the TV Weisskirchen club house. For a free trial class, come in comfortable sports gear; we practise barefoot. Find out more in the FAQ section.

Please visit the image gallery for impressions of the seminar.

Kyu Gradings Autumn 2017

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Created: Sunday, 12 November 2017 23:30

After months of intensive preparation, seven dojo members took their kyu tests at the Aikido Dojo Oberursel. For the first time a "born-and-raised" dojo member earned the right to wear the hakama—Japanese culotte-style trousers—by obtaining 2nd kyu. Jury members Eric Steeves (4th dan), Brigitta Schultz (3rd dan), Klaus Messlinger (3rd dan) and Karin Koers (2nd dan) were very pleased with the good results. Congratulations to all!

• 2nd Kyu
  • Jörn Fritsch
• 5th Kyu
  • Ilinca S.
  • Arnold Koch
  • Josef Chovanec
• 6th Kyu
  • Juan José Doniga
  • Johanna Porr
  • Hannah Olbrich

Back row: Karin Koers, Klaus Meßlinger, Brigitta Schultz, and Eric Steeves;
front row: Ilinca, Hannah, Jörn, Josef, and Arnold;
not in the picture: Juan and Johanna

Visit our image gallery to see pictures from the jury keikos.