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A great martial artist is more than someone who can defeat others. It is someone who combines personal power and inner peace. As a martial artist you increase the power of your influence and the capacity of your creativity. A warrior sage is not just a martial artist, but also a philosopher, artist and leader. They actively create their life rather than simply reacting to their situation.
My name is Dr. Philip Greenwood, My purpose is to awaken as many people as possible to their own creative potential and personal power. As a student I have devoted myself for over 30 years to seeking out the best teachers to grow myself not only as a martial artist, but as a person. It is my experience that martial arts, when properly taught, are the single best method of forging the mind and body and awakening us to our real potential. In my teaching I draw from ancient traditions when it makes sense in a modern world. At the same time I integrate a modern understanding of the world, techniques and training methods when it helps improve our abilities. Most of all, it is most important to never abandon our sense of humanity. It's essential to always keep in mind who you become as a result of your practice. A good martial artist is constantly adapting, learning and evolving. There is something to learn from everyone you meet. In feudal times warriors kept their arts secret as a matter of survival. But secrecy can also lead to foolish inbreeding of ideas with bigotry and superstition which are seen a lot in traditional martial arts. In today's world information is not so secret anymore. We have instant access to lots of information. Gathering information from books, television and the internet is easy. However, applying yourself to personal mastery is not so common. What makes our training unique? Today, when styles that look like nothing more than killing arts are gaining popularity, it's clear that a martial art without heart and compassion is nothing more than brutality. This does not represent a world that I or most people want to live in. The true purpose of the martial arts is to develop the mental and physical skills required to redirect negative forces - anger, struggle and conflict - into positive forces of creativity, peace and beauty.
The real warrior sage does not simply react to Whether you are facing conflict that is physical, verbal, from outside you or from within your own mind, the principles and skills required to overcome that conflict and transform it are the same. On the physical side, personal safety is a real issue for men, woman and children. Everyone should be trained to deal effectively and appropriately when confronted with violence. Many people suffer from an over confidence that they will be able to handle the situation when it happens. The fact is, you are not prepared unless you have prepared. We are all responsible, not only for protecting ourselves, but also other people. We might be faced with a violent attack, or we could be faced with an unruly friend. Does is make sense to respond to both the same? Probably not. Our training must allow us to apply a gauged response. Sometimes we need to respond without causing injury. While it's true that violent crime will touch many lives, the world we live in is generally much safer than most times in human history. But it's not only for such situations that we train. The unique abilities that developed through this training can serve in nearly every area of life whether there are physical or mental challenges to be faced. The kind of questions and situations you deal with in every day life are at the heart of our training. Aikido is martial art training in the tradition of the samurai warrior of Japan. Training combines the effectiveness of both armed and unarmed techniques:
Aikido is from Japanese ju jitsu. It is literally a 'mixed martial art.' Our Aikido is a further evolution from traditional Aikido practice as we draw also from judo, karate, swordsmanship and other martial arts in a logical and integrated system that allows a flexible response to any situation while keeping with the philosophy of Aikido. Many people want to train in martial arts, but they don't want to get "beat up." We understand this. We don't like getting beat up either. Not getting beat up is essentially the point of learning a martial art. Our students are real people with jobs and families. Injury is not acceptable. There is zero tolerance for any form of abuse in our dojo. Our strict safety standards make training injury extremely rare. We have built a strong culture of focus on self improvement.
Aikido techniques use minimal force to produce maximum effect. Big people lose their advantage over small people and men have less advantage over women because effectiveness is based on movement and technique, not just muscle strength. Aikido is also unique in allowing a response to be as gentle or severe as the situation demands. Aikido is an art with heart and elegance that also gives insight into managing our way through life with grace and compassion.
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the Free The Personal Mastery Intensive (PMI) is a one day experience that will introduce you to the fundamentals of physical and mental techniques of the warrior sages. You will learn:
Sign up below so we can notify you of the next Free Personal Mastery Intensive Seminar. No prior experience or physical conditioning is required. Simply come with an open mind and a willingness to learn and grow. Sincerely,
Greenwood Center Aikido was established in 1991 by Dr. Philip Greenwood dedicated to personal development through martial art training. Greenwood Center Aikido is affiliated with the Aikido World Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, through Nishio Ryu Aikido. |
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