Every year in March, Jan Nevelius Shihan (7th Dan) visits NOLA Aikido to instruct at the friendship seminar series. Nevelius Shihan is one of our main legacy teachers, based at the Vanadis Aikido Club in Stockholm, Sweden. He has practiced aikido since 1975, but still remains humble and committed to endless research, and says he is always learning something new about this beautiful martial art of peace. In this episode, he delves into the obscure qualities of kuzushi (unbalancing), the importance of connection, and the power of intuition.

Tune in to discover the beauty of this martial art of peace and gain a deeper understanding of its intricate techniques and philosophy.

Jan Nevelius Shihan’s most recent seminar was on March 15, 2024 to March 17, 2024. Your host Jaime Dunkle (4th Kyu) interviewed him in a studio space at Tulane University after the seminar ended, thanks to Media Services at the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library!

In this episode of Art of Peace, Brian Levy Sensei (Dojo Cho and Chief Instructor, NOLA Aikido) and your host Jaime Dunkle (4th Kyu) unpack questions around praise and its effects on learning. 

How does praise impact Aikido practice? Research shows that effort-based praise has a positive impact on students in general because it empowers them to put effort into their studies in ways they can control and enact with agency. Whereas ability-based praise tends to neutralize students, rendering them helpless after a misstep. At the NOLA Aikido dojo, Brain Levy Sensei practices what Charles Colten Sensei has shared about effectual pedagogy: the evidence-based method of praising three things that went well and suggesting one thing to try next time. 

But what about empty praise from Aikido colleagues on the mats? Should there really be instruction coming from other students during a class that already has a teacher? The answer should obviously be: No. Are there ways to skillfully interrupt and dismantle these distractions and likely unconscious power dynamics that are just as detrimental to learning Aikido as ability-based praise? Listen to this episode to find out…

What does it mean to have a beginner's mind (shoshin)? Why is it important to ask what’s going on with the body and mind during Aikido practice? What’s the point of having a teacher? Daniel Nishina Sensei from Hibiki Aikido in Portland, Oregon discussed these topics and more in this episode of the Art of Peace.

“Asking why can help you become yourself,” Nishina Sensei said during the interview.

In this podcast, Nishina Sensei also mentions a time when Seishiro Endo Shihan encouraged students to focus on how to soften one’s fun'iki or vibe when asked about internal practice related to vibration.

“I gave it a lot of thought: How do you control your vibe? How do you make your vibe more quiet, soft, friendly, warm, or whatever? How do you change your vibe?” Nishina Sensei said in the interview.

Nishina Sensei brought his sharp yet poetic Aikido techniques to NOLA Aikido for a weekend seminar on Jan. 20, 2023 to Jan. 22, 2023. He kindly joined our podcast on the last day of the seminar.

For more information about Nishina Sensei, go to: https://www.aikidohibiki.com/

Curious about making your own podcast? This one was brought to the app you're streaming from by way of Anchor.Fm, an easy and free podcast hosting service that the Art of Peace podcast uses and highly recommends. Check it out!