Showing posts with label Aikido. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aikido. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Tameshigiri - Mat Cutting 2022

 Tameshigiri 2022

During Covid, we spent time practicing weapons (i.e., jo and bokken) and also some Iaido. 
Finally, we rolled some tameshigiri mats and practiced some cutting.


Join us in West Chester, OH.

ohioaikido.com


Monday, November 5, 2018

Mushinkan Dojo: Seth Lindberg - now Shodan

   Mushinkan Dojo: Seth Lindberg - now Shodan cross-post from OhioAikido.com.

"Another ZAA Instructor’s Seminar has come and gone. Mushinkan Dojo would like to thank Noble Sensei and all the Teaching Committee members for the great instruction in both how to perform techniques and how to teach. 
I cannot say enough about the caliber and quality of everyone who attended. Our time on and off the mat strengthened our connections and friendships. As always everyone of us gave our attention and sacrificed time to make the seminar awesome.
Mushinkan Dojo also has the great pleasure of announcing that Seth Lindberg was promoted to Shodan this weekend. Mushinkan Dojo is thankful to Seth for his years of dedicated practice and help developing the Dojo. 


In gassho, Domaschko Sensei" 


[Thank you, Sensei, Mushinkan, and ZAA. I am very grateful for reaching this milestone. Years of training with local Mushinkan members and at many of the ZAA seminars developed me; the journey has just begun of course. Looking forward to growing more, helping others, and developing the dojo. I won't repeat my whole speech here, but will do so to Mushinkan members over Raymond's Pizza soon--my treat.

Sincerely appreciative, Seth]



Sunday, March 16, 2014

Making Cartoons from Photographs - Aikido Manual

Draft Figure of Aikido Poses 

Aikido Student Manual - Figure Making

This post describes how we (Mushinkan Dojo members under Sensei Domaschko) are using photographs to make cartoon-like figures for an Aikido student manual. The process can be readily applied to any project in which figures are needed.  The key is to remove distracting backgrounds and features in the people so that future viewers can focus on the topic.In this example the Uke (aggressor) grabs both wrists of Nage (Sensei Domaschko): this is called "Ryotetori." 

The Process

  • Pose and take photo. 
  • Open the photo in Photoshop
  • Adjust brightness levels and hue in Photoshop 
  • Select background (hold shift key while using wand & lasso tools; use Refine Edge option)
  • Click “Mask” button to remove background (a green layer was made underneath to highlight removed areas)


  • Save *.PSD and "Place" it into Adobe Illustrator (this will make it a Smart Object that will update everytime you tweak in Photoshop)
  • With both PS and AI open, adjust the mask and colors in PS....and "Save" to update AI
  • Open the Tracing Workspace in AI
    • It is especially important to limit the color pallette to ~12 colors to impart a cartoon look
    • Also increase the noise option (this eliminates small "objects")
    • Save Trace presets to reapply settings on other subsequent figures

  • Select "Save for Web" from the file menu, choose JPG


Cincinnati locals are always invited to stop by the Dojo to learn a self defence that enables you to protect yourself without inflicting harm on the attacker. We meet Mon and Wed nights.  Visit the website for more information (link).


http://ohioaikido.blogspot.com/ 

Monday, March 25, 2013

Mushinkan Aikido Dojo - Website and Logo Design


An earlier post mentioned how my artistic understanding of human anatomy was being augmented by my learning of Aikido. Aikido focuses on throwing/rolling rather than hitting/kicking, and helps one learn self-defense as well as how to fall correctly.  My family and I have been attending Domaschko Sensei's Mushinkan Aikido dojo for a few years now (Liberty Township, Ohio; classes held at Martin Martial Arts).  

This posts highlights how my wife Heidi and I helped with Mushinkan's new logo and website design.  Firstly, Heidi designed a logo that roughly represents Domashko Sensei's face as a Samurai-like mask; she employed Adobe Illustrator to realize her vision (note her blog: DESIGNlab link) and Domaschko Sensei approved. Armed with Sensei's brochures and photos..and Heidi's Logo...I designed a blog-site for the Dojohttp://ohioaikido.com/

Looking to learn self-defense with an aim to subdue/control an attacker rather than inflict harm? Live near Cincinnati? This is the place.  








Thursday, February 10, 2011

Anatomy: Lessons from Aikido, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Monks

Aikido
Could I become a better artist by being thrown around like a sock puppet?   Newby Aikido students (myself included) quickly gain a new perspective of anatomy as they attempt to "roll properly"...only to flounder like a fish-out-of-water.  Being more aware of posing, posture, and balance is allowing me (to my surprise and delight) to enhance my approach toward composing figures.

In Cincinnati there is an local interest in Aikido, a martial art that focuses on rolling, momentum balances, and defense rather than stereotypical punching and kicking.  At the World Fantasy Convention 36 in Columbus this past Oct. I introduced myself to a local fantasy writer Stephen Leigh Farrell  (author of The Nessantico Cycle and The Cloud Mages Trilogy) -- a coworker teaches Aikido with him so I had a story to introduce myself.  Stephen  was clearly as enthusiastic about "throwing" people as much as he was encouraging them to write.  Turns out, another co-worker/friend of mine teaches Aikido so I signed up and am being thrown on a weekly basis now ("I am so a white belt" as my niece once said proudly about her own martial art expertise).

I am far from being an Aikido expert, but a key to "proper rolling" seems to be considering your body a set of axes (a "x") such that you can roll across one of them (thus limiting damage to your spine and transferring momentum across your body).  Below I illustrate this by sharing an image from the oft-reference book of Westbrook and Ratti called Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere, an illustrated introduction: I draw over the image of a man rolling with  primary and secondary axes indicated.


This "primary and secondary axis" approach toward understanding and composing figures is nicely explained by Jim Pavelec (fantasy illustrator and author of Hell Beasts, a guide for drawing evil creatures).  I met him also this October in Columbus at theWorld Fantasy Convention 36 .  In his Hell Beasts book he details "Gesture" as:
"Gesture, or the overall movement and pose of a figure, is the foundation of any good composition, giving your drawings the fluidity and force necessary to capture the viewer's eye.  You can set the mood for an entire piece by first laying out a simple gesture drawing consisting of only a few lines...There are two types of gesture lines: primary and secondary.  The primary gesture line is the fluid mark that runs along the figure's centerline.  For example, when looking at the humanoid figure from the front, the primary gesture line goes from the head, through the center abdomen, then to the pelvis, where it sifts into either the action leg or the weight-bearing leg....Secondary gesture lines,or rythym lines, are lines that flow through the form connecting secondary body parts such as limbs, tails, wings, and tentacles..." p14

This zombie is about to roll!
http://www.jimpavelec.com/books/hell-beasts/