Spotlight - Peter Arno

I first heard about Aikido when I was 18. I was always interested in practicing martial arts and I used to study through the U.C. system. In 1974 Koichi Tohei offered classes through U.C.S.D. and I first became aware of the practice. Unfortunately at that age I wanted to fight and be what I thought was more physical. I stuck with Shotokan Karate, not turning to Aikido study until 1981.

Long before I started Aikido, I enjoyed training in different forms of Yoga, both physical hatha styles and the philosophical practice. I had a number of teachers all of whom were against my practice of martial arts. Doggedly and at great length I pressed them for the whys. In their exasperation one of them finally replied “all right, there is a saint who developed a system of non-violent martial art practice called Aikido you may practice but keep a non-violent spirit. That was all he needed to say. I was in my first class two days later. My first instructor was B. J. Carlisle in Encinitas , California . He was a marvelous martial artist in all the time I took ukemi for him he never really hurt me. I really admired his control and composure. He possessed a great understanding of technique and energetics and I was very intrigued with his ability to heal. I feel very fortunate to have studied with him and not a day goes by, whether on the mat or off, when I don’t think about his instruction and how it has benefited my daily life.

Later in my Aikido life, I had the benefit of study with Sensei Wolfgang Baumgartner, Tri Dang, David O’Neil, Ken Macbeth, and Eric Winters. Sensei Fumio Toyoda has also been of great influence to me and I am most fortunate to continue my training with Sensei Doran. I also feel my training with Tai Chi instructor Mark Rosenberg and sword Sensei Niina Gosoke and Tony Alvarez have been of great benefit to my understanding of Aikido.

Aikido of Fair Oaks was founded in 1996 by David Brigham and first and foremost by Roger Pratt who had the vision to recognize the possibility of a dojo in Fair Oaks . I took over as Chief Instructor and Dojo Cho in 1999. We have approximately 85 adult members and 25 children members. We offer eight adult classes, two children’s classes, and three weapons classes each week.

My most Memorable Aikido Experience
My Sensei and I had an understanding whereby either of us could attack the other at any time. The attacks were never full force for safety reasons but his interest was in how I might react to the unexpected. One Saturday morning after training, a number of the students and Sensei gathered outside the door of the dojo and we began to talk. I was inside myself day dreaming about the intricacies of our human relationships and how we interact with each other. All of a sudden I felt the energy of my Sensei’s attack on my ribs and I was completely unprepared. To make matters worse I reacted by startling in fear rather than the grounded martial understanding of Aikido. I was more exasperated with this ungrounded reaction than the non-response to his initial attack. Just as I began to express my frustration with negativities, he leaned in close to my ear and whispered “you have to feel it.” Those words instantly struck a deep cord in my heart and I became aware of a great openness. Magnetically I was drawn inside to see, feel, and hear the interior side of my awareness of self. The feeling was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time and I had little understanding of what I was experiencing. I only knew that I recognized the experience as something that was, always with me. I feel that this Aikido experience has shaped my life more than any other experience before or after.

The practice of Aikido and its perfection of posture and harmonic movements are designed to expose the truth of such things to our analytical mind by pushing us out of our habit bound nature and receptively exposing the relationship of unified heart and mind. All martial arts and many other body mind movement meditations can provide this subtle awareness, a glimpse of our soul nature and a path to follow. Through O’Sensei we have a pure example of what to aspire to. His technique and writings are established in truth and our practice of this truth is Aikido. I have respectively always been devoted to yoga practice yet it has been the study of Aikido that has pushed me, its beauty drives us in a way that gratefully increases our discipline of practice and receptivity of heart.

	Featured Dojo-cho, May 2005

Peter Arno, 3rd Dan Aikido of Fair Oaks, Fair Oaks, CA Division 2
I first heard about Aikido when I was 18. I was always interested in practicing martial arts and I used to study through the U.C. system. In 1974 Koichi Tohei offered classes through U.C.S.D. and I first became aware of the practice. Unfortunately at that age I wanted to fight and be what I thought was more physical. I stuck with Shotokan Karate, not turning to Aikido study until 1981. Long before I started Aikido, I enjoyed training in different forms of Yoga, both physical hatha styles and the philosophical practice. I had a number of teachers all of whom were against my practice of martial arts. Doggedly and at great length I pressed them for the whys. In their exasperation one of them finally replied “all right, there is a saint who developed a system of non-violent martial art practice called Aikido you may practice but keep a non-violent spirit. That was all he needed to say. I was in my first class two days later. My first instructor was B. J. Carlisle in Encinitas , California . He was a marvelous martial artist in all the time I took ukemi for him he never really hurt me. I really admired his control and composure. He possessed a great understanding of technique and energetics and I was very intrigued with his ability to heal. I feel very fortunate to have studied with him and not a day goes by, whether on the mat or off, when I don’t think about his instruction and how it has benefited my daily life. Later in my Aikido life, I had the benefit of study with Sensei Wolfgang Baumgartner, Tri Dang, David O’Neil, Ken Macbeth, and Eric Winters. Sensei Fumio Toyoda has also been of great influence to me and I am most fortunate to continue my training with Sensei Doran. I also feel my training with Tai Chi instructor Mark Rosenberg and sword Sensei Niina Gosoke and Tony Alvarez have been of great benefit to my understanding of Aikido. Aikido of Fair Oaks was founded in 1996 by David Brigham and first and foremost by Roger Pratt who had the vision to recognize the possibility of a dojo in Fair Oaks . I took over as Chief Instructor and Dojo Cho in 1999. We have approximately 85 adult members and 25 children members. We offer eight adult classes, two children’s classes, and three weapons classes each week. My most Memorable Aikido Experience My Sensei and I had an understanding whereby either of us could attack the other at any time. The attacks were never full force for safety reasons but his interest was in how I might react to the unexpected. One Saturday morning after training, a number of the students and Sensei gathered outside the door of the dojo and we began to talk. I was inside myself day dreaming about the intricacies of our human relationships and how we interact with each other. All of a sudden I felt the energy of my Sensei’s attack on my ribs and I was completely unprepared. To make matters worse I reacted by startling in fear rather than the grounded martial understanding of Aikido. I was more exasperated with this ungrounded reaction than the non-response to his initial attack. Just as I began to express my frustration with negativities, he leaned in close to my ear and whispered “you have to feel it.” Those words instantly struck a deep cord in my heart and I became aware of a great openness. Magnetically I was drawn inside to see, feel, and hear the interior side of my awareness of self. The feeling was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time and I had little understanding of what I was experiencing. I only knew that I recognized the experience as something that was, always with me. I feel that this Aikido experience has shaped my life more than any other experience before or after. The practice of Aikido and its perfection of posture and harmonic movements are designed to expose the truth of such things to our analytical mind by pushing us out of our habit bound nature and receptively exposing the relationship of unified heart and mind. All martial arts and many other body mind movement meditations can provide this subtle awareness, a glimpse of our soul nature and a path to follow. Through O’Sensei we have a pure example of what to aspire to. His technique and writings are established in truth and our practice of this truth is Aikido. I have respectively always been devoted to yoga practice yet it has been the study of Aikido that has pushed me, its beauty drives us in a way that gratefully increases our discipline of practice and receptivity of heart.