My First Letter of 2025
January 1, 2025
I change the format, There is no last letter of 2024 this year. This year it is the first letter of 2025.
Before I wrote this letter, I re-read my previous year in review letters. The first one was in 2019. I am shocked it is five years later, I am again sitting at the dining table in Maine writing on my laptop another letter (Jealous? It is 9° outside). Every year I have the same thought, “I can’t believe another year has gone by.” So much has changed and so much is the same. This letter has always focused on what has happened and changed in the year ending. Last year’s letter focused what shat HAD changed, a lot about life returning to normal after Covid. This year I will focus on what WILL change. Let’s leave the past behind the year and look upon tomorrow.
So, this letter will not be recap 2024 but share our plans for 2025. Not to focus on the ball falling but what happens after it lands
Here are some highlights from today, and the many things to come at our home, the Aikido Schools of New Jersey.
● Teachers. I always say the core of our dojo is our students, without them, well, we have on a big empty room covered in mats that I pay a lot of rent on. While the dojo is about students and without teachers, a room of students is just a group gathering, a club. We have 20 instructors now, all who are students, and expect more next year. Some instructors teach only occasionally but part of what makes ASNJ special. I wanted you to welcome Chris, Guzman, Drew and Thu to our teaching staff. I can’t wait to see what new energy and insight they will bring to our mats and to our students.
● Better Classes. Have you tried cooking a dish and didn’t follow any recipe and it turned out the food was off the charts. It was great but you can’t remember what you did. Repetition is important. How can we do something great and repeat it time and time again. Recipes are important as is improvising. Knowing whent to do each is an art. That is our teacher’s class taught our teachers. Not how to teach Aikido but how to ‘teach’ taught by professional teachers, one of them is my son. He has been doing Aikido for 15 years, martial arts for over 20 and a professional teacher, Zachary, a high school teacher. So, he knows a thing or two about a thing or two. He created a class on teaching. We did it for our instructors and it made a difference. We are offering this class again this year and will do so every year. He wrote a great curriculum (I mentioned he is teaching for a living.). If any other dojo’s are interested, we are happy to share. I will announce the date and all instrucdtors are welcom
● Dojo Trips. We had a couple of great trips to NY and Brooklyn, and we are going to do that again. February 22nd, we are taking class in Brooklyn with Lehrman Sensei and my Park Slope family for the 12:15 class. We are planning another one to NY Aikikai. This is open to students 11 and over. The USAF is a huge family. Thanks to everyone who helps to keep it running.
● One on One. I am meeting with each of our instructors one on one to find out what they love and hate about the dojo and how we can make them better teachers. I hope to kncorporate this information into our teachers class and will be adding classes (foreshadowing).
● New Classes. I am going to change the schedule a little and want to add a couple of new classes. I will add a weapons class that will focus on katas and two person weapons practice focusing on jo and boken. Additionally, we are going to add a class in judo. One of our students is ranked in judo and I asked him teaching judo techniques. No randori or competition but as many aikido techniques have an origin in judo.
● The dojo parties. Too many? Nah, Family Day, Mother’s Day, Bring a Friend on the Mat day, Check the schedule regularly.
● Iaido. We have expanded our program and will continue to grow. We are adding kyu test for out students and now have a teen group practicing. If we get 5 teens, we will add a teen class to the schedule. It will be pointless (no sharp katana).
● PTA. We had our first meeting and the dojo got a library out of it. I am exiceted to see what our parents come up with. I hear they are working on a car pooling program.
● Six kids’ tests. We will continue to have kids test the first Saturday of every even month. We will have two adult kyu test and do so on the same say as the kids tests and invite all the of kids and parents to stay, watch the adult test and join us in the traditional pot luck party following adult tests.
● Spending Christmas and New Year again in Maine with my family. I know I am Jewish, but I still think of this as Christmas. It is great to have time with our boys knowing the dojo will be taken care of by Frank, Danny and Derrell. Rachel keep spending more and more time in Maine and will continue to expand our time here. There is NO dojo plans for Maine but will such great people in NJ, we can afford to spend more time here and know ASNJ is in great hands. I also have to finish building the gazebo, as soon as I pour the concrete slab for it, right after I finish running the electic to the gazebo. Yup, will definitely be spending more time here.
● Hal Lehrman Sensei is Healed. Following a year os surgeries and missing a lot fo time ont eh mat, he is back on his regular scheduled second Wednesday of the month teaching at ASNJ. I apologize for all those people who showed up after one of his surgeries thinking he would be teaching. I may have forgotten to post that. I am evern more sorry that you were stuck in my Nikyo class for 90 minutes joining in my nikyo obsession that month.
● The Woman’s Group is hosting Painting and Wine on Sunday February 16th from 5pm to 8pm. WE will send out flyers,
● SuperBowl. I want invite everybody to watch Superbowl LIX at ASNJ Sunday Feb 9th, starting at 6:00 pm. Watch the commercials and some football. It is a potluck so bring your A-Game.
● Advanced Class. Open to third kyu and above – we call it the Hakama Classes Dates for 2025 Sundays, March 30th, June 29th, August 31 - 11:00 am-12:00 pm. WE ahvew a do =jo meeting after each.
● Veterans Day Celebration, once again run by the Colonel (Drew Burns). We want to honor those who served our Country that affords us all have the freedoms we as Americans so value. On Veterans Day, the ASNJ USA veterans teach the Adults Class.
● Tai Chi Chuan class keeps growing. I started this at the request of some student and it has grown into a separate program at the Dojo with a strong following. The core group knows the form and we are now working on form correction and application. Tai Chi Chuan is a fighting art, a very effective and some what brutal style fo kung fu, not just old people (I am starting to resemble that remark) movng slowly in the park. We will be doing more and more application.
● It’s a Sign. As many of you have shared on this adventure, Rachel and I are learning sign language to deal with potential total hearing lose. Every cloud has a silver lining, we can communicate at loud restaurant, talk behind our kids backs right in front of them and have made many new friends in the deaf community both in NJ and Maine. We will continue to learn and practice and I am happy to teach any one who wishes to learn com basics. I am not an expert so I will only share some basics and maybe a curse word or two.
● Missing Yamada Sensei. I am spending a lot of time at the NY Aikikai with construction. I cannot walk in the place the not think of him. We have three pictures on our kamaza, O’Sensei, Stickels Sensei and Yamada Sensei. When I start every class, I have a conversation with each of them. I think O’Sensei for Aikido (Even when I teach Tai Chi Chaun). I think Rick for creating this wonderful dojo. Then I talk with Yamada Sensei and thank him for creating this amazing group in the US. Then I take a moment to take in how lucky I am because of what they did.
● Remembering Rick Stickles Sensei. June 21, 2025 is the tenth anniversary of his passing this year. We are having a seminar on Saturday and Sunday June 21 and 22 to share our memories of the founder of ASNJ. I have invited some students of Stickles Sensei who now have their own dojo to teach this seminar. What better way to celebrate his life. All proceeds will go to First Tee, a charity to help teens through golf.
I am sure I am missing a few events and changes, but I’ll send out enough emails so you can keep up to date.
Hope you had happy holidays and a great new year. Looking forward to spending 2025 with you, in letters, at ASNJ, at seminars, and sitting in my office chatting. Let’s see what the world brings us. As I told Frank, Danny and Derrell when I took over running the dojo. Nothing will change ecept everything will get better. And we will together, change the world.
Thank you and God bless you all.
--Sensei Jay
“May you be happy
May you be well May you be peaceful and at ease May you be filled with loving kindness And compassion for all beings.”
- Morihei Ueshiba, the Founder of Aikido
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