Summer Camp Experience 2024

Matthew Perkins, Multnomah Aikikai

Get off the line

Turn your hips

Hand like a sword

Breathe

These phrases from my Sensei, which now echo in my heart and no longer in my head as I practice, were front of mind as I traveled to my first Birankai Summer Camp. In my year and half of practice before camp, I had heard stories of summer camp and the joy and excitement on the faces of my senpai was enough to motivate me to go this year.

When I first joined Multnomah Aikikai in October of 2022, it was a coming home. I had practiced other martial arts over the years, but it had been almost 20 years since my body moved this way. At 44, I wondered, can I do this? Should I do this? My first class visit to the dojo happened to be during a Boyet Sensei seminar. I stayed for over an hour watching the practice. I was aware of Aikido and had done some additional research before visiting the dojo for the first time. What I didn’t anticipate was how I would feel. I saw how folks took care of each other yet still practiced fiercely. What struck me most was the joy, the love, and the energy. I wanted more if it! So, I joined that day.

As summer camp approached this year there was the usual buzz in the dojo. Who is going? Who has been before? The retelling of experiences of camps past. I felt ready enough from a ukemi standpoint to go. I practice 5 to 7 hours a week and have thrown myself into this thing we all love. Might as well see what all the fuss is about.

The first couple of days were good. It is challenging and really shows you where your opportunities lie. I felt good even though I was exhausted at the end of each day in the best way possible. I started to make new connections and friends with folks at other dojos and the same sense of love, acceptance, and peace was prevalent in the spirit of everyone I had contact with. It is so rewarding and felt great to get through the first couple of days. Seeing the smiles and feeling the love as you are thrown through the air is something special on that scale.

As I settled into Friday, I was starting to feel the hours of practice as tension and a bit of pain. I worked through it with all of you. I realized at a certain point that I was able to execute techniques that had proven challenging in my own dojo and were somehow pulled out of me at camp. I’m not sure if it was the sustained focus for that many days and hours but several things just made sense. I believe now that it was all of you. I felt the energy of the room and every practice session had flow and rhythm that I could feel in my heart, my body, and my breath. It kept me going. You all kept me going.

Then Friday night was here, and testing was going to occur in the evening after the last class. We all crowded together at the back edge of the mat, and it was a tight fit. My earlier aches started to creep back in only for a moment. As the testing began, and techniques began to be called the energy shifted again. I could feel nage and uke. Every move and every slap of the mat reverberated through my heart. As the test progressed, I felt we were all moving with them in celebration of their dedication to this art. Every move they were going through I could feel even though I was quiet and still. The energy had returned in full force. It was the first black belt test I had seen in person as an Aikidoka and I will never forget those moments.

When the sun rose on Saturday, I was reinvigorated. A big meal and a great night’s sleep were the medicine I needed. My body was almost vibrating I was so excited to train. As we bowed in at the first Saturday class I was overwhelmed. It was not the first time this had happened in my practice but as I sat with everyone and bowed my head I was overtaken with immense emotion. Tears filled my eyes as I couldn’t contain how I was feeling. I was grateful for my home dojo, dojo mates, and my Sensei for preparing me for camp. I was grateful for my practice and the opportunities I am afforded in life. I was grateful for all of you that were there. 

The week wrapped with a magnificent event Saturday night and more beautiful practice on Sunday. After class on Sunday there was a feeling of, “Oh! It’s over already?!?! I was just hitting my stride!” It took me weeks to fully take in all that I had learned, all that I had felt and experienced. I am still working through it as I train. As I returned home, I felt different. Changed, in the best way possible. My body had quickly adapted to that level of practice which I wasn’t certain would happen. I felt more connected to my Aikido. I felt more at peace with myself and the world. The words of my Sensei since day one will still echo in my heart forever. Summer Camp certainly helped cement that in a big way, with a short amount of time.

Get off the line

Turn your hips

Hand like a sword

Breathe

See you on the mat!