Why Your Aikido Training Starts Before the Bow-In

In my first Aikido class in Japan back in 1987, I noticed something in the first five minutes that had nothing to do with technique: the senior students were warming up their attention, not just their bodies, and nobody was chatting before bow-in.

In this episode, I break down what that quiet actually does, why it changes what you notice once class starts, and the exact routine I still use to prime myself before every class I take or teach — plus what my teacher Takeda Sensei taught me about listening internally before you ever step on the mat.

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