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"Your guide for newbies covers vastly all the points that worry me the most ... I read it eagerly the minute I received it, and several times more after. ... I wonder how people used to prepare for their first gradings in the olden days, before you guys wrote this guide ... In general, I like the understanding and friendly style of yours, and the tricks to gain a few secs in case you feel too tired! ..." Patricia, London
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We are currently a team of two, this page will soon contain the introduction of the site and the two founders.
Who is this guy and why should I believe him?
I think everyone reading this introduction wants to read about me with respect to my aikido studies, so I’ll write about that.
The beginnings:
I started aikido in October 1993. Though I had planned to study a martial art since long before this time I hadn’t started until my university studies began. To tell you the truth, I really wanted to do karate but the university only had Kyokushin karate classes which, for some reason, I didn’t find attractive. There was an other martial art at the university - guess what - it was, of course, aikido. So in October, I went to a training to learn a bit about aikido because until that I hadn’t had any idea about it. The training was held by one of my current masters VASS Zoltán (currently 3rd Dan Aikikai). I’m not sure what made me stick with these trainings but since that day, apart from summer holidays, there hasn’t been a longer period in my life without practicing aikido. It’s been a pleasure to be able to practice this wonderful martial art.
Next steps:
Since autumn 1999, I’ve been teaching aikido with the kind support of the Hungarian Aikido Foundation. You can easily calculate that I started teaching after as little as 6 years. Usually this is the minimum time you can get to a first degree black belt (1st dan, shodan). Based on this, I firmly believe that I possess the strong foundations needed to demonstrate and teach the beauty of aikido.
Being born virgo, I’ve always had good analytical and logic skills which I also use and demonstrate when practicing and teaching aikido. I always try to explain the essence of aikido and its techniques in a way understandable to my students. The way aikido techniques work. I don’t use mystification, misleading explanations. I don’t speak in terms of magical justifications of techniques, that are not easily understandable by the western mind, to hide the lack of my technical skills and knowledge. If I can’t explain something I admit it, but I always do my best to find and give explanations that make sense.
A bit of philosophy:
I believe everyone wants to become perfect. If we imagine being perfect as a sphere then practicing would be the process that makes a sphere out of a cube. We practice by cutting the edges of the cube first and then cut the newly appearing edges of our polieder as we go along our Path. The more we practice the smaller the edges to cut will be but the more time we need to find and cut these small edges. The small edges can be found, and thus, cut, by following the teachings and instructions of masters. So a master could be imagined as magnifier. The higher level the master the higher the magnification is. After a while spent on practicing, the small edges can only be found with the help of magnifiers. The Aikido Foundation provides a series of magnifiers, and I’m proud to be able to spread my knowledge – offline and online –learned, and being learned, from FUJITA Masatake shihan (8th Dan Aikikai, international technical director of the Aikido Foundation, Hungary) and ELSNER László sensei (5th Dan Aikikai, technical director of the Aikido Foundation, Hungary).
Doubts, evidences:
You might be thinking „anyone can write such things”. If you want to make sure that I don’t give you instructions and knowledge based on a degree bought in the flea market, please read our blog or watch free videos about our trainings and aikido demonstrations.
P.s. The picture about me is deliberately a private photo. If you want to know how I look in uniform (gi and hakama) on a photo you will need to keep browsing the site or register :-)
Finally, two videos about my trainings.
Who am I?
I'm Zoltan Szlavik. I started aikido with the guy introduced above, on September 16, 1999. The main technique of that training was gyakuhanmi tenchinage :). I trained there during my university years, until the beginning of 2004. I got to 3rd kyu level by then. In 2004, I started a PhD in London so I left the dojo in Veszprem, Hungary. Whenever I went home for holidays though, I always tried to join the trainings there. In London, I tried several dojos but I basically skipped two years of practicing, either because the trainings didn't meet my expectations (I wanted to train exactly the same way as before, which was an illusion but I didn't know it then), or because of financial difficulties. When a friend I had known from summer camps also came to London, he soon started a dojo in Wimbledon, where I have been training in a very friendly atmosphere since the beginning of 2006. In the summer of 2007, I got my 2nd kyu in a camp in Veszprem. I started teaching children in January 2008 in Wimbledon, London. In the summer of 2008, I was awarded 1st kyu in Veszprem.
Why am I making instructional videos with only 2nd kyu?
I'm not making the instructional videos, I'm just narrating and giving suggestions for how to present the ideas and techniques. I'm obviously not a master yet but I'm working hard to become one. I also read a lot and I think I understand a couple of things, too. I might not be able to execute a technique perfectly, but I understand the main principles of aikido and its techniques. On a beginner level, I know what people need and what the common errors are, as I've always trained in dojos with several beginners and I also teach children which is extremely helpful to understand how to explain things. (If you don't say or do something properly, children will immediately give some signs of it). Even if I can't correct all these errors myself, I can see a part of the Path ahead, and I believe this is enough to assist to the creation of OnlineAikido.com's material.
Why should you believe me?
You should not believe me. If you like what I say because it makes sense, accept it. Accept it but don't take it as ground truth. Think about it, study it and maybe you understand it more or reject it completely.
If you don't like what I say because it doesn't seem to make much sense, don't accept it. Try to explain why it is wrongly said . If you research the idea and come back saying "your argument is wrong, here is why:", I will be happy to think it over, and eventually believe you. Both of us will win. I think this process is aikido, too.
