Teachings
You’ll find below some of main themes discussed by Michael Levy Neumand during his classes and seminars:
DOJO
The difference between AIKIDO and a sport is first and foremost its traditional environment, essential to the study and practice of this art.
Indeed, the capacity for adaptation necessary to progress is directly linked to the needs created by the environment. A DOJO’s organisation helps defining its environment and directly conditions everyone’s practice and progress.
KEIKO
AIKIDO’s practice encompasses notions of discipline, attitude, learning, studying, strengthening of the mind and the body, and change.
Having a good attitude and understanding of the study and practice allows you to get through the fundamental steps with consistency and efficiency.
JO & BOKKEN
AIKIDO takes a unique approach to weapons’ practice, that’s why we call them AIKIKEN and AIKIJO (the practice of the BOKKEN or JO according to the principles of AIKIDO).
For this practice, we use the weapons to help to address some fundamental principles, like the MAAI and the KIMUSUBI.
Techniques & principles
AIKIDO is an art eluding norms and codification. The technique is a means and not an end. It is ever evolving and partly helps exposing the practitioner’s skill level. In order to do a technique according to AIKIDO’s principles, the student has to change.
This change allows them to improve their technique, which in turn improves their change. It is a virtuous circle that opens the way to a dynamic and endless initiatory journey proposed by the Path of the AIKI.
Student & Teacher
Teaching AIKIDO isn’t an end in itself, but a way to progress and advance on the Path. Students and teachers are just two sides of the same thing, like the indivisible YIN and YANG.
Just as the roles of TORI and AITE allow for a complete study of the principles, being both SAMPAI and COHAI, or SENSEI and DESHI, is necessary to move towards both autonomy and mastery.
Education & Learning
One of the BUDOKA’s main quality is their ability to evaluate a situation. It is by having a good attitude that you’ll react correctly to a situation and not the other way around.
It is therefore indispensable, in a martial context as well as during practice, to know where you stand and what your limits are. Education must predate learning for safety reasons, but also to be able to quickly identify your mistakes and try not to repeat them.
Next seminars directed by Michael
2019 November 1 & 2 - Wingate institue Netanya - ISRAEL
6 lessons :
November 1 : 13h-14h15 + 14h30-15h45 + 16h-17h15
November 2 : 11h-12h15 + 12h30-13h45 + 14h-15h15
2020 Februar 14 & 15 - Wingate institue Netanya - ISRAEL
To be scheduled
2020 March 21 & 22 - Halle aux fleurs Lyon 2 - FRANCE
To be scheduled
Do you wish to organise a seminar?
According to the traditional teaching rules, each Sensei has his own students, who must ask him or her if they wish to hold a class or organise a seminar.
However, if you’re not a member of EPA-ISTA but are interested in discovering Michael LEVY-NEUMAND’s teaching, you can directly contact him using the contact information.
With the Internet spreading linke wildfire and reaching every part of our daily life, more and more traffic is directed to websites in search for information.
Philosophy & Spirituality
AIKIDO is based on a search for unity in a martial context itself based on duality. If you want to unite your move with your attacker’s move, you will be forced to apply the same principle of non-resistance within yourself.
Choosing non-violence while doing an efficient martial technique allows you to become aware of some universal principles and of the meaning of your choices and action.
Seminars
Getting out of your DOJO to practice with other students following the same path is a great way to assess your skills and check that you’re still yourself on the Path of study and self-examination. As a teacher, going to one of your SENSEI’s seminars, or to one of his or her own teacher, is a great opportunity to present and assess your teachings through your students’ practice.
The main objective of a seminar is to maintain a connexion between students and teachers and to ensure that everybody’s is still progressing, students and teachers alike, including the teacher hosting the seminar.
Responsibility & Development
Teachers are often mainly concerned with pedagogical and technical issues, but it is equally important to know how to open, manage and develop a DOJO. The teacher must ensure that their student-assistant (UCHI DESHI) are skilled in these domains before they open their own dojo.
Seminars bring a lot of teachers and assistants together and it is therefore a great opportunity to talk about the dojos’ security, responsibility, organisation and development.
Alain PEYRACHE Sensei
Michael LEVY NEUMAND’s teaching is in line with the teachings of Alain PEYRACHE, the master he’s been following since 25 years. Revealed by several of the founder’s disciples, including NAKAZONO, ICHIMURA, NORO, ASAI and TADA, Alain PEYRACHE was Nobuyoshi TAMURA’s student for 30 years.
Alain PEYRACHE SENSEI teaches an uncompromising kind of AIKIDO, true to the founding principles of this discipline. Through powerful and straightforward techniques, he aims to teach the essential keys necessary to understand and practice this unique art.