Tom Osborn asked himself the question, “what is my aikido;” he discovered that his answer was that aikido was what allowed him to leave the “areana of warfighting.” After the Vietnam War Tom was struggling with PTSD and in looking back he believes that the practice of aikido provided a unique and powerful resource for recovery.

The Sarete Program is based on the realization that practicing aikido provides a unique chance to develop life-skills such as self-regulation and conflict resolution. The why of your aikido practice can change how practice effects you but also changes your aikido for the better. It was exciting to see how interested area aikidoists are in sharing the benefits of aikido with others but the most surprising aspect of the workshop was seeing the change in their aikido as they talked about the benefits while practicing. We each had a chance to teach a technique with the potential benefits in mind which provided a powerful insight into what was happening in the techniques.

The question “what is my aikido” has to be answered to share the potential benefits with others. Aikido can be used as a lethal self defense if that is your purpose but it can also be used to discovery the power of non-opposition if that is the focus. While both can be effective for self-defense, the two look very different and the difference comes from the question.

Tom Osborn will be in Fredericksburg March 27 to kick off the 2015 Aiki Extensions Conference, demonstrating how Aikido can support Veterans with PTSD. The rest of the weekend will be full of examples of how other aikidoist have utilized aikido on and off the mat to promote positive change.