I sometimes feel as though I no longer know why I practise aikido—it has become such an integral part of my life. I started practising in 1995 in Moscow, stopped in 1999, and resumed in 2011 in Delft. In 2016 I passed my shodan exams, in November 2019 I obtained my nidan, and in November 2023 my sandan.
As part of the shodan examinations, I wrote an essay on an aikido-related topic, which provided me with a good opportunity to reflect on why aikido is so important to me.
The essay is available in PDF format.
For my sandan exam, I wrote another essay, this time on the topic of the language of aikido.
You can read it here.
