Tacoma Aikikai
Getting Started
Member Login

< All Events

Gasshuku Summer Retreat

Summer Gasshuku Retreat
Intensive Training, Nature Immersion, and Community Celebration

August 13-15th, 2021

A summer Gasshuku retreat in the beautiful Gifford-Pinchot National Forest. Time to celebrate our community in an immersive training weekend with great food, great training, and the great outdoors. Families welcome

Location: Cispus Learning Center, Randle, WA

Dates: Friday August 13 – Sunday August 15

Lodging: Dorms or individual campsites

Meals: Group and individual camp kitchen cooking

Cost: $25/night for lodging and donations towards food

Weapons, body arts, zazen, and zip lining

Let us know you’re in!

Register by emailing (please indicate whether you prefer dorm bed or tent site for lodging)

Related Posts:

The Art of the Pool Noodle: Lessons is Flexibility

by Ea Murphy (May 2021) Long ago, I determined that whether or not to go to the dojo, whether or not to train on any particular day was not a decision. It just was. I woke up, had a day, then trained; or woke up, trained, had a day, and then trained again. Early on,...
Read More

Arbutus Menziesii. Madrone.

by Kristen Lawson Photo (c) 2020 K.D. Lawson I walk. I most enjoy walking in nature, natural surroundings, or as close to that as I can get. Light, smells, and sounds change day-to-day and season-to-season. Right now, I am looking forward to the sounds of the song...
Read More

Conversation with Tacoma Aikikai Community Member, Claire

How long have you been a member of the dojo, and how long have you been training in Aikido? Claire: This dojo is my beginning with Aikido, and I came to it in September of 2019 for the fall Beginner Series. That was my first ever exposure to Aikido. I’ve been mostly...
Read More

Conversation with Tacoma Aikikai Community Members Chris, Beth, and Shauna

What made you interested in Aikido? How long have you been a member at the dojo and how long have you been training in Aikido? Chris: I was interested in Aikido probably since I first saw a Steven Seagal movie. As it turns out, he was maybe not as good as I thought he...
Read More

Conversation with Tacoma Aikikai Community Member, Rose

Why did you first become interested in Aikido and how long have you been training at Tacoma Aikikai? Rose: I think I first heard of Aikido from The Walking Dead TV show, and I liked the idea of being strong and skilled but causing no more harm than absolutely...
Read More

Aikido is Not a Place

by Malory Graham Chief instructor, Seattle Aikikai As the global Covid-19 pandemic continues into another year, we are watching dojos all over the world make the hard decision to close their physical spaces. We closed up our dojo in Seattle, WA in July after operating...
Read More

Brushstrokes

by Ea Murphy Plans change. One out of many of the things planned for 2020 was hosting Thierry Diagana Sensei and his family from California for a summer seminar at Tacoma Aikikai. When we finally did see the Diagana family over winter break, we were speechless when...
Read More

Quarantine, the Revolving Dojo

by Laura Livingston It was the summer months that lured me into waking up at 5:00 am. The traffic outside the window of my old apartment was limited. The silence combined with the intense commitment of the daylight coming forward, creating and altering shadows, seemed...
Read More

The Way

by Joshua Knudson “The essence of Aikido is to put oneself in tune with the functioning of the universe, to become one with the universe. Those who have grasped the inner meaning of Aikido possess the universe within themselves.” ~ O-sensei New age spirituality has...
Read More

Doing Things Differently: The Pandemic Challenge to Aikido Practice

by Charlie Emlet Most of us, if we have practiced a martial art long enough, have faced times when we could not train as normal. Maybe a training related injury or work/family obligations thwarted our training routine. These situations usually last days or perhawps...
Read More