What is the EAC Summer Intensive? Can it be described as an immersive experience?

Before answering, let’s take many ushiro tsugi ashi, quite a few steps back, all the way to 2012 -when we first met Patrick Cassidy.

A teacher Is first and foremost a practitioner

Like all good teachers, our Aikido teacher was -and still is- primarily a practitioner. Practitioners also need someone to observe them, guide them, offer suggestions. Someone to grow with.

That’s how we began to know Patrick, his approach to teaching and practice, and the international group of Dojos that work with him and form the EAC, the Evolutionary Aikido Community.

The limit of traditional seminars

Attending a person only during a seminar is like thinking you can get to know your partner only when dressed up for Saturday night dinner.

You share a high-level practice, focused on principles. You wear the tie and heels -but leave the slippers and sweatpants for your weekly dojo training.

Understanding a deep proposal

That’s why Patrick Cassidy’s proposal took many years to truly understand. It’s an approach that is didactically and experientially strong, immediate, technically solid -yet also a vehicle for deeply embodied values and perspectives.

Such complexity and depth require an immersive experience.

A week of intensive training

After many years, we finally managed to participate in this week-long event with five training sessions per day, starting with outdoor weapons training at 7:00 AM.

Participants were free to join what they could and wanted, also benefiting from breathing sessions, meditation, and shared meal preparation at the Dojo in Montreux.

Extended, collective practice

We experienced extensively what is already routine at the Hara Kai Dojo and in Aikido organization we belong in our Region. International instructors took turns teaching, culminating in a full-day seminar on Saturday. Such teaching model promotes a technical growth of instructors which is enhanced indidactic and communication skills because of the feedback given by every teacher and by Patrick himself, thus resulting in offering a kaleidoscope of experiential richness that, despite diversity, converges.

Internationality and a sense of community

This convergence not only brings technical benefits but also helps build an important sense of internationality, especially crucial in today’s times. Participants and teachers came from the USA, Switzerland, Italy, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Belgium -creating a truly intense journey.

Fatigue and inner growth

The intensity demanded deep internal energy, since this kind of experience requires high levels of focus and presence.

Waking up at 5:30 AM each day extended our available time. Even enjoying the nature around Lake Geneva during dinner breaks felt as formative as time on the tatami.

Total sharing

Sharing time and space with fellow instructors we have known for years allowed us to mirror one another’s efforts: practicing discipline, making it accessible to all ages, working for a living, and caring for loved ones… It all takes total dedication.

Seeing how others manage it makes it feel possible and less exhausting.

Living the Dojo 24/7

Spending 24/7 with our teacher and fellow travelers helped strengthen bonds. Even if you already know each other, true connection is built through real, daily sharing -meals, space, laundry…

Going beyond limits

No discipline is measured by a ruler. In one week, we trained more than most people do in three months of regular practice.

Pushing your system -tired from a year of work, emotions, successes, and failures- past the point of exhaustion is necessary.

That’s where you begin to understand who you really are, what keeps you moving forward, and how you can still do more and better- for yourself and for those who rely on you.

Toward new horizons

This experience is a next-level version of an intensive day we had six years ago.

Back then, we learned that obsessive organization could allow a professional approach to teaching. Today, we head for far wider horizons– in terms of intensity, quality, and personal growth.

Gratitude

For every smile, every comment, every critique, and every confidence
For those who worked behind the scenes to ensure comfort,
For every chirping sparrow accompanying our effort…
We express deep, heartfelt gratitude.