Szchooooommmm!

That, of course, is the sound of seiza (the kneeling/seated position one might associate with martial arts) a la Vince Salvatore Sensei. On day two of my trip, I stoped in Truckee, CA to visit with Gabe and then the next day, the two of us drove down the hill to Reno where Gabe trains and Salvatore Sensei teaches. Their dojo is Iwama style, too, and so things were pretty familiar. Salvatore Sensei has a unique energy and makes some pretty cool sound effects. Iwama is a very vocal style of Aikido -- lots of kiais and everyone interprets them differently. While I was training with Gabe, I swear I heard him utter "su!" Su is the kotodama – the primordial sounds of the universe that express energy and power and such – that can destroy your opponent. Geez. Thanks, Gabe.

When I got in that night, Gabe and I jumped in the hot tub on his parents' backyard deck. Now, that is style! The next morning, his mom ran to the store and made us breakfast. It was the first of two times I considered not leaving (read about the second below).

I nearly had to abandon my road trip on only the second day as a result of the two Russian girls who were training at Aikido of Reno. They're in some sort of Cirque du Soleil show in town (holy flexibility Batman!). But, I managed to escape their siren-like calls and, after lunch at a pretty cool sandwhich type place, jumped in the car and drove to Salt Lake City.