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The Family of Aikido by Geoff Abbott Before starting my training at Aikido of Champlain Valley, I was no stranger to martial arts. I had studied TaeKwon-Do for around five years with Master Dion. I was much younger at that time, and the competitive nature of TaeKwon-Do appealed to me. I attended numerous tournaments and acquired a respectable amount of medals, but as I grew older my interest began to ebb. I stopped my training just short of attaining my black belt, and to this day I am not quite sure why. It was not long ago that I felt the call to begin my martial training anew. When I started training in Aikido, I knew that it was a powerful martial art. But what I began to realize soon after was that it was much more. Aikido is a way of life, and the students are like a family. When I arrived at the dojo each day, I would be received with friendly smiles and warm greetings by my peers, and at the end of each night we would all work together to clean up the dojo. I came to understand that Aikido evokes the highest level of respect and compassion in a person, and I knew that I was home.