As part of her European tour 2026 Kayla Feder Shihan visited Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht on a dojo tour from 16-18 September, and joined the two-day AFN Friendship seminar in Arnhem on 9-20 September where she taught together with the leading AFN instructors, Piet Lagerwaard and Philippe Notenboom.
These events were themed: “Aikido is a matter of the heart”. This is what Kayla Sensei said about this theme:
“this is something O-Sensei, the founder of Aikido said on many occasions in many different ways. He told us to always practice the Art of Peace in a joyful and vibrant manner, feel love and compassion for our partners, learn from one another, not judge each other, but look inside our own heart and change and polish ourselves . “True victory is self victory. “
During the tour and the seminar, Kayla kept coming back to this theme in her teachings. She practiced the spirit of joy and heart, of enveloping partners with one’s spirit, compassion and love. She reminded herself and Aikidoka attending the seminar to continually open their hearts to one another. As she said: “At this time, I feel strongly that what we need as a human race is to learn to love and accept one another, rather than to compete and fight with one another.” In the same line, Pieter and Philippe demonstrated these principles in relaxed, non-resistant, and centered Aikido practices. Joyful, inspiring, and instructive!
Photographs of the seminar
