Helping others move more effectively in the world

When asked what five items he would take if he knew he was going to be stranded on a deserted island for six months, Darrell Bluhm, age 56, answers, "a wok, a fishing pole, a water filter, the Tao Te Ching, and a good hat." Not surprising answers coming from the quiet and grounded man, who, among other things, teaches and practices Aikido, Tai Chi, and The Feldenkrais Method. From his dojo on East Main, Darrell takes us on a brief journey down his life path.

Photos by Debi Smith

DT: Please tell us a little about your early years: your family, where you lived, what your interests were.

Darrell: I was born in Biloxi, Mississippi, and moved around the country until age 10 when we settled in Livermore, California. My father was a Master Sergeant in the Air Force and my mother, among other jobs, worked as a supply clerk for the V. A. hospital. I have one brother, who now works for the Forest Service in DC.

I was interested in sports, drawing and cartooning, hunting and fishing with my father, and I loved biology. I thought I'd be a field biologist when I grew up. Instead, I graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a degree in Psychology, which allowed me to pursue my interest in Aikido and related areas.

DT: What brought you to Ashland?

Darrell: I moved here in 1983 with my first wife and three children after many years of visiting my brother and being drawn to the beauty of the area. I founded Siskiyou Aikikai the same year.

DT: Please explain Aikido, and what precipitated your interest in it.

Darrell: My high school wrestling coach introduced me to yoga, which sparked a life-long interest in Asian approaches to physical/spiritual practices. Later, I was captivated by an Aikido demonstration my first day at UC Santa Cruz and immediately signed up for a class.

Aikido is a non-competitive Japanese martial art, often promoted as an art of self defense. However, while it contains all the necessary elements of attack and defense, its method of practice embodies deeply ethical principles directed towards cultivating caring, responsible, and responsive people. Aikido is all about joining with somebody, about being linked together and entering into a relationship. It's a very different way of perceiving. In fact, the person who developed Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969), wrote, "True budo is a work of love. It is a work of giving life to all beings and not killing and struggling with each other ... Aikido is the realization of love."

I began my training in 1970, including training at Hombu Dojo (Aikido World Headquarters), and later, as a student of T.K. Chiba--a direct disciple of the founder of Aikido. In 1996 I was awarded the rank of 6th dan (black belt) and in 2002, Shihan (master teacher).

My youngest son Jason (age 15), and spouse of 19 years, Cindy Eggers, are both active in the dojo. We have practiced Aikido together in several countries, including Canada, France, Greece and Japan.

DT: You also practice and teach Tai Chi and the Feldenkrais Method.

Darrell: I began the practice of Tai Chi Chuan in 1971 under the direction of Master Choy Kam-Man of San Francisco and was awarded a teaching certificate in 1989. This has become my primary meditative practice and is a perfect complement to Aikido training.

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I became familiar with Moshe Feldenkrais' writing while in college and was especially attracted to the Method because of its link to martial arts. Feldenkrais was a highly accomplished Judo practitioner as well as an engineer and physicist with an insatiable curiosity about learning and the role of movement in our capacity to act effectively in the world. I graduated from a four-year Feldenkrais training program in 1996.

I now offer classes and private instruction in the Feldenkrais Method, and this will be my fourth year working the Method with the acting company at OSF. Along with supporting improved self-expression and creativity, the Method helps people recovering from injury or facing other physical and neurological challenges.

DT: What changes do you envision for your practice and teaching of these arts in the coming years

Darrell: My interest is in integrating the methods and practices I am presently teaching in ways that allow me to work with individuals more effectively and to create workshops and tutorial programs for those who want to perceive and engage the world through their bodies more fully. If I had the resources, I'd also build and staff a martial/movement/cultural arts retreat center.

Currently helping to further these ideas is the Siskiyou Cultural Arts Institute (SCAI), a non-profit organization that supports greater access to culturally enriching experiences in the Rogue Valley, especially those associated with traditional martial arts, related aesthetic arts, and movement education. The SCAI has provided summer camps for children, scholarships for students at Siskiyou Aikikai, and sponsored cultural events and workshops in basketry and Japanese calligraphy, flower arranging, and cooking. We are currently raising money to support an Aikido cultural exchange program for teens in Kyoto this coming July. Three of our young students and six others will have a chance to study Aikido and Japanese culture for 11 days under the direction of Yoko Okamoto Sensei, 6th dan, at her dojo in Kyoto.

DT: Aside from these interests, what else do you enjoy?

Darrell: Western fencing, Shodo (Japanese calligraphy), Ikebana (flower arranging), fly fishing, cooking, traveling, and reading everything from mysteries to current brain research. And, in addition to my son Jason, I also have four grown children ( Nikos, Robert, Rosie, and Torin) and seven grandchildren who I enjoy spending time with.

DT: What is the most important thing you've learned on your path so far?

Darrell: I don't know anything, I never did know anything . . . but I hope I can keep learning until the end!

The Siskiyou Cultural Arts Institute will present "Learning in Action," an open house at Siskiyou Aikikai on Friday, February 23, from 5:30 to 7:30. For more information call 482-5435 or go to www.siskiyouaikikai.org.

Debi Smith is an Ashland based freelance writer. She may be reached at debi@mind.net.