On February 2-3, 2024, Aikido of Charlotte had the honor of hosting Penny Bernath, 7th Dan, Shihan, USAF Technical Committee. About 80 aikidoka gathered from NC, SC, VA, TN, VA, TX, PA & CO for 6 high-energy Aikido classes. 2 classes were taught by seminar host, Jonathan Weiner, 5th Dan, Shidoin with 4 from Penny Bernath, 7th Dan, Shihan. In addition to the big turnout on the mat, what made this event so special was at the same time, 360 Visuals was producing a documentary called Penny Earned: A Woman's Aikido Journey about our guest instructor. Friday's filming consisted of capturing her story along with some action sequences. Lastly, Penny Bernath Sensei taught a class that was filmed. As we moved into Saturday, we took a group photo, and 5 more classes. By the end of the day, and all the work on the mat filming and practicing we were all ready to go next store to 360 Visuals Studio for the Potluck. On Sunday we went back to the studio for the Portrait Photography session. This image will be part of the movie poster. I want to thank all that were involved in this project, my 360 Visuals Crew, our dojo, ukes that came in early for filming & every single person that made it to the seminar. I can't wait to show the final cut of this documentary!
Aiki Best,
Jonathan Weiner
Chief Instructor 5th Dan, Shidoin
Aikido of Charlotte