Studying aikido
I just tested for my 2nd kyu (brown belt) in Aikido. I passed, which certainly made me happy, as it was a long ( 1 1/2 hour) and difficult test involving body arts and weapons. I wish I could devote more time to it. I need to train for 300 days before I can take my next test, and then 300 (or 400 not sure which) more training days before I can test for my black belt. It seems like a long jouney. But with 2 young children (boys 13 & 11), a happy marriage (unlike the previous one), and a demanding job, time is hard to find, especially at class times of 10AM and 6 or 7PM.
Aikido is not an agressive art: it does not involve attacking someone, rather blending with and redirecting the energy of someone attacking you. It can be very meditative: it has been referred to as meditation in motion, and sometimes I quiet my mind and achieve that. When I was younger, I studied a "hard" form of karate, and judo. Both were too competetive for my taste (now). The karate was also too violent, certainly in intent: when I left university I stopped doing karate, at first because I couldn't find a dojo with the same style, but later I realized that it just didn't fit me. I studied judo both in university and afterwards, but I contracted Lyme disease and was unable to do much of anything for 4 years. Afterwards, the Dojo I had studied at closed, and the other dojos nearby were too interested in competition for my taste. I studied yoga for several years, and I still enjoy going to the occasional class, but it wasn't physical enough.
Aikido, with an emphasis on self, does not hold competitions. One trains with a partner, rather than an opponent, a huge distinction. In karate and judo, one trains with an opponent.
I am also fortunate in that the sensei (instructor) is amazing. He teaches aikido full time, is unbelieveably good at it, and embodies all the best qualities of a human being. He has also become a good friend.
Aikido is not an agressive art: it does not involve attacking someone, rather blending with and redirecting the energy of someone attacking you. It can be very meditative: it has been referred to as meditation in motion, and sometimes I quiet my mind and achieve that. When I was younger, I studied a "hard" form of karate, and judo. Both were too competetive for my taste (now). The karate was also too violent, certainly in intent: when I left university I stopped doing karate, at first because I couldn't find a dojo with the same style, but later I realized that it just didn't fit me. I studied judo both in university and afterwards, but I contracted Lyme disease and was unable to do much of anything for 4 years. Afterwards, the Dojo I had studied at closed, and the other dojos nearby were too interested in competition for my taste. I studied yoga for several years, and I still enjoy going to the occasional class, but it wasn't physical enough.
Aikido, with an emphasis on self, does not hold competitions. One trains with a partner, rather than an opponent, a huge distinction. In karate and judo, one trains with an opponent.
I am also fortunate in that the sensei (instructor) is amazing. He teaches aikido full time, is unbelieveably good at it, and embodies all the best qualities of a human being. He has also become a good friend.
posted by Dragonsbane at 1:41 AM
2 Comments:
Congratulations Dragonsbane!!!
It sounds a particularly interesting discipline, I like the idea that you train with a partner rather than an opponent, and that you have gained a lifelong friend in the sensei.
Sounds like a long test, congrats again on passing.
Yeah, the absolute truth of it is one has to have a good trainer to work with. I had attempted to learn akido in Indy, but was finding myself directed to a more striking, aggressive branch and was not happy at all with it.
Would rather be as benign as possible but able to defend against brute force without neccessarily maiming someone who may have not had the common sense to just live alongside other folks and other ideas.
Having a good instructor is also having a good student and I hope you both grow well into knowledge.
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