Chapter 4: That was the easy part…. Now comes the big Ukemis!

Okay, Aikido is pretty amazing, but it does get really tough. After my first grading came my nemesis: the forward ukemi. Anyone who already practises Aikido will know how horrible these are for beginners- its not a proper roll! At least- not in the sense of the word ‘roll’. You imagine that you’re a wheel, and you take off, rolling along an extended arm, down the spine and onto the opposite hip- easy! Not!
I did not get rolls. I kept going over on my side. Unfortunately, I needed them for my next belt, so in the run-up to my next grading, I was basically a rag-doll, throwing myself at anything (and being thrown) into these things.
Then came the ‘night’. The night I was to grade. I was scared no scratch that, petrified. I wanted to run away but I couldn’t- I had come to far to let one little ukemi get the better of me.
It was also a cold night, my circulation cut out waiting to go up onto the tatanmi- I couldn’t feel my feet or my hands or anything (part from fear of course). However, despite having no circulation, a stomach of butterflies and a feeling of wanting to run far far away, I did my roll well, sort of anyway. But I did get my belt! I was now an official coloured belt-break out the champagne!