Hee hee...I'm officially back on the mat, including breakfalling! It feels really great, the three weeks I was off was an absolute nightmare-I honestly felt like climbing the walls sometimes and can't really explain why.
I was a little nervous about going back, especially after the op as I'm still healing. But I was so desperate to get back (very sad I know)that I wasn't going to let the fact that I only had a month to gain back my mat fitness before Summer School this year stop me from at least trying.
Our new dojo is great. We're sharing the dojo with a local jodo club so as a result we have proper competition mats (as comfy as concrete to breakfall on) and lots of space to train.
I've really missed Aikido-I don't just mean that I missed the training, I've also missed the social aspect as well and meeting up with everyone on our first session back was like a reunion almost. It really struck me how close we are as a club despite all the different grades that we have.
I've also recently started training at another Aikido club (with my Instructor's blessing of course)so that I can widen my training experience. I felt a little like a thief in the night at first, like I was betraying my club-even though I had my Instructor's blessing. But I've come to realise the only way to progress in a martial art like Aikido is to train with as many different people as possible.
With training at two different clubs I've come to ask myself-what makes a club a club? Some I suppose would say the dojo and the facilities it offers, but I like a response from a First Dan that I know- what makes a club a club is its members. The place you train is important, you need somewhere-our temporary closure has illustrated that, but you don't need Olympic standard facilities to train-just a few mats but, more importantly, members. Without members there is no club. All members are as valuable as each other; a white belt is as important as a Dan Grade as it is the white belts who bring in fresh blood to keep the club alive-but the Dan Grade is needed to pass on much valued experience.
Sunday, 6 July 2008
Wednesday, 18 June 2008
Chapter 37: Arrgh! A three week break and am about ready to start climbing the walls...
I recently logged on to my blog and realised that I've not posted for a little while. I usually try to only post when something happens or something strikes me to talk about Aikido.
What is really driving me mad at the moment is that fact that I'm off dancing for two weeks and Aikido for three weeks following a minor op. How did I manage fit these activities in around study and work? Like I say, I feel as though I very slowly going mad. What makes it worse is that the club is having a short break at the moment. At the time I thought this was great, you know, have the three weeks off and no catching up to do but now I'm not too sure-at least if there were classes I could go watch.
Oh well, at least I have my dance class to look forward to this week, having had the two week break but I miss the Dojo. Really miss it and I have one more week to wait! Sigh...I wonder if any other people feel as though they're going mad when they can't get out to train?
The thing that worries me the most is why do I miss it? I mean, surely I would welcome a break from bruises and pain for a little while? Nope, obviously not-and its kinda sad, I know. The one consolation I have is that I only have to wait one more week, one more to start training again. One more week!
What is really driving me mad at the moment is that fact that I'm off dancing for two weeks and Aikido for three weeks following a minor op. How did I manage fit these activities in around study and work? Like I say, I feel as though I very slowly going mad. What makes it worse is that the club is having a short break at the moment. At the time I thought this was great, you know, have the three weeks off and no catching up to do but now I'm not too sure-at least if there were classes I could go watch.
Oh well, at least I have my dance class to look forward to this week, having had the two week break but I miss the Dojo. Really miss it and I have one more week to wait! Sigh...I wonder if any other people feel as though they're going mad when they can't get out to train?
The thing that worries me the most is why do I miss it? I mean, surely I would welcome a break from bruises and pain for a little while? Nope, obviously not-and its kinda sad, I know. The one consolation I have is that I only have to wait one more week, one more to start training again. One more week!
Saturday, 10 May 2008
Chapter 36: Tori using Tanto for defence...now this could prove interesting...
At our last session, we were told to try something different...Tori was to defend themselves using 10 different techniques from the Randori kata but using the tanto. Hmmm...Okay, this could prove interesting-I'm not used to defending with a Tanto, only against it-so here goes.
After 20 minutes, of 'Yeah, no, yeah- that might work', we were asked to show what we had come up with to the rest of class. I like this idea, it gets you used to an 'audience' as it were, so its less nerve racking at gradings when all your fellow club members are watching. It was quite interesting how we each interpreted the techniques differently-but if you think about it, if Aikido is developed from Samurai techniques, then you would always have a weapon in your hand whilst executing a technique and therefore in the middle of battle you would constantly change technique to keep yourself alive as everyone knows all the techniques that you know. A frightening observation was everyone's anatomical knowledge of where the vulnerable points of the human body were to hit with a knife-the kidneys, intestines and jugular. But as martial artists, I suppose that knowledge comes as part and parcel of your training, even in a 'peaceful' art like Aikido.
Towards the end, I chose to work on counters for my next belt as I hadn't worked on these for quite a while and was quite rusty. An interesting method of learning was suggested by a Dan grade who basically told me to shut my eyes, attack and then counter. I kinda wondered what the point was...how can I counter? But I soon saw his point-you don't see the technique to counter with,you 'feel' it-in fact practising counters was easier with shutting the eyes then just doing them normally, you can feel the right times when to move and counter. An interesting experience and one I would recommend trying.
After 20 minutes, of 'Yeah, no, yeah- that might work', we were asked to show what we had come up with to the rest of class. I like this idea, it gets you used to an 'audience' as it were, so its less nerve racking at gradings when all your fellow club members are watching. It was quite interesting how we each interpreted the techniques differently-but if you think about it, if Aikido is developed from Samurai techniques, then you would always have a weapon in your hand whilst executing a technique and therefore in the middle of battle you would constantly change technique to keep yourself alive as everyone knows all the techniques that you know. A frightening observation was everyone's anatomical knowledge of where the vulnerable points of the human body were to hit with a knife-the kidneys, intestines and jugular. But as martial artists, I suppose that knowledge comes as part and parcel of your training, even in a 'peaceful' art like Aikido.
Towards the end, I chose to work on counters for my next belt as I hadn't worked on these for quite a while and was quite rusty. An interesting method of learning was suggested by a Dan grade who basically told me to shut my eyes, attack and then counter. I kinda wondered what the point was...how can I counter? But I soon saw his point-you don't see the technique to counter with,you 'feel' it-in fact practising counters was easier with shutting the eyes then just doing them normally, you can feel the right times when to move and counter. An interesting experience and one I would recommend trying.
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