AikiWeb: The Source for Aikido Information AikiWeb's principal purpose is to serve the Internet community as a repository and dissemination point for aikido information.
Hello and thank you for visiting AikiWeb, the
world's most active online Aikido community! This site is home to
over 22,000 aikido practitioners from around the world and covers a
wide range of aikido topics including techniques, philosophy, history,
humor, beginner issues, the marketplace, and more.
If you wish to join in the discussions or use the other advanced
features available, you will need to register first. Registration is
absolutely free and takes only a few minutes to complete so sign up today!
Having been so used to struggle I didn't know how to respond to those who 'cooperated' with me as ukes. I thought to myself 'Hey, you made that too easy!' not considering that I didn't even have rank yet. There was an uchideshi there who grabbed my wrist tightly for katate dori tankan and I thought 'Okay, now we're talking.' and I struggled to blend (huh, funny turn of phrase 'struggle to blend'). Sensei asked me 'You did another martial art before, right?' 'Yes, sensei. Karate.' 'Yes, I can see it.'
I felt unfinished by the end of class. I didn't feel comfortable enough to ask anyone if they would train after class, so I watched others. Watching them go sealed it for me. 'This is so cool.' I thought to myself. I'm going to master this art.
I immediately found as many books as I could about aikido. Among them was the book of interviews called Women in Aikido. I read them diligently. I found magazines, one of them with an interview with my sensei; I studied it.
If my body couldn't pick this art up as fast as I could learn Karate, then I'd have to try to make it up another way.