Welcome to AikiWeb Aikido Information
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.

Sections
home
aikido articles
columns

Discussions
forums
aikiblogs

Databases
dojo search
seminars
image gallery
supplies
links directory

Reviews
book reviews
video reviews
dvd reviews
equip. reviews

News
submit
archive

Miscellaneous
newsletter
rss feeds
polls
about

Follow us on



Home > AikiWeb Aikido
Go Back   AikiWeb Aikido Forums > AikiWeb AikiBlogs > jxa127's Blog

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!

jxa127's Blog Blog Tools Rating: Rate This Blog
Creation Date: 02-09-2005 02:53 PM
jxa127
Offline
rss2
Blog Info
Status: Public
Entries: 109
Comments: 18
Views: 214,569

In General An outsider's view of aikido... Entry Tools Rate This Entry
  #36 New 10-03-2003 10:29 AM
This past Saturday (9/27/03), I attended the 2003 AAA Eastern States Camp. I'll soon be posting some thoughts on the seminar and a link to a report I wrote. Meanwhile, I thought it would be interesting to share some of my wife's observations of the seminar. Robin wanted to get away for the weekend, and even though she doesn't study aikido, she decided to go with me to the seminar. She even offered to drive! This wouldn't be the first time she saw aikido practice, but it would be the first time she's seen people outside my dojo practice.

Before falling asleep in the hotel room Friday night, Robin and I watched a martial arts competition on ESPN. We only caught the kata competitions and frankly, I was under whelmed. The contestants marched onto the mat and barked their names and the type of kata they would each do. Two women did bo kata that were pretty impressive, but reminded both Robin and me of band front twirling. One guy did a sword kata with a katana that included throwing the sword in the air and catching it again -- God help us all. One guy did what looked like a fairly traditional Kung-fu style chain whip kata that looked fantastic. It reminded me of what I saw in "Iron & Silk." One thing all contestants had in common was that their kiai were exceptionally loud and the made angry faces while shouting.

With this fresh in her mind, Robin showed up to watch the last part of the morning session, the dan tests, and a portion of the afternoon session of the aikido seminar. Robin's first observation was how relaxed and happy everyone was. This was in stark contrast to what she saw on T.V. the previous evening. She noticed that there was a lot of grinning and laughing; even during technique and randori, most of us seemed calm and relaxed.

Two of the people testing for nidan were rather petite women -- like my wife. Robin was very impressed to see them do the randori portions of their tests. Robin was very impressed with the calmness and creativity she saw. In the afternoon, Robin got to see me do two-man randori and she said that I looked very gentle! I certainly didn't feel that way, but I didn't feel overly aggressive either.

Robin really like Sato sensei's brief lectures on randori. She especially liked his point that randori is about letting go. That if we get caught up in a single attacker, or linger too long to watch our beautiful throws, we'll get blindsided by another attacker. He stated that this is analogous to life where things just aren't going our way. In response, we have to let go of what we think should happen, and adapt to what is happening.

Overall, Robin was very impressed with what she saw, and I was gratified to hear her impressions of the seminar.
Views: 792



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:58 AM.



vBulletin Copyright © 2000-2024 Jelsoft Enterprises Limited
----------
Copyright 1997-2024 AikiWeb and its Authors, All Rights Reserved.
----------
For questions and comments about this website:
Send E-mail
plainlaid-picaresque outchasing-protistan explicantia-altarage seaford-stellionate