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For the last two weeks or so I've been carrying around this thought that as someone who practices Aikido, I not only have the responsibility of preventing my attacker from injury, but also from preventing myself from injury when I *am* the attacker. This is probably very much due to the fact that every major joint on the left side of my body has been injured for the last 6 or 7 months. Simply put, I'm an unavoidable accident.
Friday's training presented me with another accident. I was training with a very eager student and so I very eagerly attacked. The result was an instant reality check. The past two weeks of being totally obsessive about protection seemed to be totally wasted and yet I bet this experience will end up being one of the best lessons I've learned. The lesson is that there is a difference between a committed attack and letting someone be able to shove your nose into their forearm. With a committed attack, you should still be able to react to the technique. This requires balance. You have to be able to extend your attack but not so far that it is out of your own range. I suppose lessons like this really can't be taught.
03-24-2007 10:10 PM 