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In General
It's a lot like dancing (because it *is* dancing).
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#207
05-26-2006 11:54 AM |
For the past five weeks, Jon and I have been taking a weekly Beginner's Ballroom Dancing class in our "copious" free time on Friday nights. Believe it or not, it was *his* idea! After a long day of work, (which often includes working out and then Aikido) we dance our tired feet off. Naturally, with our mutual background, the first thing that came to mind was that we could actually get pretty good at it and so far, so good. With just another three weeks left to the class it's been fun, challenging and above all, way more of a complement to Aikido than we thought it would be.
To begin with, there's all the leading. Counterintuitive as it was, I had to give up on the feminist idea of moving autonomously (at least on the dance floor). The guy has the lead. The fascinating thing about it is *how* he leads. My Aikidoka friends here will know exactly what I'm getting at: the male partner leads the movement of the pair through the changes he makes in his frame (posture) and the pressure he maintains on his female partner's back; he also guides the female partner through turns and other movements by maintaining a certain tension on her hand to lead her forward and guide her back. At higher levels of proficiency, the partners communicate purely through movement by maintaining and changing the tension in their points of contact --- all without choreography, all without saying a word. *Very* cool. *Very* Aiki.
I'm also getting to see "Sensei" from another perspective. For once, Jon is the bumbling newbie with two left feet, starting out at square one just as I am. It's led me to appreciate even moreso how he must have worked exceedingly hard to get to where he's at with Aikido --- that he wasn't one of those gifted and mythical "naturals" that had it easy...it's led me to likewise see more clearly where he comes from when he explains Aikido techniques; that it comes from years of learning what works and what doesn't from his own experience. I just hope some of the newbies in the dojo take it to heart when he tells them that Aikido is a helluva lot of work and that they need to train hard if they want to get far with it. I'm certain that knowing how Sensei was genuinely once struggling just like they are would have a great impact on the way they train now. I know it must be tough to believe without seeing it for their own eyes, but it's true!
So far, I think our biggest challenge has been timing. Ah yes, yet another Aiki-related aspect. Overall, Jon is wonderfully coordinated, but (poor guy) struggles with rhythm. Darn that Baptist, "Dancing-is-the-work-of-the-devil!" conditioning. Fortunately, I don't have the same problem...Filipinos love to shake their booty. :-D So needless to say, it's also been a great test of my patience. It's the old perfectionist, overachiever in me that likes to forge ahead independently and sink or swim on my own --- ballroom dancing, however, just doesn't work that way. It's all together as a team or nothing.
In spite of all the challenges (we're both self-deprecating perfectionists after all), we're having fun --- I'm loving the Tango like you wouldn't believe and we seem to be getting more compliments than corrections from our instructors and other couples. Only time will tell how far we eventually want to take it. You never know.
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