advice for those starting the journey...

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[sbrocklebank]

hi all.
allow me to introduce myself. hope you remember my name.

i recently started aikido after years off any martial arts training. i am a canoe and mountain sport coach based in the UK and alps so i like to think that i am physically fit and active. i am training in a dojo in Leeds called Leeds aikiki.

i am finding aikido intriguing, at times frustrating and always really difficult! if you could offer 1 piece of advice (spiritual, technical or otherwise) for those of us starting out the aikido journey of exploration what would it be?

Sim

[justin]

don't beat yourself up over things you can not do with training it will come, seen plenty of people take things to heart just turn up train hard and it will become easier, note i said easier not easy !

and most of all enjoy yourself.

all the best

[Guilty Spark]

Don't get too caught up in the philosophical portion of aikido when starting.
Go to class, enjoy it and have fun.

[stelios]

Relax and enjoy the journey.

[Beard of Chuck Norris]

I agree with Justin; enjoying yourself is the most important thing!

Go in with an open mind and plenty of love with no ego and no aggression.

Problems and frustrations will come and go; patience and perseverance.



Enjoy the journey!

[SeiserL]

i am finding aikido intriguing, at times frustrating and always really difficult! if you could offer 1 piece of advice (spiritual, technical or otherwise) for those of us starting out the aikido journey of exploration what would it be?
Welcome to Aikido.

It was the same for most of us.

Relax, breathe, be patient, and enjoy yourself. You'll get there if you don't take yourself too seriously (humility is a big part of the art).

[Mike Grant]

hi all.
allow me to introduce myself. hope you remember my name.

i recently started aikido after years off any martial arts training. i am a canoe and mountain sport coach based in the UK and alps so i like to think that i am physically fit and active. i am training in a dojo in Leeds called Leeds aikiki.

i am finding aikido intriguing, at times frustrating and always really difficult! if you could offer 1 piece of advice (spiritual, technical or otherwise) for those of us starting out the aikido journey of exploration what would it be?

Sim

Don't listen to anyone on here...

[gdandscompserv]

Don't listen to anyone on here...
:)

[Guilty Spark]

Don't listen to anyone on here...

meaning he shouldn't listen to you, and in theory, should listen to EVERYONE on here??

[Eric Webber]

Constantly be open to change, from both within and out.

[justin]

meaning he shouldn't listen to you, and in theory, should listen to EVERYONE on here??


that's a lovely bit of blending and redirection there :D

[charyuop]

Aikido=Frustration. This is something I have learnt in my 4 month training. It took me almost three weeks to understand something (now as simple as breathing) like moving with the center doing a technique. After that I felt the most powerful man in the world, I thought from now on Aikido will be easy...it lasted 2 days, till next class. Even now Sensei keeps stopping me on every technique finding things I do wrong that I don't even see.
Yesterday we tried a new technique that I had never done (I didn't catch the name of it). All the times we did it not only I have never had Uke tap, but he would stare at me like saying when you start??

Aikido is a continuing chasing. Everytime you think you placed a piece of the puzzle in the right spot here come the next one to figure out. Sensei always tells me that each technique is made of many single parts and it takes time to do them all right, then it takes time to do them with coordination, then it takes time to do them fluent, then it takes time to reach a good misubi (blending) and so on.

So I reached the point that I no longer become frustrated, but I take every class as it comes. I waited 35 years to start Aikido, I don't have to become a Master in 10 days nor never. I just try to sponge the more I can out of an Art that get to love...I am just sorry for my Sensei coz I am sure he must have lost patience not few times with me.

[crbateman]

Simon, it's a long journey. The trick is to relax and enjoy the scenery along the way. Best of fortune...

[Ron Tisdale]

Gianluigi Pizzuto, you learned this after 4 months!?!?!?!? I've been training for more than 10 years and everything you mentioned still happens to me. :D

Get ready for the long haul...

Best,
Ron

[jim312uav]

Bend your knees

[Jill N]

Just like riding a rollercoaster, enjoy the highs, and ride out the lows, everything will change soon enough. Never a dull moment.

[Mike Hamer]

Persit! You cant learn anything if you don't show up to class!

[statisticool]

i am finding aikido intriguing, at times frustrating and always really difficult! if you could offer 1 piece of advice (spiritual, technical or otherwise) for those of us starting out the aikido journey of exploration what would it be?


Hi, I got two bits of advice that have been useful to me (although I approach it from another martial art).

-I'd be vary wary of anyone claiming a special strength, saying it is the basis for this or any martial art, and claiming different ways of moving is the purpose of the training rather than the result of training. But enough about them.

-I'd try to make aikido a large part of your life off the mat as possible too. Practice 'verbal' aikido, adopt the philosophy, understand the itricacies of mental and physical interactions, coach students younger (in practice years) than you in aikido if given permission, etc. Really understand the history and the community of what you practice. This way after doing aikido for 60+ years it won't just be a lot of rolling and throwing or another martial art, it will mean something.

[SmilingNage]

Buy plenty of dogi, atleast 3. Rotate use between the 3, and your dogi will last longer. More importantly, you will have a clean Gi to train in. Good for you and better for your training partners.

Dont leave a wet Gi in your Gi bag to fester into new life form.

Dont leave your Gi in your car when its cold. Unless of course you enjoy a cold Gi misogi before you train.

Ask the question "what happens if I let go?" only after you have a fair degree of understanding of ukemi.

Enjoy,
Bill

[Kevin Beyer]

Train with as many different people as possible. ;)

[senshincenter]

Don't quit.

[gdandscompserv]

Remain humble and teachable.
And watch the feet. :D

[eyrie]

How about just "play"? ;)

When you play, you're relaxed, more focused, happy yet serious, and in the moment...

[Tinyboy344]

"naps are good" my sensei said

[Mark Uttech]

Begin and keep an aikido notebook. It can be very useful to look back and reflect on these notes and first impressions.

In gassho

Mark

[Amir Krause]

Take your time and enjoy the view :)

Concentrate on the aspects you find most interesting for you (be it physical or spiritual) but be aware of your chosen path. Enjoy the learning experience.

Amir

[justin]

Begin and keep an aikido notebook. It can be very useful to look back and reflect on these notes and first impressions.

In gassho

Mark


the note book one is a good bit of advise i have kept one now for two years and always find it funny to go back and look at the things that bothered me.

[charyuop]

Gianluigi Pizzuto, you learned this after 4 months!?!?!?!? I've been training for more than 10 years and everything you mentioned still happens to me. :D

Get ready for the long haul...

Best,
Ron

As I said I learnt that for the first two days hee hee. Yes I learnt to rotate with my center without leaving my arms behind (like in a kotegaeshi) or leaving them on the side (like in a shihonage). But I also learnt that I need leanr to use my center in movements and blend and use the uke center...one thing at the time.
But what is really messing me up now is movements in cordination with uke. For example if I need to slide back when I have hold of uke I feel a real retarded, I lose all my relaxation and fail to make a simple slide.
You should see my perfect posture when I go in a irimi against a shomneuchi...a wonderful posture with elbows wide open hee hee.
When I practice "solo" all the movements come out wonderful (well in my poor judgment), but as soon as you put a uke near me it all goes nuts. Even before the attack I start thinking and now? What hand I raise? Which hand is in front? What side I enter? In what position I have to be after?...oops uke already attacked and of course I end up doing all wrong hee hee.


Anyway, a couple of suggestion that Sensei gave me and I think all new beginners should follow are....don't worry about the throw. The purpose is not throwing Uke, but learning the posture and the correct movements, coordinate movements with uke...and only later on work on throwing uke. And if you need to use all your muscles to do a technique stop and adjust yourself, because for sure you are doing something wrong or more likely you are in a wrong position/posture.

[RoyK]

A collection of tips I gathered and found useful for me and still follow them:

When a new technique is demonstrated, it's helpful to see the footwork of the first demonstration and only on later demonstrations pay attention to everything else. If you don't get the footwork somewhat right, then the hands movement will do you no good.

Even if you think u did something wrong while executing a technique, don't stop and start over - Making mistakes is a wonderful learning and experimenting tool as long as you don't repeat the mistakes and make them a habit.

If the person you're working with is attacking too fast / throwing you too hard, don't feel it's inappropriate to ask them to slow down and take it easy on you. Not everyone who trains in Aikido is the perfect empathic partner, and not everyone has a halo and a pair of wings; some people can be real jerks or very self focused and you don't have to put up with that.

[Wombat]

I have only been training a short while also. I find the frustrations only spur me on and make me love it more. There is some great advice comming out, thank you everybody.

[Daniel Ranger-Holt]

Yeah, this post is great please people keep adding. Im 8 months in and have only just realised what is helping me focus, if you will, is not to think of learning Aikido as having an end.

First few months I kind of thought like this...join club...years and years training...learned aikido... walk out..have self defence. Now i've kind of cut off the end bit...the "walk out have self defence" part, and kind of blended the training as part of something i will always do in my life i will never really get to the end of. Just working it in as something i enjoy doing, not thinking in terms of time.

I can't lie though i am still very impatient and get frustrated by myself despite being told by my sensei to enjoy enjoy have fun have fun. I hopefully soon will get out of that "damn it i must MUST do this right NOW" mindset. I'm getting better...

[Angela Morton]

Remember to watch. I'm only a 5th kyu, and i've been out for two years myself, but watching is important. i learned to back roll through watching. One week i couldn't do it, the next week i was ill but went to watch enstead of taking part. Sensei was describing rolls, i went back into training the next week and just rolled. It may not have been the most elegant of rolls, but i had a grasp through watching that i hadn't had before. I'm rusty at the moment but i'm hoping it'll come back!

Also, i'm terrible at over complicating issues, so i'm told by the blackbelts. Try not to over complicate, even though over complication is really easy to do as a beginner (i see myself as a beginner because there is so much left to do).

[p00kiethebear]

Practice. Ceaselessly, schedule permitting.