Practicing Alone

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[OwlMatt]

On days you don't train at the dojo, what kind of aikido exercises do you do on your own?

[FiuzA]

None. I believe the dojo is the one place where one can truly train Aikido in its whole essence. At least the technical one, of course.

[Janet Rosen]

Breathing, centering and movement work + solo weapons work.

[Marie Noelle Fequiere]

Mostly jo and sword kata (with my old wallhanger :) )
I also practice shomen and one handed yokomen. I do those both right and left handed for the sake of symmetrical muscle development.
I also do a lot of back, abdominal exercises, and also hips and ribcage isolations. They're really jazz dance exercises, but they work very nicely the muscles around my hara. ;)
Oh, and I also do this Tai Chi exercise where you pretend to be hugging a tree, and you pivot your upper body without moving your lower body. This one is also very good for building a strong hara.

[dps]

These when physically able to.

Tegatana No Kata
http://www.kazeutabudokai.com/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=69&sid=341d874a841c2323ca654a9518086657,

Ki Exercises
http://www.bodymindandmodem.com/KiEx/KiEx.html

and at the beginning of the book " Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere" by Westbrooke and Ratti chapter six, page 113, is some preliminary and basic exercises.

dps

[lbb]

Sometimes suburi and weapons forms, but that's only when weather permits -- I don't have any ceilings high enough to train indoors :-D Otherwise it's just the physical activity du jour, which is not aikido.

[kironin]

Breathing exercises, meditation, weapons, hitori waza

[Demetrio Cereijo]

Push walls and door frames.

[grondahl]

Apperently you are supposed to train like this:
Personal training is important no matter what art you practice. You should create your own training program, starting with running. In my twenties and into my thirties I used to get up at 5:30 every morning and run about fifteen kilometers. When I finished that I went home and practiced striking a bundle of sticks with a bokken (wooden sword).

From http://www.aikidojournal.com/article?articleID=88

But I´m a slouch so:
Directly related: bukiwaza (ken & jo suburi, jo-kata and other drills)

Complimentary: running, core and strenght-training, flexibility-training, relaxing exercises.

[chillzATL]

Most days, at some point, I will stand with purpose, do some breathing and stretching and then spend some time pushing/pulling on a thick elastic band. I often find myself randomly doing things like suburi with household items, laboring over an aspect of a taiso or exploring a specific feeling when doing something like opening a door, taking out the trash, etc.

[phitruong]

Most days, at some point, I will stand with purpose,

most days i don't stand around with purpose, because my wife would purposely tell me "why aren't you cook dinner?", "why the laundry not done?", "why aren't you in bed working on karma sutra position #213?", and so on. and my answers would be "yes dear!" "yes dear!" "right away dear!"

so practice alone isn't an option moi. that's only available for unattached male. :D

[chillzATL]

most days i don't stand around with purpose, because my wife would purposely tell me "why aren't you cook dinner?", "why the laundry not done?", "why aren't you in bed working on karma sutra position #213?", and so on. and my answers would be "yes dear!" "yes dear!" "right away dear!"

so practice alone isn't an option moi. that's only available for unattached male. :D

Just say "woman, I'm standing on a floating bridge between heaven and earth and can't be bothered right now!". I'm sure she'll go for it, except for that last one. "right away dear!"is the best response for that particular demand.

[Janet Rosen]

One must always attend to the marital arts....

[OwlMatt]

Apperently you are supposed to train like this:

From http://www.aikidojournal.com/article?articleID=88

But I´m a slouch so:
Directly related: bukiwaza (ken & jo suburi, jo-kata and other drills)

Complimentary: running, core and strenght-training, flexibility-training, relaxing exercises.

I have heard some aikidoka say that running puts extra stress on knees that already get more than their fair share from aikido itself. Does anyone have a take on that?

[Tony Wagstaffe]

On days you don't train at the dojo, what kind of aikido exercises do you do on your own?

Inside
100 slow squats.
up to one hundred push ups, 30 - 50 on the back of the wrists.
40 squat kicks (mae geri)
40 hiza ate, or knee strikes
40 heel of palm strikes
40 elbow strikes
40 oizuki (thrust punch)
40 stacato punches (wing chun)
40 yokomen uchi

Tandoku undo repeat 5 times
Unsoku undo " "
Tai no henko 50

Outside weather permitting
500 - 1000 suburi bokken and jo

Every other day Isometric/Isotionic exercise

No wonder I feel knackered....:mad: