Beginner-training

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[Tiwaz]

I've trained Aikido for a month, and I train once a week (beginner). I've read some things about Ki and meditaion long before I started on Aikido. I think Aikido is really fun, i could train it seven days a week if I that would be possible for beginners.
The question is about how I could train on Aikido(-related things) in the time between the training once a week. I want to train more, so train by myself is the only way I can, but what/how could I train then?..

[DaveO]

You could do what I do - I bought some mats, laid them out on my living-room floor and practice Ukemi and hitori-waza daily, for as long as I want. Bugs the bejeezus out of the guy in the apartment below mine, but I don't like him anyway. (LOL - j/k) :D

Dave

[cbrf4zr2]

Whenever I lead class, I always emphasize footwork, footwork, footwork. And when we're done with that, more foot work.

Get your feet to know how to move on their own, and the rest becomes easy. A few things I did when I started training. Would go out to the beach in the morning after the tide went out, and there were no tracks or foot prints, and I would do "C-Step" after "C-Step" after "C-Step". Then I would see how my spacing was, and if I kept a decent line.

I also would do the "C-Step" on any straight line (a joint in a concrete floor, a line of tiles, anything)

If you can get the proper footwork "perfected" on your own, then you only have to worry about spacing and what you do with your hands when you get to class next.

One last thing, when doing the footwork exercizes, try and keep your center of gravity at the same level the whole time.

[diesel]

Practice your tenkan, tai no tenkan, tai no henko. If your doing deflections, suriage, ukena gaeshe. Practice yokomen and shomen strikes. As it was mentioned before, you could get some mats or just practice ukemi in the yard/field/park. Of course if your doing some paired waza with a friend, people think your fighting and the police might show up :P

Save for the ukemi, I practice the above outside the dojo on daily basis.

Cheers,

Eric

[diesel]

Whenever

I also would do the "C-Step" on any straight line (a joint in a concrete floor, a line of tiles, anything)
What's this "C-Step"?

Eric

[Sam]

You can never start to early with the jo and bokken, hopefully someone can teach you the basic elements and you can practise cutting and footwork. Weapons work really helps with aikido developement.

[SeiserL]

Practice ou tenkan circular stepping. Keep you alignment. Relax, breath, and enjoy yoruself.

Until again,

Lynn

[cbrf4zr2]

The "C-Step".

I guess it depends on style, but it's just the tenkan turn that you would do for kotagaeshi, or a tenkan lead for iriminage, or the figure 8 kokyunage. WE call it a "C-Step" (for the beginners) because the foot that is not planted, makes a C chape when spinning.

Make sense now?

[xaj]

Hi! Im a beginner too, but i usually practise my tenkan, irimi-tenkan(did i get this term correct?i think so.. ) etc..by just doing it when im walkin across the house or doin the housework.. Just imagine theres a attacker coming and follow through.. (i dont do imaginary locks though..just the footwork)

[Jermaine Alley]

Justin,

Do what you practice in class in your head. Mental imagery is really good to practice when you are not in the dojo. At your level, I guess you can start seeing yourself rolling properly. Making yourself round so that no part of your body hits the mat squarely.

I oftentimes imagine my foot work in response to a specific attack.

Or..Practice Seiza or Shikko at home. When i started, i had the hardest time with seiza on my ankles and my knees...and that is with ten years of martial experience under my belt already.

If the "mental imagery" doesn't hit it off for ya, think about watching television at home in seiza for ten or fifteen minutes at a time. When you are done though, do a few leg extensions to keep the cartilidge in your knees strong. I don't know how old you are, but knee, ankle, wrist and back issues/injuries are popular in aikido/jujutsu...do what you can to keep yourself strong while you are still young.

And then you can always ready......

Jermaine

[Dangus]

I agree on the practicing of Seiza at home, that's just something that's good for you anyway, and it prepares your mind and spirit which are the core of Aikido in my opinion.

Practicing the martial aspects of aikido by yourself is fairly hard though and probably not especially useful. Outside of the bokken, there's not a lot to learn on your own. Perhaps this is a weakness of Aikido, who knows.. Don't discount the use of another martial art, one that is highly form based, like karate, or my personal preference, kung-fu(or gung-fu if you will). Many other arts are highly useful for filling in gaps that Aikido misses, especially in leg use, but they also are much easier to do on your own, and as long as you don't let them confuse you too much, they can improve your Aikido just by the physical improvements they provide(coordination, etc.). Also, the discipline is always beneficial.

One overlooked aspect of multi-art training is that it helps keep any one art from becoming too much of a reflex. It forces you to think of each art more carefully, so you don't accidentally mix up moves. That means you remain more conscious of what you are doing. It provides more contrast that way. O Sensei practiced multiple arts IIRC, and look how that turned out...