View Full Version : Advice to Your Beginner Self
Hi everyone,
If you could send a message back to yourself when you were first starting to train in aikido, what advice would you send back?
(Shamelessly stolen from Slashdot...)
-- Jun
Relax, take your time, slow down for god's sake.
MattRice
02-21-2003, 12:35 PM
don't go to class the night you're going to separate your shoulder!
... put a lot more effort into getting to know that girl you meet at the first seminar.. ;)
And now to something more serious: Don't expect to much in a short time, and don't give up when you loose your patience.
shihonage
02-21-2003, 01:07 PM
Don't quit.
I guess mine got through. Yay !
Hanna B
02-21-2003, 01:26 PM
Care a little bit less. Aikido is not the most important thing in your life...
Forget about the hands , look at the feet.....
John Boswell
02-21-2003, 02:11 PM
"What took you so long to get here? Now get to work and don't take so long this time!" ;)
Nacho_mx
02-21-2003, 02:19 PM
...youŽll be fine.
Alfonso
02-21-2003, 02:26 PM
..stay away from aikido message boards!
erikmenzel
02-21-2003, 02:43 PM
Enjoy and train :D
deepsoup
02-21-2003, 04:50 PM
Do you mind if I cheat a bit?
I'd like to go back a few years before I eventually took up Aikido, and just tell myself to get into the dojo and make a start.
Sean
x
Bogeyman
02-21-2003, 08:03 PM
...don't worry, it will make sense in just 40 or 50 years. :freaky:
Bogeyman
02-21-2003, 08:09 PM
...hopefully.
*Off Topic*
did it make sense Eric?? :)
Paula Lydon
02-22-2003, 10:29 PM
~~Take it all in and allow it to act on you/change you. You were drawn here because this is exactly where you are supposed to be right now. And that extreme roll-out you successfully completed 11 times..? Don't go for number 12! Remember I love you and enjoy yourself. :)
Bogeyman
02-22-2003, 10:48 PM
Some things are starting to but there is a long way to go. I've only been in aikido for 13 years though.
mike lee
02-24-2003, 08:35 AM
Go directly to Japan. Do not pass Go; do not collect $200.
don't worry about not remembering techniques or names - you're teaching your body aikido, not your brain.
Bronson
02-24-2003, 04:49 PM
Just keep showing up.
Bronson
Paula Lydon
02-24-2003, 05:50 PM
~~Good question, Jun. How 'bout you? Hmmm? ;)
Me? I'd probably tell myself that there's no shame in outgrowing a dojo and that it's OK to find a more suitable environment for my own growth.
Also that an environment in which questioning, both verbally and physically, what I'm being taught and experiencing is an important process...
-- Jun
Andrew Wilson
02-24-2003, 11:44 PM
Dont eat beans before training.
Largo
02-26-2003, 07:55 PM
Mine would be something from before I started Aikido- "Don't do Muay Thai"
SeiserL
02-27-2003, 08:43 AM
If you could send a message back to yourself when you were first starting to train in aikido, what advice would you send back? Jun
"Empty"
Until again,
Lynn
Hi folks,
I thought I'd revive this thread and ask the question again of everyone here:
If you could send a message back to yourself when you were first starting to train in aikido, what advice would you send back?
-- Jun
James Davis
04-02-2007, 10:08 AM
I'd probably tell myself something like,
"Your friends only listen to you when you talk about aikido because they love you. Stop running your trap so much and ask them more about what they're doing.":D
SeiserL
04-02-2007, 10:16 AM
Relax, breathe, and have a good time. This is going to take a lot longer than you thought. But, it will be worth it.
kironin
04-02-2007, 03:30 PM
Don't be such a perfectionist. Relax and just enjoy being there. Savor the time and don't take yourself so seriously.
Keep your life balanced. Don't spend all your nights at the dojo.
If you happen to meet someone and get involved in a romance and they don't have good relationship with their parents and you don't get invited to visit, treat that as a warning sign. Also you will hit plateaus in your akido progress, be patient and keep training, you will make breakthroughs. Also finding yourself on a plateau in a relationship is not the same thing, you are either moving forward or moving out. Patience will only delay and make the pain greater. Make your self a priority in either case. You are responsible for your own safety. Trust but always stay alert. Always be ready for the unexpected atemi.
:rolleyes:
mjhacker
04-02-2007, 03:44 PM
Either
1. Stop doing Aikido and find a good Judo teacher
or
2. Leave Japan and move to Arizona NOW.
Jerry Miller
04-02-2007, 07:24 PM
Do not forget about aikido. Look for a new Dojo. There might just be one. You can't control the other stuff in life but you can do this.
Thalib
04-03-2007, 01:18 AM
"I can't believe how stubborn and arrogant you are..."
Thalib
04-03-2007, 02:00 AM
And I'm still telling that to my present self too...
Jory Boling
04-03-2007, 02:29 AM
don't stop training, she's not worh it!
of course, at the time, i would've asked myself back, "who isn't?"
delphinus
04-03-2007, 08:14 PM
"you're not that good...get over yourself"
more to myself after a year of training than right at the beginning
mjchip
04-03-2007, 08:27 PM
Preserve your body......
Mark
Princess Rose
04-03-2007, 10:16 PM
Two things:
Shut up and listen to your body, nobody can tell you what works for you. Find your own aikido.
Don’t get heartbroken when all the people your age quit. Some of your best friends will be 20-40 years older than you.
Amanda
04-04-2007, 03:11 AM
Firstly I'd go back and tell myself to take my friend up on his offer of taking me to the dojo sooner. Secondly i tell myself not to worry you won't feel like you have three left feet and no sense of balance after the first month or so.
Well not all the time anyway :D .
I'd probably also tell myself the same things I tell myself at every session. Have fun, don't rush, you're learning even if you don't think you are.
Then again i'm only 18months or so into training so advice from my future self would be appreciated.:D
Mary Eastland
04-04-2007, 05:27 AM
You are doing fine.....
Mary
ChrisMoses
04-04-2007, 08:51 AM
Don't believe their crap! Your teacher is not a daimyo! Look elsewhere now before it's too late! Aikiken is not kenjutsu! Run away!
Marc Abrams
04-04-2007, 09:29 AM
BUDO IS NOT MUSCLE! Deep breath, relax, experience the moment (not you just me, but me and my partner).
marc abrams
ramenboy
04-04-2007, 03:39 PM
'shut up and practice'
CitoMaramba
04-04-2007, 04:26 PM
"42"
'shut up and practice'
Ditto.
David
Mark Uttech
04-05-2007, 04:17 AM
"Treasure yourself. Keep going."
In gassho
Mark
Beard of Chuck Norris
04-05-2007, 08:32 AM
Only have one pie.
peace and love
jo
Takumi
04-05-2007, 08:47 AM
Relax & don't beat yourself up if you don't get it right away, it will come. :)
Tony Wagstaffe
04-05-2007, 09:41 AM
When I first started aikido I had no idea what it really involved other than it was a Japanese martial art..... that was it! A black belt seemed to me something you got after about 20 years as I didn't really understand what ranking was really all about.... but I soon got into it and did not worry about what grade I had as I was handling things pretty well having found it easier than judo, boxing, karate and gung fu that I had practised before.... After around 3-4 months I secretly felt and knew that I could outmanouver those that had been there 2-3 years practising within the club I was in at that time, even though I only had a few aikido techniques (I kept quiet about the other stuff that I had previously done). The black belt running the club at that time made a reasonable impression on me and actively encouraged me to go all out for it... as he sussed out I could do more than I was letting on.... This I have done ever since.... including a bad time that I went through after a bad accident on the mat in 1979 which took 2 years to overcome.
My own advice to me.... do as you did before... practice as hard as you can but with a little more of your own safety in mind!!
franklaubach
04-08-2007, 01:50 PM
just do it.
enjoy
no mind.
mu.....
DivinePrincess
04-08-2007, 03:10 PM
Just Do It...like Nike...
What if there are barrier's that prevent you from getting what you want?
Preventing you from Just doing it...
Then what do you do?...
Improvise?
franklaubach
04-08-2007, 09:32 PM
be patient
re-direct.
aikido is not meeting the onrushing force head-on.
after it has passed
.............continue.
......
CatSienna
04-09-2007, 09:56 AM
This is a good thread.
Mostly I'd wish for myself that I was less self conscious and more able to laugh at myself and the situation I was in. But I also know I had to grow through it and telling myself that would not have helped. So there's actually little advice that I could usefully have offered myself other than to do the one thing I just kept doing which was to show up and keep growing with the help of my dojo mates and my sensei.
It's like a mustard seed: the tiniest of seeds can grow into an amazing tree if you but let it, and it'll happen almost without you or anyone else being aware of it.
tarik
04-09-2007, 10:17 AM
Get tested sooner for arthritis to prevent loss of mobility and unnecessary injuries.
tarik
04-09-2007, 03:45 PM
Get tested sooner for arthritis to prevent loss of mobility and unnecessary injuries.
Oh yeah, and sell that stock back in 2000 so you can just train for the rest of your life! The rest will follow in time. :cool:
ikkitosennomusha
04-13-2007, 06:24 PM
To always cultivate a beginner's mind.
gdandscompserv
04-13-2007, 06:49 PM
Appreciate what I have.
Ken Zink
04-17-2007, 03:37 AM
"move from your back, extend through your feet and don't bail!"
happysod
04-17-2007, 08:01 AM
Damned if I'm talking to that arrogant little snot - I suffered so so should he!
On a corollary - how many of you think your younger selves would have taken the advice and not just said- "god, you've got fat!"
jennifer paige smith
04-18-2007, 07:32 AM
I'd send the message (perhaps, rather than advice)
Welcome Home!
Marie Noelle Fequiere
04-18-2007, 12:45 PM
Just Do It...like Nike...
What if there are barrier's that prevent you from getting what you want?
Preventing you from Just doing it...
Then what do you do?...
Improvise?
The only barrier is your mind. The only victory is over yourself.
Me? I'd probably tell myself that there's no shame in outgrowing a dojo and that it's OK to find a more suitable environment for my own growth.
Also that an environment in which questioning, both verbally and physically, what I'm being taught and experiencing is an important process...
-- Jun
"Outgrowing a dojo?" Sounds like you eventually became incompatible with your dojo. Questioning physically? Would you expand on these two ideas. I'm trying to understand what you mean.
DaRa
Jax, FL
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