What did you want from Aikido ? what changed ?

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[Unregistered]

As the title suggests - what was it that you wanted when joining a dojo (seriously, please)? what have changed after training ?

[Abasan]

I wanted to train aikido.

Nothing has changed, I just wished there were more seniors to train with.

[Ghost Fox]

To Dance with the Gods.

[markwalsh]

To learn self defence originally. Now I want to fence the self!

My motives change, as does what aspect of the art I'm most interested in at one time, - for health, for fun, for the beauty of it, to sort my head out, for others, an excuse to drink afterwards, whatever.

Did a little study on the meaning of aikido in peoples lives and I suspect that for most people the reasons change, often from the physical to the social/ mental to the spiritual. I think people are drawn to aikido and most of the time we don't know what exactly we want/ need.

What does aikido want from you might be another question?

Mark

x

p.s. Why are you anonymous, if you don't mind me asking?

[Derek Dunham]

I had wanted to learn a martial art for a long time, and a 'net friend suggested Aikido. I watched some videos and was amazed by how the Aikidoka I saw used their bodies to make other people fly through the air and move out of their way. I guess I just wanted to see if I could ever do that... Now, about four months after starting, I guess my reasons for training have changed somewhat. I mainly go to class now because it is fun, and I get a chance to meet and train with some great people at my dojo. Maybe in 15-20years I will be able to make people fly, tho. :D

[Anders Bjonback]

Originally I wanted to learn how to defend myself without hurting the other person. Now, after training for a year, I don't know if it's possible in a real situation, and I don't really know why I keep on training. I guess I train to see my own agressive impulses and work with them, but more than that, I train because I enjoy it. I forget about stress with money and school and am just there with the other person.

[Paula Lydon]

~~To get closer to Magik, following the aiki thread. To find a new dojo community and fellowship.

~~After 7 years I get glimpses of the invisible, feel the subtle, sense the fullness in what we call space. The Magik swirls around and through me, the Unknown is wondrous. And then I lose touch, take a bad fall and bang my knee, feeling heavy, dull, gross, opaque. Get up, keep training and I begin to feel it again...:)

[PhilJ]

I started because I thought I'd like to take a martial art in college, and it sounded neat. THEN I learned quickly Seagal did it, and got giddy.

After about a year, I realized the folly of Hollywood and its protrayal of the art. :)

Then I began to see how aikido could help me with daily affairs and forgiving people.

Then I noticed some of my 'inability' to affect daily life was due to my doing ineffective technique (not because of style, just me).

And finally, it now occurs to me that what I need to use technique on the most is myself, and learn just how I blend with the universe.

I find it funny that I live in the universe, I move about in it, and yet I really don't know it at all. How weird is that?

*Phil

[Don_Modesto]

~~To get closer to Magik, following the aiki thread. To find a new dojo community and fellowship.

~~After 7 years I get glimpses of the invisible, feel the subtle, sense the fullness in what we call space. The Magik swirls around and through me, the Unknown is wondrous. And then I lose touch, take a bad fall and bang my knee, feeling heavy, dull, gross, opaque. Get up, keep training and I begin to feel it again...:)
Yeah.

What she said.

(What Dustin Hoffman's adopted grandfather in Little Big Man said when he failed to predict his own ascent into heaven, "Ah well, sometimes the magic works, sometimes it doesn't.")

[BC]

I just wanted to learn and practice aikido. My goals in that regard haven't changed.

[Dario Rosati]

I was looking for

1) mind-over-body control, an underrated concept in the western world

2) an athletic martial art with almost no focus on offensive tecniques (the opposite of kung-fu and derivatives) and no extreme mat cleaning/extreme fisical contact (judo, bjj, kickboxing ecc)

3) something propedeutic and complementary with classical japanese war weapons arts (like katori)

4) discipline

I tried a lesson of Tai Chi first but for some reasons makes me feel uneasy, sort of "unnatural", and has very few of "martial", imho.

Then I found an aikido sensei highly skilled in Katori Shinto Ryu, who openly uses the precepts of one in the other to clarify things (many aikido techniques are derived from unarmed vs katana combat), and love began...

After only 2 months of intensive practice in a very small dojo and a 6h seminar (so faster improvements for beginners, IMHO) I have found this:

1) increased awareness

2) trained body (not specific of aikido of course, but it doesn't hurt :) )

3) a very cool group of friends (this was probably luck too, but I don't believe this is unrelated... other martial arts praticants, expecially younger ones, have often a very different and selfish/aggressive approach)

4) the wish to start training in Katori, too, a soon as money and time will permit.

I fulfilled points 2 and 3 of my initial wish list simply choosing aikido, and I'm sure that points 1 and 4 (discipline and mind/body full control) are only a matter of time and training.

Just my 2 cents.

[sanosuke]

to unite with the universe........yeah, right. I just want to be a better person, though, both phisically,mentally and in character. little have changed, but tell you the truth i enjoyed the process very much.

[Martin Ruedas]

I was forced to train aikido by my dad, now, he can't pull me out of it!:) I'm not really sure what I want in training in aikido and I guess "not knowing is the most intimate". I just really enjoy it.

[ruthmc]

As a kid I really wanted to learn Judo. I wasn't allowed to (nervous parent was afraid I'd get hurt) :(
So as soon as I got to Uni I signed up for Aikido as that was the closest MA to Judo I could find there :)

I wanted to improve my co-ordination (which was sub-standard due to a hidden disability) and learn a new set of skills. I didn't want to do a competitive sport.

What changed was that I realised that I could eventually learn to do all the amazing things that the seniors were doing. I learned to never say never. Aikido became an important part of my life, and has been ever since.

What's changed recently is that I no longer worry about making mistakes, or not getting something first time. I'll get it eventually, there's no urgency. I'm really enjoying the learning experience without beating myself up over errors anymore :D I see my fellow students getting frustrated with themselves, and watch their efforts being hampered by this frustration. I'm so glad I let that go!

I agree with Mark - why anonymous? You asked some great questions!

Ruth (This path changes all the time)

[bryce_montgomery]

I started aikido because I wanted to learn aikido...and I've continued...while through somewhat "choppy waters" because I enjoy learning....

Bryce

[malsmith]

im a teenage girl so i joined to learn self defense.... but now i have learned so much more than that and i continue to train because of how it makes my mind and "spirit" feel

[Beth Mizuno]

A co-worker was throwing a fit, throwing things around the room, completely incoherent. I was startled to discover how much that frightened me. Realized that I didn't even know how to get out of the way if he threw something at me. Decided that was intolerable. That was 15 years ago. I'm still trying to figure out how to get out of the way.

And besides, I like the interaction, the non-verbal communication. Made some wonderful friends, the kind you would want at your back in a dark alley. Amazing how much you can learn about a person when words aren't getting in the way.

[Huker]

A friend of mine showed my an aikido book a few years ago after he had begun hap ki do training. I flipped through it and thought the pictures looked cool. Last year, for some reason, I bought the same book and read it cover to cover. That's when I decided that aikido was for me. Everything in the book, from the ideals it represented to how the moves were executed spoke to me. Now that I've been doing aikido for a short while, I've seen some of the powerful things it can do. I guess I joined to learn a martial art that I wouldn't be tossed in jail for using when it was called for. I did it for health (university diet is terrible), as well, but I've also learned a bit of grace in the process. I guess to summarize, I joined to gain power and control...hmmm...
Plus tossing people/being tossed is an amazing stress reliever.

[pezalinski]

I wanted to learn a martial art for self defense... I was in college, training to be a teacher, and I knew that a martial artist develops some beta-reflexes to situations, and I didn't want a reflex action to frag some poor kid who was dumb enough to take a poke at me. So Aikido fit the bill perfectly.

That was 20 years ago. I'm still doing aikido today, though I'm no longer a school teacher. My aikido techniques have gotten better, and I know many more of them, but my understanding of AI-KI-DO has expanded to the point where I realize I don't really know much at all about it :hypno:

[cck]

Really wanted to be able to hurt someone after a friend was raped.
Went to observe a couple of different martial arts. When I saw people taking ukemi in aikido - I mean, fly, bam, into the mat, and then jump right up again and run back for more - I was floored. It has since been my goal to learn that. And it makes me happy, I LOVE going to class.

[tenshinaikidoka]

I wanted to learn a martial art that was practical. I was 13 and a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. I thought I could defend myself until I sas attacked by 2 individuals and was unable to do much, even after landing a few kicks. I then started training Aikido. Now at 31 I am still as devoted to Aikido as ever and it has become more of a passion for me with every passing day. The art has given me inner peace in a way that I was not able to find with anything else, wierd and perhaps hokey to say, but true. I also have used it to defend myself on more than one occasion and it was extremely effective. Not much more to say. It is more than a hobby, it is a way of life!!!!!

[Jack Simpson]

After 10 years in other martial arts, I watched an aikido class. I was (and still am) fascinated by the movement of the art. I remember say, "I don't care if I learn any techniques, I just want to learn how to move like that."

Now another 15 years or so have passed in my aikido training and every now and then a throw happens when uke and I are one being. There's no thought, no beginning, no end. That feeling of intimacy in the moment is my addiction.

Jack :ai:

[TheWonderKid]

I always liked Martial Arts and I spent the first couple of years in university without doing anything. I then wanted to get out more and so I checked around and decided to try Aikido. After one class I was hooked. I then wanted to learn as much as I could and learn to defend myself.

Now I'm getting really into the spiritual side of things and I'm finding inner Harmony. I now want to find someway to find that in all things I do.

[AikiSean!]

After researching a few arts of interest I decided on Aikido because I felt it suited my own personallity the best. The only thing thats changed is when I went in, I could never have grasped the amount of respect I would learn for my peers or my sensei. The first teaching of Aikido for me was, respect. Even before ukemi ;p

[bleepbeep]

i wanted to learn something anything together with my boyfriend then. it so happened that i loved it. (1994) now, i cannot imagine life without it. now i love it for the training, the sensitivity, and everything about it. it still excites me to get on the mat everyday.

[McConnell]

Would that hidden disability be hearing loss?

As for me, Aikido has helped me be a bit more relaxed during conflicts.

As a kid I really wanted to learn Judo. I wasn't allowed to (nervous parent was afraid I'd get hurt) :(
So as soon as I got to Uni I signed up for Aikido as that was the closest MA to Judo I could find there :)

I wanted to improve my co-ordination (which was sub-standard due to a hidden disability) and learn a new set of skills. I didn't want to do a competitive sport.

What changed was that I realised that I could eventually learn to do all the amazing things that the seniors were doing. I learned to never say never. Aikido became an important part of my life, and has been ever since.

What's changed recently is that I no longer worry about making mistakes, or not getting something first time. I'll get it eventually, there's no urgency. I'm really enjoying the learning experience without beating myself up over errors anymore :D I see my fellow students getting frustrated with themselves, and watch their efforts being hampered by this frustration. I'm so glad I let that go!

I agree with Mark - why anonymous? You asked some great questions!

Ruth (This path changes all the time)

[mathewjgano]

I wanted to reach the deepest depths of my soul while keeping in mind the very practical, down-to-earth necessity of self-defense. As a highly spiritual person, I've always been attracted to the mystical element in martial arts. As a highly practical person, I've always been attracted to the idea of self-sufficiency in any situation.
Through studying the various martial arts I then picked Aikido with the idea of nurturing both these qualities within myself. I passed over training sooner so that I could train at a place that seemed to fit these two goals equally and I'm glad I did.
What has changed? My sense of dedication to these goals. I've learned that self-improvement is not something you take a class for, but rather something you apply yourself at every moment of your life, if you're doing it properly. In addition to this idea, you take a class to focus on the skills that class involves, but no matter how great the teacher, if you don't apply yourself as both a student to others but more importantly as a student to yourself, you'll not improve much, if at all.
A bit abstract perhaps?...do your best and your best will get better; don't do your best and it will slide backward or stagnate.

[david evans]

I never wanted anything from aikido. I became interested in it after seeing Steven Seagal (come on, so did you), but that is a long time ago.

Aikido, to me, is a time and a place away from everything else, and it has always been that way.

[JamesDavid]

I first trained in a martial art when I was in high school. I was being intimidated by some bullies and wanted some confidence more than anything else. My father enrolled me in the most practical hard self defense course , which turned out to be 99% ju-jitsu. I trained for six months and stopped because of other life demands…

Recently I decided to take up a regular sport
I wanted discipline, self confidence, non competitive or rather a sport where one competes against oneself, some thing that will generally make me a better person, that I can continue for the rest of my life and constantly improve at. I new it had to be a martial art.

.in ten years since I left school I have only been in a self defense situation twice. In both occasions I executed locks taught to me in ju-jitsu. So my immediate plan was to find the best jj dojo in town and check it out…..then I started to research, I mean really research MA. Everything, from what is conflict to the advent of fencing….this art called aikido kept coming up.

To me training in aggression, is just that. I don’t believe you can release anger by yelling!! It just teaches you to enjoy anger. But how can we protect ourselves from violence without knowing and practicing violence ourselves. Aikido? Can aikido do this? I was conceptually hooked. I went to the best (highest ranked instructor) dojo in town. I was just going to watch the lesson….but as I walked inside I was hit with a wave of good will. A kind of sensation that told me that I belonged. There was no conflict within these walls. I joined, paid for teaching and bought a uniform strait away. In retrospect its not surprising that I had such a warm feeling from the place. I now know that the man smiling at me from the counter was Sensei. Each time I train I look forward to that feeling. I train for that feeling.

whats changed? With all the analytical crap about why this is good for me, and how I got here in life forgotten. The answer is simple. I practice aikido because it makes me feel good!!

[Kevin Leavitt]

Good post James! I think you calm anger more with compassion and understanding than you do with more anger. At least that has been my experience. Although it helps to be in control when you can carry yourself with confidence and have that "big stick" handy just in case.

I think that is the paradox of the situation and Teddy Roosevelt seemed to understand it. Walk Softly and Carry a Big Stick.

[Lindsay Donaghe]

I started Aikido because my husband had already started training in it. He had been researching for a while to find a martial art and then a dojo that fit with his philosophy and we both feel lucky to have found the dojo that we're in.

My expectations were mainly to learn to defend myself with the option of not hurting my attacker, as well as getting some excersize in a manner that wasn't as boring or abitrary as going to a gym, and hopefully picking up a little grace in the process.

I had no idea that it would be so much more than any of those things.

In the slightly more than 7 months I've been training in Aikido, I have been extremely pleased with the physical and mental challenges that I've been exposed to. I have learned a great deal about how to deal with frustration (something that I've never had an easy time with); how to deal with ambiguity and contridictions; how to be focused and relaxed at the same time; and that perserverance reaps rewards. And then there are the physical benefits of toning, endurance and coordination.

My expectations have changed in that now I don't really view Aikido as a means to an end, but truly as the trip itself. Training in Aikido forces me to attempt things that I am not initially comfortable with and prove to myself that I can do them. I enjoy the fact that there is ALWAYS something for me to improve on and always will be.

There is so much joy in this art because of the focus on blending and harmony. I am amazed at how difficult it is to relax, but when I do, everything is so much easier. I am constantly amused by how I react to being "beat up" with smiles and laughter. That is what keeps me coming back for more. And the fact that I can carry over so many of the lessons learned to "normal life".

I'm very glad to have found Aikido. I wish that I had found it sooner.

[sjhill1980]

I started aikido out of curiosity and also from watching seagal when I was younger but there were never any dojos that taught it so I studied alot of other styles such as tae kwon do and wing chun not to take anything away from those styles I never felt like I could succesfuly defend myself and after 2 yrs of aikido training I now feel the confidence I have been looking for. I love this art the only thing I wish we would work on is more striking drills because it cant hurt just in case you ever need it

[Tina_Kahina]

i'm a 17 year old girl and my boyfriend has set me back into the place of...i'm smaller than most guys(we wrestle a LOT, just in play, and i lose, miserabley.) I dont like the feeling of helplessness that comes from knowing. "OH! #$*@! i left my mace at home. " i like knowing some form of self defence just in case somebody really did try to hurt me.(i generally forget my mace at home.....)another perk is that it's something that my boyfriend and i do together that we BOTH enjoy with the exception of aiki he and i are complete polar opposites. i did NOT however realize just how attached i was going to get to Sensei and the other people in the class(i actually have created an imaginary version of one of the sempai for when i'm trying to remember a technique ^.~)the thing that changed the most is my self confidence. I've only been taking lessons for around 4 months and i would feel lost without it.