completely new to aikido

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[Ryan]

Hello all,

I've been lurking for a few weeks, so I thought I would introduce myself. I've only been taking Aikido for two weeks now, so I'm totally new. Other than going to class I picked up a copy of "Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere", which I am slowly working my way through.

I'm just recovered from a motorcycle accident earlier this year, and my physical therapist suggested martial arts for flexibility and some strength maintenance. I did some looking, and Aikido looked like something I could get into without being in top-condition, as well as something that could have non-physical benefits for me too. Needless to say, I discussed all this with my Sensai before starting to train. I'm hoping it can be a healthier / less dangerous hobby than motorcycling (FWIW, I was hit by a careless driver that was making an illegal turn - watch out for motorcycles everyone!).

Any suggestions for the complete newbie? Any other books that might be helpful to me? I know learning comes from practice, but right now all the names of forms and defenses are still a bunch of random syllables to me, so I'm hoping reading can help me with some terminology to organize these things in my brain a bit.

Anyhow, I've enjoyed browsing the forum so far, so I just thought I'd introduce myself.

-Ryan

[akiy]

Hi Ryan,

Thanks for your introduction! I've been to Tempe a couple of times so far and have enjoyed myself there. Welcome to the AikiWeb Forums.

-- Jun

[Ryan]

Jun,

Yeah, it's great most of the year, except for midsummer when the temperature (dry heat or not) gets up there. I've only been here for a couple of years, so I'm by no means a native.

-Ryan

[PeaceHeather]

Ryan, good to see someone joining aikido to help them with their overal fitness. I just had an instructor imply that I couldn't do aikido *because* of my overall fitness, so hearing that you're doing it is kinda like a karmic thumbing-my-nose about it. Heh.

Welcome!
Heather