My introduction and a question....or two

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[Daniel Kiley]

Hello everybody,
My name is Dan I am new to both Aikido and Aikiweb. I am training in Nihon Goshin Aikido and I have been training in it for about a month.
I recently had a class that gave me such a workout that i could not stop sweating throughout the rest of the class.
I was wondering if people get annoyed with having an extremely sweaty partner in their class that they have to work with.
And also what kind of endurance workouts are there that would help to get my stamina back up.

[Michael O'Brien]

Dan,
Welcome from Nashville, Tn. While sweaty partners can be annoying I guess, it is part of training; I have been the sweaty partner myself on more than one occasion. Our dojo doesn't have a good AC or heating system so spring and fall are great, but winter is cold and summer is hot.

As for endurance training whatever floats your boat is fine. Jogging is good, but can be hard on the shins if you are prone to shin splints. My personal favorite is bicycling. I have a mountain bike and road bike both and bike on the road during the week, then on the weekends hook up with some friends and we travel to some good mountain bike trails.

There is also swimming, aerobics and anything else that will keep your heart rate up for 30 minutes to an hour.

[Tom Liauw]

Hi, Dan!

I'm also a newbie to Aikido. I do sweat alot, but I just try my best to at least keep my wrist area dry by wiping it on my gi every chance I get.

I also have a problem with stamina (checkout my thread in this section). I just came back from my first seminar last weekend and I was pretty beat whenever we have to do continuous throws and I was the uke. No shortcuts for that problem, just cardio conditioning of course.

And be sure to check with your doctor, especially if you are overweight and have high blood pressure (like me). Personally I use the stationary bike, because jogging/running puts too much pressure on my knees.

Thomas

[crbateman]

Welcome aboard. I don't find a sweaty partner nearly as annoying as one who refuses to break a sweat. :D

[xuzen]

Speaking of sweaty uke... I have one story which I cannot forget. It happen a couple of years before. A very hyperhidrosis (medical term for very sweaty people) uke had me in osae pin (the typical pin after nikkyo tech). As I was pinned while lying on my stomach, I can feel the uke's sweat dripping on to my neck. It was the most, unsettling feeling I ever had. Yuck!

[DaveO]

The most annoying thing about sweaty people is when you wrap them up and they squirt sideways...


:D

[Amelia Smith]

Working with a very sweaty uke can be a bit annoying, but it's no big deal. As long as the person has a good attitude, it's forgivable.

The other annoying thing is people who come on the mat stinking like a compost heap and ashtray rolled into one, or (possibly worse) like they dumped a whole bottle of perfume over themselves. That's something they should deal with before imposing it on their training partner (I'm just talking about extreme cases here).

[AikiMatsu]

Hi Dan, Please don't feel bad about sweating, you probably notice more than your partners! Keep a small towel or bandana tucked in your gi or obi and when sensei is demonstrating the next technique, sneak a quick wipe. :)
If you want to get some conditioning outside the dojo, I recommend interval training. Plodding along on a bike or treadmill at a fixed pace won't help you to get where you want to be. Try running for 1 minute and walking for 3 minutes, do that for 1/2 hour. Once you get good at that, run 2 minutes, walk 3 and so on. We've all been there (and some of us are still there). The important thing is to keep at it. Good luck and welcome to the fold.

[Delvin]

I also perspire a lot – Just doing the stretch out and basic walks can get me started. I hope it gets less as I get more use to the workout. But its not something I control.
I am much more put off by things under our control like Dirty finger / toe nails :crazy: :yuck: – keep them clean and trimmed.

[nathansnow]

I don't mind sweat, you're doing something physical and if you're really trying, you're going to sweat. You might just think of bringing a small towel along with you to wipe your face and wrists. You might also try a head band. Ask your sensei first of course, but a head band can help some of dripping sweat on the face!

Good luck and keep training hard!!

[crbateman]

Some people are also medically predisposed to sweating, and not because of weight issues or lack of conditioning. It might serve you well to see an endocrinologist, and there are prescription anti-perspirants. In the meantime, grab a shower before class, and start with a clean gi (and a small towel, as Matt suggests). Nobody can expect you to do more than that, and I think all will understand. And relax. Being overly self-conscious will only make it worse.

[Daniel Kiley]

Well thank you for the information on the Towel in the Gi hint and the endurance training ideas.

[Tom Liauw]

Try running for 1 minute and walking for 3 minutes, do that for 1/2 hour. Once you get good at that, run 2 minutes, walk 3 and so on.

Interesting, I'll give that a try.

[Steve Mullen]

i think thats called a Fatlek, my advice for this knid of training is to look for things that occur consistently (i.e. lamp posts, sign posts etc, tell yourself that you will sprint for so many lamp posts, then walk, then run, then jog and repeat until you can't stand anymore, ah that's a lovely feeling