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I'm from the southeast of England. We talk faster there and rush around more than the rest of the UK (although they would probably say aimlessly). Then my family moved to Yorkshire - in the north. I go there when I go back to the UK. I was there in the summer of 2010 (I gave a seminar at the Asoryu Aikido Club in Huddersfield).
There are regional stereotypes about people everywhere. Yorkshire people have the reputation of being direct, down-to-earth, stubborn and very warm and open once you get to know them. I started wondering if the Yorkshire personality was the ideal personality for aikido. Hmm. Direct is good. That's irimi: entering and closing the distance. Down-to-earth? Good too. It has to be real - any pretence or pretentiousness would be the end. Stubborn? Good too! If you're not stubborn and determined you're not going to get very far in any martial art. But there's another side to that. Stubbornness can be a negative thing too - it must never be just hardheaded and obstinate (just read some of the forums…). Warm and open? That's good too - in aikido you have the feeling of welcoming the attacker with a warm "Irasshaimase!" (what they say in Japan when you go into a restaurant). So this is starting to sound like a theory.
Let's try it for different places. A study in the Wall Street Journal had the starting point: "Why were his neighbors in Texas so relaxed, so courteous, so obsessed with sports? Why did New Yorkers seem so tense and inward-focused, often brusque to the point of rudeness?" Relaxed is good! Courteous is great - all that reigi (bowing and etiquette)! Obsessed with sports? Good physical awareness! Tense? Well let's say aware and alert so that's a good thing, right! Inward-focused? Great concentration! Brusque? No wasted time!
So actually this is all a game. There isn't an aikido type. That's the point. Anyone can do it. Well, any human. If you're a Vulcan maybe you should try something else. Aikidoka don't analyze - they do.
10-21-2010 11:00 PM 
I'm from the southeast of England. We talk faster there and rush around more than the rest of the UK (although they would probably say aimlessly). Then my family moved to Yorkshire - in the north. I go there when I go back to the UK. I was there in the summer of 2010 (I gave a seminar at the Asoryu Aikido Club in Huddersfield). 