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I had put other posts on the guidelines here, but this one had too many links and pictures. I explored the guidelines for aikido practice for myself as I came to see them as a definition of aikido as the founder wanted it to be.
Some of the guidelines were the same through different translations, but the different translations varied widely on this topic.
Basics are not uniform. While many Yudansha from different associations and lineages have comparable abilities, I came to see beginners in the various associations are offered very different basic practices.
Solo practices are common or even mandatory in some styles; my Aikikai lineage focused more on partner practice. Seiza, Shikko, and Ukemi are important practices - but potentially harmful.
Warmups are not uniformly codified, and in my experience not even uniformly done.
Taiji is taught in several health care facilities in my area, including the cancer center where I work. Aikido doesn't have the same volume of data to support it's use in health care. I love what Janet Rosen has been working on!
My Taiji class has people in wheelchairs, on oxygen tanks, and attached to IV poles participating. The aikido dojo where I train has turned away students for much, much less. How are students with health challenges training in your own dojos?
Are we living up to the promise of O Sensei - "You won't find a healthie
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"The teachings of one's instructors are only to provide a minimum of assistance; applying these through one's own training is the only means of making these teachings one's own." From the 1997 issue of "The Aikido" by Aikido world headquarters in Tokyo. Volume 34, #4. (Really, from the walls of the men's change room at our dojo.)
"The instructor can only impart a small portion of the teaching; only through ceaseless training can you obtain the necessary experience allowing you to bring these mysteries alive. Hence, do not chase after many techniques; one by one, make each technique your own." Budo
"The teachings of your instructor constitute only a small fraction of what you will learn. Your mastery of each movement will depend almost entirely on individual, earnest practice." Aikido
Kisshomaru Ueshiba expounds on this in Aikido:
"The fourth rule relates to the assimilation of techniques. Aikido has a few thousand variations in its techniques. Some students are apt to chase after an accumulation of quantity rather than quality. However when they look back on themselves, they are sorry to learn that they have gained nothing. Soon they lose interest. As innumerable variations of each technique are possible we instructors always emphasize the significance of "repetition" to beginners. When you practice each basic technique, over and over again, you master it and then are able to use the variations."
"When the Founder first came to Tokyo, among his ea
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07-17-2016 06:38 PM 
