AikiWeb: The Source for Aikido Information AikiWeb's principal purpose is to serve the Internet community as a repository and dissemination point for aikido information.
Hello and thank you for visiting AikiWeb, the
world's most active online Aikido community! This site is home to
over 16,000 aikido practitioners from around the world and covers a
wide range of aikido topics including techniques, philosophy, history,
humor, beginner issues, the marketplace, and more.
If you wish to join in the discussions or use the other advanced
features available, you will need to register first. Registration is
absolutely free and takes only a few minutes to complete so sign up today!
eep! Not last ever, but last before I move. It'll take me a couple of attempts to work out how to drive cross country from my new place to Devises!
Now... be upstanding for Ukimi/Uke practice, that's my new resolution. I was rolling like a demon on Monday that means I can do it again. grrrrr!
As I shouted at L on Saturday (through 3 pints of cider and the loudest folk band in Christendom) I haven't volunteered in the past in case I land badly and make them look bad (or some such nonsense). It then occured to me... again through my still slightly addled, post-cider, brain that maybe I should volunteer FIRST and that there's no better way to learn breakfalls than in extremis (or the nearest I'm likely to come to extremis anyway!)
Well... I don't feel any more wrinkly (admittedly I'm not looking too hard) and the purple blotches under my eyes are about the same size so no obvious signs of decrepitude as yet ! The Sunday blearyness was definately *hic* cider induced.
Spent most of last night's Aikido session as Uke for M our 1st kyu man who is going for his 1st Dan in April. He seemed a bit subdued, I think he might be ill. There was such an almighty crack from his knee when he did the final nikkyo pin on me I thought something had gone wrong.
It was fun being Uke, especially the weapons work. I took a serious beating... makes a change not to be placed delicately on the floor by M but to be hoisted up and thrown around. Some SERIOUS ukimi practice. There were occasions when I had NO idea how I landed. I will have to volunteer for Ukemi practice more often...
Moving and turning thirty within a week of each other. I'm feeling remarkably sane
AARRRGGGGHHHH *runs back again right to left*
Aikido rocks right now. Taking up other arts has only enhanced how much I love my first home in Aikido and I ahve just...JUST started to get the confidence to do diving breakfalls. With age comes confidence... dodgy knees certainly but they're confident dodgy knees.
Something just clicked last night. Both S and I were saying what a great session it was. Kokyu Nage went really well for all of us in our group... aaaand my response to being told off, for talking myself out of being able to do something, was just to go "fair play" and keep quiet rather than leaping to the defensive... there's hope for me yet!!
After Tuesday Night I am now 9th Kyu in Iaido wheeee! I messed up the ending of the Genshin Kata but everything else went pretty well. 9th Kyu.. dear god It's going to take ages Looking forward to those ages though. Rogers knee seems to have got better. I don't know whether to be offended that my other Iaido instructor expressed great surprise that I was so high up the grades in Aikido. (2nd Kyu? really? that high?) He's still trying to sell Jujitsu to me but to no avail.
Aikido in general is my home and Devises Budokwai in particular is where my heart lies...! Mind you I could be tempted to have an affair with Templegate.
Now For Kung Fu... oh dear... I am not progressing with great speed at this. It's definately the most challenging of my trinity. It tests my memory and sense of balance to the absolute limit. The kicks I'm finding particularly hard. I either kick like a girl (sorry!) or I hop around, half fall over and then take ages to settle myself for the next kick and find it hard to keep up with the count. It's also a nightmare trying to remember what to shout when and with which move when perf
...More
I like to think I'm a bit of rebel... I'm not.
I'm REALLY not.
I do the nine to five, I live in a bog-standard Rabbit Hutch House (which I wont miss) I've never been out the country for more than a fortnight and the scariest thing I've done is lead an E3 route...indoors!
Sometimes I play my music too loud and I have a snappy temper but mostly I keep my head down.
Thing is though, keeping your head down... it doesn't work. You get warned at a certain age, or perhaps you learn, that not everyone is on your side. You learn that not everyone has your best interests at heart and that they not only don't care that much but actually seem to have a negative agenda. The problem is not necessarily with you personally but there are "issues" somewhere in their psyche and you might be the unlucky sod on the recieving end even if you didn't start it. If you're unlucky you learn that fact obscenely early.
For my relative inoffensiveness (yes alright at the back there, pipe down, you can complain later! ) I am being threatened with being taken to court. Apparantly the leak from my heating, which occasionally sprays, onto the man next door's house wall is causing to wallpaper to peel. Part of what I might be sued for is "emotional distress". What will eventually happen? I don't know at this stage. The broken heating is being fixed this afternoon and tommorrow and hopefully I should hear no more about it. From past experience however I am not 'counting my chickens'
...More
I always remember someone saying the knee is a good jiont for a four legged animal...
We broke Rw on Monday. oops.
He disappeared over the blue crashmat. A red, and in severe pain, face appeared briefly and then he just lay there. An ambulance was phoned, his leg (with dislocated knee cap) was strapped up in an orange inflatable (!) and he got wheeled off by the men in green jump suits. Get well soon Rw!!
That's the first time I've ever witnessed a serious injury although apparantly a beginner put his knee out in only about his third lesson and never came back. (wow am I self centred or what?!? everything comes back to me...)
Iaido was good. It's my grading next week! Hurrah. I'm actually looking forward to it which is very unlike me. I want to show what I can do and I'm enjoying the constructive criticism for once in my paranoid life. Thankyou Sensei Den, you've done wonders... So far you and Roy are the two people from whom I can take any sort of advice or criticism without wanting to lash out.
Roger is still off after his knee operation. There was a before and after picture of the cartiledge in his knee. The before was all frilly and the after looked like a giant plastic ball bearing... It's amazing what they can do with keyhole surgery...
aaand in other great news, Grant (the Buddhist man) is not going to Tibet/Nepal until October. I can get info off him about going on a Buddhist retreat . Plus, I was hoping to see him before he left anyway, g
...More
02-22-2006 02:48 AM 
Looking forward to those ages though. Rogers knee seems to have got better. I don't know whether to be offended that my other Iaido instructor expressed great surprise that I was so high up the grades in Aikido. (2nd Kyu? really? that high?)
