New Person Training Full Time
Hi! I've always wanted to learn Aikido, but I wanted to finish my schooling first. I have a couple more months and then I'm done.
I've never taken an Aikido class before, so I am completely fresh. I'm looking to learn from someone who is 7th Dan or higher and am willing to invest 1 to 2 years full time anywhere in the world. Where do you suggest I train and who would I contact about getting the training? |
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http://www.aikidofaq.com/cgi-bin/sen...E%3D+x&v%3A1=7 If that's not enough I have at least one more (not listed) who is the sensei of my dojo-cho. Ask if they have an ushi-deshi program. --- The rest of the answer to your question will hopefully be done by someone else :D Viele Grüße Christian Schnarr |
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Are there recommended dojos where I can train fulltime, and possibly live while training?
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Diane,
If you have the time and money available, the Honbu dojo of the Yoshinkan offers a senshusei course that will take you to instructor level in one year. Go to www.yoshinakn.net for info. Tokyo is a beautiful city and the teachers are some of the best in the world. But then again, I'm prejudiced. |
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I imagine it's not exactly the same as most other Aikido uchideshi positions in that it's a Shinto shrine, but from what I understand (and someone please correct me if I'm wrong) it's pretty similar in nature. Take care. |
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http://www.tsubakishrine.com/ ...I'm not sure about the details though, sorry. Good luck and Gambatte. |
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Are you quite sure you want to make such a substantial commitment when you have yet to step onto the mat? Maybe you want to pick up a copy of "Angry White Pyjamas" first. It's not that wanting to study aikido full-time is a bad idea, but I think that making a substantial commitment to something you have no experience in is like buying a lottery ticket: it's pretty much a matter of chance as to whether it will work out or just be money (and time) down the drain).
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Diane, I am sure you will get many excellent recommendations. One suggestion that I would like to make is that you contact Pat Hendricks Sensei at Aikido of San Leandro (CA). In addition to having her own well-regarded uchideschi program, she has participated in the Iwama, Japan uchideshi programs of Morihiro and Hitohiro Saito Sensei for many years. Hendricks Sensei is a wonderful technician and person, and if you are serious about this undertaking (and it certainly sounds like you are), I know she would be only too happy to offer valuable insights into your options, and help you any way she can, as she has walked this very path herself.
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I would recommend that you first find out what type of Aikido you would like to practice before setting of on this endeavor. Type meaning major style {Aikikai, Iwama, Yoshinkan,etc...} then flavor within the major style. Each sensei has his/her own flavor. You might end up at a place that is very soft for a long time just to find out in the end you would like to practice a hard version. Practicing long hours everyday is very taxing and will be especially so for someone who hasn't step foot on the mat.
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Diane,
It is an admirable ambition to dedicate your life to aikido. I don't know from your posts how old you are nor what type of life experiences you have had to date. Uchideshi programs cost money and invariably the money for the programs come for the uchideshi themselves. Unfortunately in today's world $3500 will not get you very far. I will also echo what several other folks have recommended here, that you "check out" a class or too before you jump head first of the high dive. While what form of aikido you study is not necessarily a life or death decision, if you are moving to another country on somebody else's dime, you will invariably incur a type of obligation to them and you could be putting yourself in a compromising situation. While living in South Korea, I had the opportunity to train in Zen Meditation with some Buddhist monks at a temple just south of Taejon. After the meditation there was a Dharma talk and the opportunity to question the abbot of the temple about anything and everything. Most folks asked about specific problems in their lives and one women in particular asked the monk about problems she was experiencing while trying to meditate because people she owed money too would continually hound her to pay them back. The abbot's response was,"why are you meditating? If you owe these people money, get a job and pay them what you owe them, then, meditate". The moral of the story leads me to my final advice to you: You need a method or means to obtain some form of income. If you're really interested in living overseas, check out English teaching programs. There are multiple programs at private institutes as well as overseas educational institutions. This will enable you to live abroad and experience some very nice aikido, while making some money. One more tidbit, many uchideshi programs have recommendation requirements, meaning that someone, usually an aikido someone, has to vouch for you before you are able to be an uchideshi. This would be very hard if you have not trained anywhere beforehand. So, all told, I encourage you to shoot for the moon and your uchideshi dream with a 7th dan Aikido instructor, but please do it intelligently and with an eye for a bit of self-reliance. As the great swordsman Musashi Miyamoto wrote, "Respect the gods and Buddhas, but do not rely on them". |
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Hi Diane.
You might want to contact NY Aikikai. |
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What I sense here is a plan for disaster. Being "fresh" means I have NO experience in Aikido whatsoever. Wanting to learn from a high ranking sensei (7th Dan) is great but the truth is you will learn from EVERYONE in the dojo and the sensei personal rank is more a thing of your pride than their true value as an instructor. The truth is the sensei instructs and you and your fellow students practice with each other with his guidance and watchful eye. A great deal of your instruction will come from students higher ranking than you (Sempai) and the lower ranking Dan members. The lower ranking Dan students can often be the best source of one-on-one instruction and training for your first years in Aikido. Higher Dan ranking does not necessarily correlate with teaching ability.
High ranking Dan sensei will instruct you personally at times but the overall design of the dojo is to have the lower ranking Dan instructors gain experience in teaching by instructing the Kyu ranks and assuming a sense of responsibility for their growth. I would recommend finding a good job in your career field you are training for and find a dojo near where you WANT to live, train in Aikido with a local instructor and then if you want to train with other sensei you have some experience. You will learn from other sensei through seminars, reading, the internet, and books. Seminars are one of the great things in Aikido. You can learn from the "Greats" and still support your local dojo. Stop being "fresh" and get sweaty. IMHO Doc:cool: |
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I would NOT recommend generally that a person fresh to aikido join the Senshusei course. Just my opinion.
There are 7th dan and higher instructors from the yoshinkan tradition in NA...Utada Sensei, Kimeda Sensei, Kushida Sensei (ex yoshinkan), and non japanese instructors as well (Payet Sensei, Mustard Sensei, Parker Shihan, etc). Utada Sensei has a house next to the dojo where students often live for extended periods of time, and I'm sure these other instructors have similar arrangements on occation. Personally, I recommend you try one of these arrangements first, then look to going to Japan later, if you still feel the same way. But some unusual people can dive right in, and I don't know you at all. Best, Ron |
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well put Ron
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Senshusei course at this time is a touchy subject... would love to go there but i wish to stay away from it.... if you like being dominated ..go for it!
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For what I consider to be an Uchideshi the 2 above offers are far far away from being a real Uchideshi system. Above all the one in San Leandro which will charge for everything, even the night classes. Those are schools that offer regular teaching but in addition can give you a place where to sleep at a cheaper rate than sleeping in a rental place. This is just my opinion, but I wouldn't call those "systems" Uchideshi, but after all as Saotome Shihan said more than once, nowadays it makes no sense of speaking of a Uchideshi System. |
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As for learning from the best...I always wonder when beginners say this. I want to learn to play tennis, and I've never picked up a racket -- should I seek out lessons from Roger Federer? That seems pointless, and maybe a little bit presumptuous. He's the greatest tennis player in the world, and I'm a rank beginner -- why would anyone think that I needed his instruction to learn tennis, or could benefit from it? Ideally, you would like to learn from the best teacher of beginners -- which is not necessarily someone holding a certain dan ranking. But even that's a bit much. The outcome of a learning experience depends at least as much on your quality as a student as it does on the teacher, and there are many senseis who are plenty good enough to teach a beginner everything that that beginner is capable of learning at that time. |
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As far as spending such a large sum of money is concerned, don't overlook the idea of investing it somehow. 2 Years of off-mat study probably can't give you a very deep impression...you may want to train in it locally for a little while and get a base understanding before dedicating so much of your time. I don't know your particular situation so I'm mostly speaking for how I'd act; based on what little I know. I've known folks who've done it right after school like you describe and it seems to have been a good experience, but I think you need to be sure you get a real good sense of the commitment involved. The idea sounds pretty adventurous to me, though it demands a great deal of trust for potentially moving so far away. "Buyer beware," always. |
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Can someone provide me a list of dojos that have 24/7 programs where you can work/live/train? I'd like to train outside of America in an English speaking dojo.
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