Have you ever felt, "It"?
 

I am relatively new to aikido, as well as any martial art, and tonight I felt something magnificient.

It seemed that I finally got a glimmer of 'It'. That is what I am calling a realization of what aikido could teach me, and what I could be.

This is hard to explain. I guess some useful terms might include, "graceful motion with my mind connected to my body and in awareness of where each part of my body is".

Anyway, it was such a positive realization, that I just had to try to write about it on here. Am I nuts? Or does there come stages of going past, "This is really difficult" to "This is marvelous!".

:p

You've done it now!

You're hooked for sure.

Don't stop ... it gets better
(in between periods of pure frustration!)

Practice for the sake of the practice.

Regards,

Re: Have you ever felt, "It"?
 

That's what keeps me going back......:)

Cheers
Sarah

I would like to emphasize more on the periods of frustration :)

I guess it is during those very periods when nothing seems to work that one learns the most.

For me, it is the greatest reward after such long periods to be finally able to "connect" for a (short) while and feel very good with myself and my aikido.

Cheers,
Edward

oh woe is me! I've been doing this for several years now and have as yet to experience this elusive 'it' you guys are talking about. Am I to die without ever knowing it? sob sob :dead:

I think, similar to a small moment of enlightenment, you get lots of little realisations as you train. However these only occur because of the years of previous training and understanding suddenly fit together. Maybe yours will come all in one go. Took me 12 years before everything suddenly made sense.

Ian

I've been doing martial arts on an off for about 18 years (8 of those years doing aikido) and I've only had "it" a few times. Mind you it has been a series of small "its" and not the really big "IT!" :D

Yeah Vera, I agree its very satisfying. All I can say is keep training and keep chasing that elusive "it" and "IT!" too.

That's what keeps me going back for more. Oh Abasan, don't worry, I'm sure you won't be an "it" virgin for much longer...just keep training at getting it ;).

On a more serious note, Ian, Edward and Chuck are quite correct. I was in a real rut between 1st Kyu and training for my shodan. Things just didn't go right for a long time. I think I was training too hard and wasn't relaxed. I was training to get my shodan and not for the sake of learning and improving my aikido. When I came to that realisation, the aikido got a little more fluid and natural and I got to enjoy doing aikido for its own sake and not for getting a shodan.

All the best for your training Vera and above all I hope that you enjoy your journey into the wonderful world of aikido.

That seems to be quite a common occurance. That happened to me to. 1st kyu was the hardest rank for me. It is also quite common amongst student at the dojo where i train. Many people speak of the tough 1st kyu slog before everything makes sence for about 6 months after you get your shodan.

Well, that's IT.

Oh, I rarely get it...most often gauge a class on how much I'm NOT getting it. Something did happen out of class a few weeks ago, 'tho...

In an ongoing war of pestering vs resistence, I dragged a friend to his feet, insisting that he would LOVE Aikido if he tried it, and encouraging (yes, yes :p )'grab me here' as I offered my wrist. So a well muscled male approximately one foot taller and 100 pounds heavier locked my wrist in a death grip that exceeded even the toughest Iwama places I've ventured into:eek: , as only a male not too interested in pursuing Aikido at the moment can do.

Uh oh, I thought, I am soooo toast:blush: As I prepared to launch into an extended dissertation on my Aiki options (aka stalling), the kami smiled on me and he announced "well, I wouldn't just grab your wrist..." and as I felt his weight shift I ducked under his arm holding me, turning around as my arm dropped and he fell forward.

Gosh, I thought, this Aikido stuff might actually work:rolleyes: , as with genuine interest he said 'hey, do that again...'

Even a blind pig...:confused:

Haha, Colleen, good job :)

I personally prefer shihonage for these cases.

Once I decided to risk it and tried to use my "poor man's nikkyo" to showcase Aikido to a muscular, resisting man.
He didn't budge.

So before he realized that his resistance was in fact 100% successful, I used his upward motion that he used to resist, to slip into an ikkyo, and he almost flew into a cabinet headfirst.

Teehee.

You're right on that one. When I was beginning in aikido, I was way too much concentrated on "doing things right for the exams". Last summer, I had no grade to pass. I simply practice aikido for the sake of it, having fun, without putting pressure on myself to perform well in face of examiners. Guess what ? I progressed much more rapidly than before. My sensei even note it and tells me, at the end of summer, that it was hard to believe that I was the same guy than 3 months before. Moves and techniques were simply more naturals and fluids. Now I simply practice that way all the time and exams are now not much different than regular class, you simply have people watching you and that's all...

Re: Have you ever felt, "It"?
 

That's great! But what's even better is feeling 'it' outside of the dojo. I was the type of person to get upset over nothing, and now, if anything problematic happens, I always keep my cool, and it's not a matter of trying not to show my anger or frustration, I would really be feeling 'all balanced' inside. You don't have to try hard to control yourself anymore, because your inner self has been (unconsciously) evolving to reach 'it'.
:D
Mona

I started Aikido nearly 2 years ago, and I think I felt "it" maybe twice or three times, no more. Indeed it was a reward, for most of time I train hard with the impression that I will never do it correctly, and I feel often more exhausted than anything else. But I love Aikido.

In my opinion, "it" is one of the greatest feelings. As for those periods of frustration, it is said that one actually learns the most on those plateaus where nothing seems to be connecting. One day, you just wake up, and WHOAH, it worked!!!

Noah

I once tried a 'nikkyo' on a 2nd dan, his knees startled to buckle, slightly...and then the 'nikkyo' disappeared.
As he started to rise, with a vulpine smile on his face, I stepped in with a 'direct' irimi-nage.
Wonderful. Those moments are rare in practice, because things are so predictable.

No-one can tell me about frustratiom, though...I'm married :)