Hello akidokas,
I train in aikido for nearly 1.5 years and just received 6th kyu,
i am not in a rush for receiving kyu, (though i have learned a lot of techniques)
Maybe because of that i have just realized that the most important thing of aikido is tai-sabaki.
I think in the end of your journey when you 've learned "everything", you come back to the start
and what really distinguishes in you
is your tai sabaki that becomes your aikido..
I know it is considered to be important but i think that only a few people realize how important it is.
Now my next goal is spend a lot of time trying to perfect my tai sabaki
maybe i am wrong i dont know
but i would like the opinion of some aikidokas