mriehle

Like George Ledyard, I consider training away from my home dojo a vacation. I regularly spend time in either my own dojo in Rio Vista, or my teacher's dojo in Stockton. Both are rewarding, but - let's face it - part of my obligation to my students.

Visiting another dojo is just about training, learning and maybe having some fun. It energizes me, renews my commitment to Aikido and all around makes me feel better about myself.

This is, of course, especially true when I visit a dojo where they do things radically differently from what I normally do and the Sensei says to me afterward, "You really did well. Better than most visitors we get here." (This happened to me a couple of times recently and I see it as validation of my training in an interesting sort of way.)

But even when I just struggle through and get to meet some new people, it's a good experience.