lbb

Well, I don't really hold with the "always train" approach. I'm a believer in doing what you're doing when you're doing it, and not putting yourself somewhere else -- and I fail at this all the time, typically when eating (unless I'm with people, I'm almost always reading or watching television when I eat -- very bad habit), but I try. I do see the value in practicing some breathing exercises and tai sabaki outside of class, but only once you know what to do -- you can't very well do any breathing exercises if you haven't learned any.

The results of aikido training do creep into the rest of my life, but when that happens, it's not aikido training -- it's the results of aikido training being felt elsewhere (case in point, alpine skiing, where I noticed a huge improvement after I'd been training aikido for a while). When that happens, for me, it's one of those "gift" moments -- I enjoy it and experience it without trying to really analyze it, because for me, trying to analyze it is like trying to grab fog. Train when you're on the mat, otherwise just live life, that's my approach.