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Maggie wrote:
I just consider the argument "High level Aikidoka are good because they ignore the obligations to their families" as another excuse for why one has given up on the idea of quality Aikido as accessible for themselves. It is easy to say "It is impossible, see I have a family,
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I don't think that's exactly what she was saying, but I agree with the point you're making. Speaking as a person who probably has less training in than anyone posting here, I can attest to the ease of excuses. More than that though, i can attest to the speed by which time flies where suddenly you may realize 10 years have gone by without any "real" training, despite almost daily practice of some variety or another to make you (me) feel like you're (I'm) doing
something. On the other hand, I've been busy doing a lot of other things too. Some of that has had more validity with regards to training than others, but the validity is for no one other than myself to judge. And besides, the path I've taken has led me to an awesome place, so who can honestly say what the "better" choices whould have been? The question to my mind is "how happy are your choices making you?" and "how can you learn from the experience of life to make your future choices better?"
Is two days a week enough? I think that will change over time based on a person's values, which will also naturally change somewhat over time. Life is full of compromise. As long as we're practicing that great slogan "masakatsu agatsu" I think we're doing fine...more or less.
Also would like to reinforce the idea that it helps a lot having some period of intense training if one is doing Aikido for something more than a healthy hobby.
...and on a side note I'm finally going to train on the mat again: about once a week is what I have dedicated myself to for the time being.