ruthmc

Hi Mary!

I'm no expert, I just advocate that people learn the basics of other styles so they don't get caught up in misunderstandings. It's exactly the same as do you shake hands or bow, kiss one cheek or two? Learning this eases your way through life :-)


That's a good idea, as long as it's not contrary to the dojo way to telegraph your attacks! I find the best thing to do is to ask somebody - first introduce yourself and say what style you are, ask theirs, and any time there's any hesitancy or confusion ask which foot they attack from, how many turns they take, even where they aim their yokomen! As you get used to training in different styles you find you can jump between modes - I've even had to do this with one Aikikai attacker and one Yoshinkan attacker taking turns to attack me. Eventually you just do it without thinking about your feet or theirs. One of the big myths about Aikido is that it matters which way your feet are before the attack starts. It doesn't. It's which way they are at the end of the attack when you're throwing or pinning your partner that counts :-)


I wouldn't bet on it - I've seen some high-ranking sensei get caught out by an attacker from another style! Of course this is often when they are teaching, so the teaching brain doesn't always respond in time when the attacker does something a bit unexpected.

Keep training, keep learning other customs, be open-minded and prepared to try things that make no sense at all to you, and you'll find you are an ambassador for Aikido and welcome to train anywhere.

Ruth