RebeccaM

I came back from four years of minimal training (we're talking almost none) in aikido and kept wearing my belt and hakama. I was not out of the martialarts completely - I'd been away at college and there was no dojo I liked in the area so I did Shotokan karate for four years instead. Karate was nice but I decided that I liked aikido better so I made a point of checking out the aikido situation in the places where I was accepted for grad school. I found that my ability to take the falls had gotten maybe a little bit rusty, but not to the point I was in danger. My ability to throw, OTOH...yikes!

Your body will remember movements you've trained into it, so you'll get it back faster than you expect, but it's going to be frustrating and embarassing and don't be surprised if you take off your belt one night and consider throwing it in the trash. I sure did. I don't know why I didn't. Maybe because of all the work I'd put into earning it, maybe because my ego/pride wouldn't let me, maybe because I knew I was going to get back what I'd lost, who knows. But I kept wearing it and after a few months I got my groove back. But yeah, it was hard. And there's lots of things I still just don't get. But I've come to realize/notice that a lot of the yudansha on the mat with me are scratching their heads about as often as I am.