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Old 08-26-2006, 02:10 AM   #12
Jorge Garcia
Dojo: Shudokan School of Aikido
Location: Houston
Join Date: Jun 2001
Posts: 608
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Re: Changes: Into the second decade

Speaking to Anonymous, it sounds to me like you may have maxed out the system and teacher you now have. In 1998, I felt the same way, then I moved to Houston and got started with a new Shihan and a different Aikido. That has revolutionized my Aikido life. Everything became fun and interesting to me again. I am very challenged in learning again and I am barely understanding the things our shihan is trying to explain. This may only be good for a while but we'll see. Staying fresh is a unique skill in itself. A man once asked a 92 year old minister how he could show so much energy and life in his ministry after so many years. The minister answered that every day that he woke up, he viewed the day as new and everything from the past as gone and he entered each day with the interest and vibrancy of a new beginning. That is more than a little story from a Guidepost magazine. I knew that minister. He was constantly searching and growing. His talks were incredible and he was always breaking new ground. He was, in fact, alive and energetic and deep too. I had always wanted to ask him the same question. I never forgot his answer because I saw it in his life.

"It is the philosophy that gives meaning to the method of training."
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