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Old 09-28-2013, 03:52 AM   #1
"Traveler"
IP Hash: 8592a726
Anonymous User
changing aikido styles (rant)

So, I've trained in aikido for 10 years or so at a dojo that was pretty serious about atemi use (ie, you will get hit if you don't pay attention, at least at brown- or black-belt level), and recently moved to a new town where the closest dojo is an aikikai dojo but trains in a very soft, no-atemi style. They are *very* good at taking balance, and at keeping their balance, and I want to learn that, as well as the techniques that they teach that I haven't seen before... but they're also completely oblivious to their openings, both as uke and as nage. I think for their style I'm probably training at about a sankyu level, despite the hakama and black belt, but at the same time I'm constantly having to pull back from hitting even relatively high-up yudansha. And their ukemi is awful - no committed attacks, just grab and ground, and no further attempt to 'get' nage at all. Several times, high level students have let go in the middle of the technique and then been surprised when I enter on them, and at the same time I also frequently have trouble throwing them b/c of the grounding.

Both sides are getting frustrated with each other. Is there room for compromise, or do I give up on this and go to the next-nearest dojo, about an hour away?
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