Quote:
Brian Dewey wrote:
..... I'm at the point where I need to decide if I want to continue with Shotokan once the summer course ends...or re-focus solely upon my Aikido. If anything, the most valuable skills I have taken from Shotokan are the strong striking techniques, as well as being able to get my kicks above knee-level!  |
Well, whether you continue in Shotokan (or Aikido or anything for that matter) is up to you. Do you like it? That's the most important question. If you don't likeit, if you don't have some enjoyment out of going, there's no point; you won't learn as well if you conisder it a chore.
As to how to proceed with both arts, I will once again buck the tide and suggest
compartmentalization --- keeping them separate as much as possible. If you think about both at once, that's where "confusion" sets in (in my case, feeling like my head is going to explode) but thinking about them separately helps that. The best time to do that is when you train on your own, which you should do at least once a week. You don't need a huge workout -- a half hour should do it -- but you should do it regularly. Cycle through some things from Shotokan, thinking about nothing else and focusing on the details. Then go through Aikido, again foucusing on details. It is probably the only time you will because in class, you have to listen to the instructor and pay attention to what your training partner is doing.
Of course, you can't help if things are in yur muscle memory and something pops out. But IMHO it makes life easier if you think about them separately.