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Old 08-24-2011, 07:55 AM   #1
Mark Freeman
Dojo: Dartington
Location: Devon
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,220
United Kingdom
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Mark's potentially big adventure? (MBA)

So here's the plan...

I am currently trying to work out the feasibility of taking a gap year to 18 months out, to travel the world as a full time aikido dojo bum.

Since discovering Aiki web 5/6 years ago, my eyes have been opened up to the wider world of aikido, all it's different types/styles and the aikidoka who practice. I have long thought it would make a great trip to get out there and meet some of the characters that frequent the forums. As well as find out for myself what each style feels like and has to offer. I know it will be a challenge, a massive learning experience as well as an adventure.

Now, I have loads of questions I need answering, that will help me with planning and most importantly budgeting. As well as questions that relate to etiquette and how to deal with the inevitable issues that might arise from both difference, status, rank etc.

There are many people from these boards that I definitely would like to meet and train with, as well as requests for recommendations of who I should search out in my quest.

A brief overview of my plan is as follows: May 2012 London>New York, buy a cheap campervan and travel in a meandering fashion, seeking out any aikido dojo on my way, dropping in, practicing (if possible) and moving on. I am thinking I may spend around 4/5 months doing this. I know there are plenty of dojos out there. October 2012, Los Angeles > New Zealand, about a month there, before moving onto Australia, some months there, before moving onto the relative inexpensiveness of SE Asia. Of course Japan is on my list in 2013, then possibly China and the long and tricky overland trip back to Europe.

I would like to blog the whole experience, with a view to possibly cobbling together a book at the end of it all, will anyone be interested in reading it?

At this stage all I would like to know what forum members think. I will be 56 when I leave, I will be spending all of my pension money/savings, and will return to start from scratch again (I've done 2 big trips before and swore I wouldn't come back to nothing again, but have found that, I now trust that everything will work out ok in the end, it usually does).

This post is already getting long and I haven't even started asking specific questions. I think the best thing for me to do is to start a new thread to address each question as some may be a bit complex.

I am about 80-90% sure that this will happen, there are a couple of circumstances that might change everything, if they happen they happen and I will change things a necessary.

So some of you reading this, may next year (or the year after) be getting a visit from a wandering Englishman with a camera, a notebook, an open mind, bags of curiosity and dodgy sense of humour.

What do you think? am I mad to do it or mad not to?

Regards

Mark

Success is having what you want. Happiness is wanting what you have.
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