Quote:
John Chrisoulis wrote:
Hello members of AikiWeb!
I'll try to be as brief as possible.Im a male,24 years old and i have just started learning Aikido in a local dojo in Athens,Greece.My sensei is 4th Dan,student of Tissie.
I have been living a very unhealthy lifestyle in the past 5-6 years,sitting most of the time studying or watching TV,internet etc.I never paid any attention to what i was eating,i am a smoker and i always have 3-4 drinks in a week.I guess the only good physical trait that i have is a normal weight of 75kg with 183cm height.
I was fed up watching my physical strength and stamina deteriorate and in the last 2 years i think it has also had a mental effect,contributing to a constant feeling of boredom and mild depression.At first a thought i should start visitng a gym but then,knowing a bit about myself,i was sure that that kind of "training for the sake of training" would be uninteresting and i would quit.
So i researched martial arts,at first thinking i wont be suitable because i have a genuine dislike for violence,but then i saw Aikido!I found it extremely beautiful and i also read a few things about its creator and its philosophy which made it even more beautiful in my eyes.
So here i am,after my first training yesterday where i did seiza and ukemi and my knees ache,my buttocks are extremely sore,my abdominal muscles the same,the front of my feet the same,my legs the same,my back the same and both my shoulders are bruised at the exact same spot making even a slight pressure on them quite painfull!
To be honest i loved it!  I felt alive after exiting the dojo! But im a bit nervous about my bodys condition.Are these results normal?Should i get bruised sometimes to learn?Will the pain go away before my next training on Monday,then Wednesday,then Friday etc?I mean,if try to do Ukemi now with my nonexistent technique,i'll want to scream from pain! 
I am not afraid of some punishment or some pain,i only ask these questions to know what i should and shouldnt do,to always be able to train and get the most out of it.
I thank anyone who took the time to read this in advance!Any advice is much aprecciated!  |
Hi there John!It seems like we have the same name and the same country of origin.
It's always nice to know that a new person started studying Aikido because to me it's the most important aspect of my life and it affects everything else.
You don't have to worry about the, somewhat painful, results of your first day of practice, just keep on practicing and after a while everything will be normal. You see, as Steven Seagal sensei often states "in aikido you have to unlearn first", meaning to unlearn all the things that you used to do (being tense, using muscle strength e.t.c) before you started Aikido. Pretty soon you'll realise that aikido is the natural way, and you will start to see the way people stand, sit, move, e.t.c from a new perspective.
As for your up-till-now way of life, aikido will help you change your daily routine for the better but only if you want it to!
I made my choices almost since day one, i was very determined and i have a great teacher.Nutritional habits like quit eatting meat, change the way you cook, change the quantity and quality of what you eat might sound difficult in the beginning, but the way of the warrior is a way of life.
I hope that my post is helpful at least in inspiring you to keep on studying aikido, and developing your physical, mental and spiritual self along the way.Welcome!