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Old 06-20-2008, 12:05 PM   #88
Trish Greene
Dojo: Aikido-Kajukenbo Self Defense Center
Location: Boise
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 98
United_States
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Re: Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman Scorned: Threads About Women In Aikido

I am taking a risk by throwing my hat into the conversation here..

I started Aikido because I wanted to learn how to defend myself if I were ever attacked. I didn’t want to be a “victim” and I wanted to show my daughter what a “strong” women was. Unfortunately she didn’t take to the art like I did. I (was?) one of those women who would look you in the eye, stick my chin out and dare you to tell me no I couldn’t do something because of my gender. I could do anything that you could do, andmaybe better. I tended to gravitate my life towards areas that were considered “male dominated” ( my job, and other areas of my life).

I continued with Aikido because I fell in love with the joy of the art. That understanding gave me the ability to clear my mind and walk away from the preconceived notions I had about who I was supposed to be in this world. There was no reason that I “had” to be as mentally confrontational as I have been driving my life to be so far. In the dojo, I was simply another person on the mat getting sweaty and enjoying every minute of it! The guys never treated me any differently ( I was the only adult female there for a long time) – we were just uke and nage.

Now my two cents on why more women don’t train – it’s called LIFE. There is dinner to be made, kids to help out with homework, running the kids to soccer practice, PTA Meetings, etc etc etc. We are so used to nurturing others, that we do not take the time to nurture our selves. I think it is hilarious that I equate nurturing to being thrown around on the mat by some big blokes!

Ok, those are my thoughts – rip away…

"Aikido is nothing but an expression of the spirit of Love for all living things."

Morihei Ueshiba
www.aikido-kajukenbo.com
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