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Old 09-06-2005, 06:34 AM   #35
ruthmc
Dojo: Wokingham Aikido
Location: Reading, UK
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 393
United Kingdom
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Re: Aikido survivors (Voices of Experience)

Great topic!

I think another reason why some folk quit is because they lose their "beginners mind". They get to a certain level and think "Well, I know all these techniques now, and how to do them from all these attacks, so what more is there for me to learn?".

Keeping your beginners mind allows you to see the depths of Aikido, and peel back the layers of the onion. Sure you can always continue to improve your techniques, but there's so much more to it than that!

It also allows you to see that your teachers and visiting instructors have got a lot more to teach you. And you can always aspire to be better than them

Personally, I don't quit on myself, and I don't quit on anybody else without very good reason. If somebody only shows up to class for 2 hours every 2 - 3 weeks but is open-minded and prepared to learn, I am prepared to help them in any way I can. If somebody trains 7 days a week and doesn't respect my person, I avoid them, and hope that one day they'll know better.

That's what it boils down to for me, anything else is just an extra complication.

Ruth (who likes to keep it simple)
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