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Old 10-08-2010, 06:15 AM   #12
Walter Martindale
Location: Edmonton, AB
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 802
Canada
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Re: Training .... when you are not training

Training... minimum 90 min/day, 6 days/week.
Can comprise 3-4 "specific" sessions - say - practicing Aikido and other 'non-specific' sessions - say - running for added fitness, strength training (I know most Aikido folks say it's not good to be overly strong, but there are other threads here about O-Sensei's grip strength - most of us are not doing physical labour in the fields for 8 hours/day any more, so we need other forms of work to even approach that kind of toughening), swimming, commuting to and from work/dojo by bicycle - but only if it's more than about 15 km - has to be worth while, and at a high enough effort level to be called "training"...

Most of the athletes you see competing at Olympic and World Championships in various sports "train" - by putting in 4-6 hours a day, 6 days a week (or 13/14 days, for some) preparing both in sport specific and non-sport-specific training.

I know my aikido "training" doesn't come anywhere close to that, and I consider gym sessions where I do some weights, some treadmill or rowing machine work and/or a swim to be training for Aikido - so that I can be better able to maintain posture, form, alertness, and pace at the end of a long Aikido session.

One of the things those "elite" athletes also do is mental training - visualisation or mental rehearsal - among other techniques - this could also be part of Aikido preparation...

W
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