Thread: My Ikkyu test
View Single Post
Old 07-06-2000, 12:09 AM   #8
tarik
 
tarik's Avatar
Dojo: Iwae Dojo
Location: Boulder Creek, CA
Join Date: Jun 2000
Posts: 568
United_States
Offline
Quote:
AikiTom wrote:
In my experience, when you're told to test, you're already there.
Definitely the case in our dojo.

Quote:
AikiTom wrote:
This doesn't detract from the seriousness or the "stage fright" some have of being "on" in front of an audience of your peers, superiors, et al., but harmony is also balance.[/b]
Stage fright is really no longer an issue for me. I've done that often enough that it's just training. It can be more intense training depending on what is asked, but it's still just training.

Quote:
AikiTom wrote:
An illustration: when I was a teen-ager I played a lot of golf. I realized I could play every day in the summer, so I did. I got much worse. Why? Instead of playing and being in the game, I started to analyze my backswings, my breathing, etc., and broke everything into "parts" which also broke my game apart. You can do the same with aikido. Aikido techniques are like flowing water, not the segmented frames in a film strip.
[/b]
I don't know. I think Aikido technique can benefit from such a break down into pieces. Certainly one can overdo it, but if you're foot is being placed in the wrong place, that is ultimately the quickest way to learn and change it.

Quote:
AikiTom wrote:
Enjoy practice. There's enough seriousness in what you do off the mat, achieve in that world, "live" and be "alive" on the mat! [/b]
But of course. Enjoyment doesn't preclude me from doing my best, though.

Tarik
  Reply With Quote