Training outside the dojo ?

i think is very important to train outside the dojo:

1) once our sensei tought us a new technique. one of the elder students did not know that technique, i did ( i learned it by myself), he said: man! how comes you do it so well? of course i did not do it perfectly by i could say i knew it.

2) let's not forget that ueshiba oftenly went into the mountains to train. of course that's totally another level...

as for the mistakes, i like to learn a new technique then go to dojo and ask the sensei: is it the right way? any mistakes? the usual answer is as ueshiba used to say, a student shouldn't learn a technique by heart , he must do it as comfortable to him.

maybe i see all this that way because i usually train by myself wether it's aikido, skiing, rock climbing, swimming or whatever.

Training inside the dojo shows me the way. It 's up to me to try to discover this way. And training outside the dojo is good for it, because I can focus on the special issues. I train outside the dojo either alone, or with partner. Both is valuable.

And to take it a little further. It's important to train Aikido every now and then outside, wearing street clothes. It's amazing how wrapped up we can get in our uniform.

It reminds me, what I consider the another part of outside dojo training is performing ordinary activities , like going upstairs, standing in subway, driving a car and so on. I always (often) try to observe myself, my correct posture, or rather, body settings.

I'm sorta new to the board, but I will throw in a few thoughts:

1) Weapons/Form training at home makes all kinds of sense to me, especially because I needed to do 31-jo A LOT before I was able to remember it. If we did it a few times per week in class, it wasn't enough for me, I needed to do it every day until I had it.
2) Although my wife is no longer practicing, she is still sometimes a semi-uke at home. If we learn a new technique in class and I want to drill in the setup (no throw), I will ask her to attack me a few times for setup.
3) In addition to "after class" that somebody mentioned, our dojo has an "open mat" 1/week. One of the instructors is present to answer questions, but by and large it is students working with each other on whatever they need, including test requirements.

AP

In dojos that concentrate on teaching I sometimes need to have a bash after class (apres tsuki if you will), whereas in others where you work up a sweat I might need to go over the finer points/new stuff at the end. Practicing/ Learning balance, though there is obvious overlap.

Partner practice outside of class can be useful IMO, but as mentioned has its flaws mainly due to lack of correction. I've learnt things from the kind of practice that would never be allowed in a sensible dojo however...

What I would say is essential however is physical preparation (eg stretching) and movement drills out of normal, and very limited, class time. In addition to time, another factor is that the environment is often wrong during an aikido class to concentrate on doing something correctly. Example, I've been practicing the imimi tenkan movement now, 50-100 at a time outside of class for the past few years, and I can still feel that mine is not much good. Just doing it in class as part of a technique, I wouldn't have been able to appreciate this, or get the limited improvement I have from focused practice. I came to this conclusion by accident when I wasn't able to get to a dojo regularly for some time, and did some simple aiki exercises just to tide me over.

I would hope that we all practice aikido in the wider sense at some point, as applied to relaxation, economy of movement, breathing, posture, conflict resolution, etc). If not its a great shame, kinda of like learning French in a classroom and never actually employing it to chat up a hot girl...or whatever

Merry Christmas btw,
Mark, x

if you ask me, there are only 2 things you can learn inside the dojo:
1.the way to break the opponents momentum in a technique
2.small things that make the difference (the sensei's winsdom )

all the rest is hard work by yourself

Mark Walsh wrote: What I would say is essential however is physical preparation (eg stretching) and movement drills out of normal, and very limited, class time. In addition to time, another factor is that the environment is often wrong during an aikido class to concentrate on doing something correctly. Example, I've been practicing the imimi tenkan movement now, 50-100 at a time outside of class for the past few years, and I can still feel that mine is not much good. Just doing it in class as part of a technique, I wouldn't have been able to appreciate this, or get the limited improvement I have from focused practice. I came to this conclusion by accident when I wasn't able to get to a dojo regularly for some time, and did some simple aiki exercises just to tide me over.

Do you turn your head to face the direction of movement before turning the body or stepping back? I find that most of my students that have problems with irimi tenkan are not turning the head first but as they turn.

Try doing it on a swinging punching bag, that might help since your head then moves to track the bag as it goes by. Make sure you are doing it so that you do the irimi tenkan continuously about twenty or thirty times as the bag swings past. Don't let the bag hit you and get yourself in position to immediately go into irimi tenkan again as the bag swings back at you.

If you push the bag through as it passes you, you can keep the exercise going a long time. Once you have that, then move on to sankaku irimi, tenshin, and tenkai, then mix them up and try to make sure the bag doesn't hit you at any time. It's good aerobic exercise and fun.

Rock

"Do you turn your head to face the direction of movement before turning the body or stepping back?"

Cheers for the advice, creative idea with the punch bag. I've experimented with different things re head turning:
- Head first - the movement of the head and eyes moves the body.
- All at once.
- Head last. Ballet thing I think, stops you getting so dizzy.

Cheers again,
Mark

Mark Walsh wrote: "Do you turn your head to face the direction of movement before turning the body or stepping back?" Cheers for the advice, creative idea with the punch bag. I've experimented with different things re head turning: - Head first - the movement of the head and eyes moves the body. - All at once. - Head last. Ballet thing I think, stops you getting so dizzy. Cheers again, Mark

Turning your head first makes sure you get your feet all the way back and into hanmi position. If you turn your head last, you will find that your feet tend to end up more parallel -- one of the reasons, I am told, in ballet you sometimes move your head last -- to keep your hips facing forward rather than obliquely. For us, our hips are to turn obliquely so moving head first gets it there.

Rock

Hi,

I'm quite new to Aikido (5 months), and am now only beginning to understand that, when at home and wanting to train, practice Jo & Ken techniques. This will enable you to start to recognise the connection between these, and the unarmed training you see and practice in the dojo.
By understanding these basic movements will train our body sense to grasp other unarmed techniques quicker.

Train in both ukemi and weapons techniques as much as possible for the individual alone, at home, or in the dojo.
Practising in pairs, could be beneficial I suppose although I dont have the luxury of this, and sensei could always correct you the next time your in the dojo. So I could not see how this could be a problem.

When I first started, I was lucky enough to have in my class a number of very experienced individuals, and every week we would make the effort to train for a couple of hours in our uni gym, practicing what we'd learned. Also as there was a number of skills, judo, jujitsu, karate, boxing we'd also teach each other what we knew, and how these different areas could be used to add a different aspect to our aikido. Not only was it great fun, it helped develop my aikido and also to be mindful of a number of different options that can be applied to a technique.

When i fisrt started training I practised ukemi at home and some of the techniques with a friend who had strated training with me also. It helped me to get a good footing in aikido and progress a little quicker than I perhaps might have without the additional training.

These days I sometimes practise suburi and kata at home, but I tend to practise more stuff like kaeshi-waza and new ways of doing techniques with friends when we horse about.

John:

My opinion is that it is a can be a very good idea. Do you already have someone to train with? If so, my 2 cents are that you ask your instructor first to have his approval and then practice things that you understand enough to do more or less correctly. Or i mean know them well enough to be able to at least walk through it with your partner. I practiced outside of the dojo with another student, literally, for some time. We found that one really can roll on the grass as long as there are no rocks!! But i found it to be very enjoyable as you can concentrate on those small details that you need and dont always get a chance to do in the dojo. Have fun training!
Jeremy Young
Tatsumaki Dojo
Springdale, AR

The dojo actually becomes "everywhere" over time. I think this is because after you have become accustomed to bowing and being aware, the dojo where you train goes right into your heart.

[quote=John Boswell]Do any of you train outside the dojo with fellow aikidoka? Is this not a good idea, for fear of developing bad habits... or is it worth the time to get as much training in as possible outside the dojo?[quote]


Kisshomaru Ueshiba, in one of his books (can't remember the name, only that it's like a purple or bluish color) says that the only way for you to get good is to train on your own.

I'll try finding the book and post name and page number.

My experience is that you uncover real secrets by training on your own. Sensei gives you a correction, you go home and practice it. You come back and do one of those style techniques again. The last correction is assimilated. You're ready for the next correction.

I don't think there's any way a person can assimilate a correction to the level of reflex by only doing it a few times in class.

Just my O.

The name of the book is "The Art of Aikido."

I didn't find the quote (I didn't want to read it again), but that's the book. It's a cool read.