How was your first ever Aikido class?

I thought i'll start a new thread for this. I'm sure you guys have talked about this earlier, but i'm lazy to search and it's fun to sometimes make some fresh talk about old thread.

Now after my very first class, which was extremely fun and enjoyable, i would like to hear how it was for you? Let the nostalgia flow!

I talked about my yesterdays forst class in the other thread al ready, well, i sure had fun, i'm totally hooked to Aikido now and my plan of making this budo my hobby and maybe a way of life is burning in me stronger than ever.

Share with me your experience, all the funny, eye opening, muscle burning moments. Grab my wrist, throw me on my back and tell me how did it go back in the day.

Lari Hammarberg wrote: I thought i'll start a new thread for this. I'm sure you guys have talked about this earlier, but i'm lazy to search and it's fun to sometimes make some fresh talk about old thread. Now after my very first class, which was extremely fun and enjoyable, i would like to hear how it was for you? Let the nostalgia flow! I talked about my yesterdays forst class in the other thread al ready, well, i sure had fun, i'm totally hooked to Aikido now and my plan of making this budo my hobby and maybe a way of life is burning in me stronger than ever. Share with me your experience, all the funny, eye opening, muscle burning moments. Grab my wrist, throw me on my back and tell me how did it go back in the day.

Thinking back, I remember having no problem learning breaking-falling, while all my fellow beginners at that time struggled, because I previously trained in Judo.

I also constantly bombarded my sensei with questions about the differences between Aikido Ukemi & Judo Ukemi, because coincidently, my sensei also had his background in Judo, achieving quite a senior Dan rank before switching to Aikido.

Not much to remember really. Sensei demonstrated stuff, I did my best to do it...pretty much every class since has been the same.

I personally thought they were having a laugh!!..... But went along with it anyway...... I didn't take it seriously at first as it was so totally alien to what I had done previous to starting it all....... The thought comes to mind that they were maybe a bit?.... Well the word used today is termed "gay"?
But I was curious so kept it up...... kinda glad I did....

It was me, two ikkyus with a reputation for training hard, and another new-ish guy that I never saw again on a Saturday morning. I remember ikkyo, sankyo, LOTS of rolling, and taking a 3 hour nap afterward... the rest is kind of a blur.

I felt pretty silly, the only woman and much older than all the others.
I was nervous like falling down for the first time with a parachute.
But all collegues were very nice and very patient to me. I'm grateful for that.

My first class? Embarrassing... I was a former TaeKwonDo instructor, and came in with the "bull in the china shop" knock-em-all-out philosophy. My instructor did not allow anybody but himself to take ukemi for me until I learned to take it down a few (dozen) notches.

Thanks guys for you replies, nice to hear how it went.. I'd like to hear more.. I guess many have already talked about this.

Having never set foot in a dojo before I was considerably nervous the first time I met sensei Tara Meyer. She was teaching a special introductory class for interested beginners that was set up for myself and another person.

I had decided to visit the dojo after quite a number of emails back and forth with sensei Garth Jones who had been most encouraging, friendly and inviting. I had a lot of positive feeling from the exchange. And his being the only dojo to answer my emails I decided that this one would be the first I would visit.

(Garth and Tara are co-head instructors and owners and founders of the dojo Allegheny Aikido)

I really was not entirely sure why I was there or if I was positive that a martial art was what I was looking for but I needed a change in my life and a friend I trusted suggested that aikido might be just what I needed. Only a few weeks before I had told him that I really could not see myself as a martial artist. "That stuff just isn't me". His reply was, "wanna bet?"

So anyway here I was at the dojo. The other person who came turned out to be a very experienced martial artist who holds some high rank in some style of karate. He got to play uke while sensei gave a very basic demonstration on how a class is conducted, some basic movements and history on aikido. All very interesting. But what really did the trick was the first kotegaeshi I experienced....the sensation of having balance taken without every feeling threatened. To be able to do something approaching the same....I was immediately hooked.

Just before leaving the dojo Tara and I were talking as she closed up. She said a few things that made me sure that she had picked up on a few issues that I was needing to deal with.I knew I had found a teacher who would be understanding. Who I could trust with my safety while I learned.

It was some very hard going in the beginning for me. But once I got a taste there was no way I was gonna give that up. And here I am almost two years later still training and still fascinated with the feeling of connection.

As you can see... that first day is one I will never forget.

Hello there Cherie.

I see, you had a really cool first impression. So nice to hear. I'll post some more first impressions when next tuesday comes... I'll meet my Sensei and sempai's too.

These are some interesting stories, keep them coming.

Oh, and congraz for reahing your 4th kyu already. Keep up the good work.

Lari Hammarberg wrote: Hello there Cherie. I see, you had a really cool first impression. So nice to hear. I'll post some more first impressions when next tuesday comes... I'll meet my Sensei and sempai's too. These are some interesting stories, keep them coming.

lol it was so good that I stopped there and never looked at other dojos. The group I train with is more family to me than my family. I hope you find your new dojo home to be just as great.

Lari Hammarberg wrote: Oh, and congraz for reahing your 4th kyu already. Keep up the good work.

Thank you. I plan on it.

Looking forward to hear your own first class story. Great idea for a thread.

After my first class I went home, wrapped my hands and bashed a heavy bag swearing I was going back to an art that let me hit somebody.

Thank you to my Sempais at Westminster Aikikai for encouraging me to continue. We all blame you now.

Looking forward to hear your own first class story. Great idea for a thread.

Arigato. I talked about my first class in this thread allready.. http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19092

But next tuesday is my first "real" class... I gotta run now, chirstmas horries.. see you around.

First class; I was attempting my first forward roll and landed square on top of my left shoulder. The pain was so bad that I wend to the hospital two days later. I bruised my clavical to the extent that I couldn't move my left arm across my body (to the right) for two months. Whew! Couldn't help but go back. It took almost 20 years but now I can fall most of the time without hurting myself.

I had never heard of Aikido until my first class.
My first class was a foot work class. I didn't understand what I was doing, or why I was dancing. But I assumed that the silly skirted people knew more about their silly skirt art than me, so I just went with it and trusted the process. Glad I did.
Still trusting the process actually.

My first class was before the actual dojo was built. The club was meeting in the gym of a local high school.
The first this was helping lay out the mats.I was already tired from just that part of it. I had trained for some years in JKA Shotokan karate so I was more than familier with dojo etiquette and protocol.
I was introduced to the basics of ukemi and did not do much else that nite. At that time sensei Dave Lowry was teaching and had a really keen sense of every persons limittations.
The thing I remember most was watching the advanced aikidoka taking falls. I was a bit afraid of the idea of me doing that.
After class we had to put the mats back to clear the floor for the gym. At the time I really hated this.
As I look back on it I feel that "those were the good old days".
That club is gone and now and Lowry only teaches Shindo Muso Ryu Jodo but does seminars on other arts. Dave and I trained together off and on for over 30 years. To me his Aikido really was the good old days.

Arigato, for all of ya.

This thread has become more active than i thought. Nice. =) It's cool to hear about your experiences.

I have to say, i've been lucky with taking ukemi. Never really hurt myself. Maybe thanks to my brother who showed be the basics of ukemi years ago..

Keep it coming, it's a pleasure.

It left me feeling that aikido was ridiculous, phony, expensive, and filled with people who deserved a wake up beating.

Didn't try it again for 2 years.

Hmmm . I cant remember back in 1987 but, when I started back in Hilo my first class I rolled into a wall!!! I can only think what my Sensei was thinking!!! LOL

I watched my first class and was basically terrified but I knew I HAD to try it! For a chunky person the falls and rolls seemed impossible for me at first.

My first class that I participated in I was working with a senior student, who btw has patience unlike any other, and we were doing some basic nikyo and ikyo and I managed to slap him in his head. Hard. He joked with me about it and that made me feel better. It also didnt hurt that there were only 4 people in the class that evening, me and my little sister, the senior student, and Sensei. It made me much more comfortable and I was able to express to them WHY I was interested in aikido when I have NEVER done any sort of martial arts class before.

I have been in love since!

I don't remember mine very well. I remember there was another guy on his first day also, though I don't remember seeing him ever again. As I recall, first days were to focus on basic rolling exercises (kohotento, zemponage from seiza and squatting, etc.). I can't remember if we followed along for any of the techniques, but one of the sempai were assigned to us for the whole class to help us get acquianted with the basic flow of it. The other new student and myself didn't really have any experience with martial arts before, so it definately helped to have that focused help on the first day.