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08-24-2005, 02:24 AM
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#1
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Location: Huntingdon, Cambs
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 22
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Gimp style Aikido - New learner
Hallo! I noticed a link at the top which suggested I make an introduction in the introductions forum, but it sent me back to the index page... so I'll say hi here instead! My name's Ben and I'm a 24 year old new starter. I started about five weeks ago and seem to be doing okay. I'm also a full-time wheelchair user. I don't know whether my doctor would approve of me taking up Aikido (and Qigong and Taichiquan), but he's never got it right before anyway, and I shouldn't be able to live my life as I do according to him anyway!
This is going to be a huge challenge, but I'm up for it. I practice mostly from hanmi-handachi with some suwari-waza, and a little meeting of attacks (without technique!) off the mat to accustom myself to how my chair responds to uke's attack. My chair can taisabaki all on its own!
Incidentally... hopefully I won't offend anyone with my robust manner of referring to disability and disabled people; I will quite openly refer to myself as "gimp" and "cripple" (think of it as my equivalent of 'reclaiming c--t'), and won't object to other people using these words to describe me (although I wouldn't suggest calling other disabled people by these names within earshot! )
So that's me. Booyah!
/b/
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08-24-2005, 02:35 AM
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#2
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Location: Visalia, California
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 105
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Re: Gimp style Aikido - New learner
WELCOME BOYLE!
My first dojo had a regular student in a wheel chair. Was great learning for the rest of us students....ukemi into a wheelchair is not a pleasant experience. :-)
Best of luck to you in your training...and your dojomates should welcome the oportunity for new training....
Brenda
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08-24-2005, 02:50 AM
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#3
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Location: Left Coast
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 4,339
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Re: Gimp style Aikido - New learner
Boyle, wonderful to meet you.
In an earlier career, I worked as an RN in an acute rehab unit w/ spinal cord injury folks, and I know how essential an irreverent sense of humor can be. It should serve you well in the dojo--it's the "able bodied" folks who have to get over feeling embarrassed at being uncoordinated fools in the dojo, after all! and yeah, when it comes to long-term disabilities, them what got 'em tend to be more expert than the doctors. Pity about the pay disparity....
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Janet Rosen
http://www.zanshinart.com
"peace will enter when hate is gone"--percy mayfield
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08-24-2005, 03:31 AM
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#4
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Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 647
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Re: Gimp style Aikido - New learner
Cool! I know of a Daito Ryu teacher in Copenhagen, Denmark, who also is in a wheelchair. If you have good teachers, it should be a good learning experince for everyone involved.
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08-24-2005, 03:38 AM
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#5
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Location: Orlando, FL
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,502
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Re: Gimp style Aikido - New learner
Congratulations on your courage and humor, Ben. I would like to point you towards a possible source of inspiration. Her name is Molly Hale Sensei, a senior student of Frank Doran Sensei, and a featured instructor at the recent Aiki Expo in Los Angeles. A victim of not one, but two, serious spinal injuries, the last of which (1996) left her wheelchair bound, she continues to train and teach, and to show what can be achieved with the power of the mind and spirit.
You can see her at http://mollyhale.com and in other places, by doing a Google search of "Molly Hale". She reaches out to others, particularly those with similar physical challenges, and I think you'll be rewarded if you contact her, as she is in a unique position to understand and encourage your "walk" along the path. Remember one of O'Sensei's favorite proverbs: "masakatsu agatsu" (True Victory is Self-Victory). Best of luck to you!
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08-24-2005, 03:47 AM
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#6
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Location: Huntingdon, Cambs
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 22
Offline
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Re: Gimp style Aikido - New learner
Quote:
Hanna Björk wrote:
Cool! I know of a Daito Ryu teacher in Copenhagen, Denmark, who also is in a wheelchair. If you have good teachers, it should be a good learning experince for everyone involved.
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Would that by any chance be Ole Kingston Jensen? I've heard about him and saw a little of him at the end of the film Aiki which is loosely based on his experience.
Thanks also for the Molly Hale link; One of the particular reasons I chose Aikido over other martial arts is the precedent of successful wheelchair using practitioners, something I've seen only rarely in other arts.
Thanks for the welcome, guys... but who's this Boyle persona being greeted?
/b/
Last edited by iHeretic : 08-24-2005 at 03:52 AM.
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08-24-2005, 03:51 AM
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#7
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Location: Visalia, California
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 105
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Re: Gimp style Aikido - New learner
Okay, I have no idea how i got Boyle from Ben....forgive me :-)
But the sentiment remains....enjoy your training and welcome to the club!
Brenda
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08-24-2005, 07:53 AM
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#8
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Join Date: Jun 2000
Posts: 6,049
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Re: Gimp style Aikido - New learner
Hi Ben,
Welcome, and thank you for your introduction.
Can you please send me the e-mail with the faulty link? I'll investigate.
-- Jun
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08-24-2005, 10:28 AM
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#9
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Location: Left Coast
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 4,339
Offline
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Re: Gimp style Aikido - New learner
Quote:
Brenda Allen wrote:
Okay, I have no idea how i got Boyle from Ben
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DOH! and I was just following her....
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Janet Rosen
http://www.zanshinart.com
"peace will enter when hate is gone"--percy mayfield
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09-01-2005, 06:53 AM
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#10
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Dojo: satomi
Location: Baghdad
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 12
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Re: Gimp style Aikido - New learner
Hello Ben and welcome aboard.
Soorkeu
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