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Old 01-13-2014, 10:26 AM   #1
Peter Boylan
Join Date: Aug 2001
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Training outside the art

Do you train beyond just the techniques and practices of Aikido? I've been thinking about this. I do a lot of training that isn't physical, and isn't directly part of any of the arts I practice. I read and research to understand the roots and foundations of the arts. I think of this as "outside training" because it is outside the curriculum of the martial arts. I wrote this blog post about it.

http://budobum.blogspot.com/2014/01/...-training.html

Peter Boylan
Mugendo Budogu LLC
Budo Books, Videos, Equipment from Japan
http://www.budogu.com
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Old 01-13-2014, 12:00 PM   #2
mathewjgano
 
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Dojo: Tsubaki Kannagara Jinja Aikidojo; Himeji Shodokan Dojo
Location: Renton
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Re: Training outside the art

Quote:
Peter Boylan wrote: View Post
Do you train beyond just the techniques and practices of Aikido? I've been thinking about this. I do a lot of training that isn't physical, and isn't directly part of any of the arts I practice. I read and research to understand the roots and foundations of the arts. I think of this as "outside training" because it is outside the curriculum of the martial arts. I wrote this blog post about it.

http://budobum.blogspot.com/2014/01/...-training.html
Nice blog! Thank you for sharing it! Most of my mat time the last several years has been very slight, so I suppose you could say most of my time training has been outside training. I came to Aikiweb with the idea that I wanted to learn about the different perspectives, as well as to get an idea of other resources for learning about the wide world of Aikido. Books cost money and my local library didn't always have the same books being that it was a branch library (the first book I read was Mitsugi Saotome Sensei's book, The Principles of Aikido, followed by Gozo Shioda's book, Dynamic Aikido). So until I came to Aikiweb, that was the extent of my outside training. Since then I've tried to directly experience approaches that are different from what I'm used to and now that I'm trying to ramp up my training again, I'm hoping to do a little more of that. Comparing and contrasting, traveling "inside" and "outside" back and forth generates a great kind of vision I think; it takes a single perspective and makes it a bit more stereoscopic.

I put a lot of stock in the mental aspect of training because that's where so much of our perception is derived. Because our perceptions drive and shape the learning process, I try to consider as many perceptions as possible...and I have to say blogs like yours and forums like Aikiweb have been a great wealth for that reason. I get the sense that the functional learning (the physical ingraining of the principles and ideas) takes place on the mat, but abstract learning can inform our approach in subtle but profound ways. Like you say, it's incredibly valuable for developing in a well-rounded way. It provides a valuable sense of context, which I always find puts things into a better perspective. That's why I love it when people are willing to share their thinking/understanding about, well, whatever they care to do. Thank you again for sharing this!
Take care!

Gambarimashyo!
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Old 01-13-2014, 06:01 PM   #3
odudog
Dojo: Dale City Aikikai
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Re: Training outside the art

Matthew, check with your local library if they have the Internal Library Loan system. If they do, then you can borrow books from other libraries across the country. Just need to know as much about the book as possible to help your branch library find what you want {etc. Title, Author, IBN number, date of publication, company published by, etc..} You have only 3 weeks to read the book so do it one at a time unless your are an avid reader.
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Old 01-13-2014, 06:37 PM   #4
SeiserL
 
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Re: Training outside the art

People always say I train outside the box ...
I didn't know there was it box ...
It is just training to me ...

Lynn Seiser PhD
Yondan Aikido & FMA/JKD
We do not rise to the level of our expectations, but fall to the level of our training. Train well. KWATZ!
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Old 01-13-2014, 06:41 PM   #5
mathewjgano
 
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Re: Training outside the art

Quote:
Mike Braxton wrote: View Post
Matthew, check with your local library if they have the Internal Library Loan system. If they do, then you can borrow books from other libraries across the country. Just need to know as much about the book as possible to help your branch library find what you want {etc. Title, Author, IBN number, date of publication, company published by, etc..} You have only 3 weeks to read the book so do it one at a time unless your are an avid reader.
Thank you, Mike! That's a good idea I should have made use of! This was a while ago and I've since added to my personal library a small number of books (most of which I am due to re-read I think). However, this year is supposed to be a big one for me where focusing on training is concerned, so I'll have to start taking advantage of this since I now live within easy walking distance of my local branch library. Any suggestions?

Right now I'm slowly working my way through Alister Gillies Sensei's book Tenchi: Building a Bridge Between heaven and Earth. So far it's a great read!

Gambarimashyo!
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Old 01-14-2014, 01:19 PM   #6
jonreading
 
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Re: Training outside the art

Quote:
Lynn Seiser wrote: View Post
People always say I train outside the box ...
I didn't know there was it box ...
It is just training to me ...
No, you just cut away the box...

Last edited by akiy : 01-15-2014 at 12:15 PM. Reason: Fixed quote tag

Jon Reading
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Old 01-14-2014, 03:42 PM   #7
Michael Hackett
Dojo: Kenshinkan Dojo (Aikido of North County) Vista, CA
Location: Oceanside, California
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Re: Training outside the art

It is amazing when other strange training opportunities present themselves. Two weeks ago a bunch of us got together and went ice skating in downtown San Diego. (Yeah, I know, it was 73 degrees out, while the rest of you were suffering incredible cold snaps) None of us had any experience so it was quite the show. We all discovered that aikido was a big help - keeping weight underside, extending, maintaining one point, all paid off. Ukemi experience wasn't bad either; most of us crashed and burned twice each, right into yoko ukemi. None of us will get tapped for a trip to Sochi, but we had a great time overall and probably would have been miserable and bruised if it were not for the strange training opportunity.

Man, the mat is sooooo much softer than ice!

Michael
"Leave the gun. Bring the cannoli."
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Old 01-15-2014, 07:16 AM   #8
SeiserL
 
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Re: Training outside the art

Quote:
Jon Reading wrote: View Post
No, you just cut away the box...
And you know I always carry a blade for cutting ... LOL

Last edited by akiy : 01-15-2014 at 12:15 PM. Reason: Fixed quote tag

Lynn Seiser PhD
Yondan Aikido & FMA/JKD
We do not rise to the level of our expectations, but fall to the level of our training. Train well. KWATZ!
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