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Old 11-11-2009, 07:13 AM   #1
dps
 
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Leave your problems at the door, they'll be waiting for you when class is over.

Are you told this in your dojo?

I have often thought that there should be a wastebasket at the door.

As you leave you can throw away the things you left there that you now realize you don't need.

David

Go ahead, tread on me.
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Old 11-11-2009, 08:51 AM   #2
Maarten De Queecker
Dojo: Aikikai Gent, Brugse Aikido Vereniging
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Re: Leave your problems at the door, they'll be waiting for you when class is over.

I've never been told that, but I noticed that I automatically did exactly that when I just started. I went through a rough time in my life, but during training I was concentrated only on "how the hell do they make this look so easy?" and attempting correct ukemi.

Now that the rough times are over and I'm becoming more proficient, I tend to be less concentrated somehow, but I also smile more.
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Old 11-11-2009, 08:54 AM   #3
wideawakedreamer
 
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Re: Leave your problems at the door, they'll be waiting for you when class is over.

I like that wastebasket idea. I can imagine having a few at the door for proper segregation: basket A is for problems, basket B is for everything you see in kung-fu movies, basket C (for cross-trainers like me) is for your other art - not really a wastebasket, more like a storage basket where you leave the other art on the way in and pick it up on the way out, et cetera...

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Old 11-11-2009, 09:46 AM   #4
ryujin
 
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Re: Leave your problems at the door, they'll be waiting for you when class is over.

We have a sign that says "Leave your ego here." and it has an arrow pointing down and a waste basket underneath it.

But it isn't always easy to do, so day to day stuff creeps onto the mat and hopefully you have sempai and teachers that will recognize it and help you overcome it. In turn you will be able to help others deal with their stuff. Sometimes it only takes a few words and sometimes it takes a lot of ukemi.

Some may pick their stuff back up and take it with them; some may leave their stuff behind; and some may leave it and go out and find new stuff.

And this is starting to sound like a George Carlin rant, so I'll stop here.

Carl Bilodeau
Jiyūshin-ryū AikiBudō
Renshinkan

"Yield to temptation — it may not pass your way again." - Robert Heinlein
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Old 11-11-2009, 10:05 AM   #5
Pauliina Lievonen
 
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Re: Leave your problems at the door, they'll be waiting for you when class is over.

One of my teachers often introduced the short meditation before bowing in with "whatever your day has been like, put it all in a little box, and put the box next to your slippers. When you leave, you can decide whether you want to take it back home with you" or something along those lines.

kvaak
Pauliina
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Old 11-11-2009, 11:00 AM   #6
Nick P.
 
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Re: Leave your problems at the door, they'll be waiting for you when class is over.

Quote:
Carl Bilodeau wrote: View Post
And this is starting to sound like a George Carlin rant, so I'll stop here.
That me laugh out loud; thanks for that.

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Old 11-11-2009, 11:40 AM   #7
ninjaqutie
 
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Re: Leave your problems at the door, they'll be waiting for you when class is over.

Quote:
Carl Bilodeau wrote: View Post
Some may pick their stuff back up and take it with them; some may leave their stuff behind; and some may leave it and go out and find new stuff.

And this is starting to sound like a George Carlin rant, so I'll stop here.
I love that skit! Except maybe it should be "leave their crap behind" because only your stuff is stuff. Everyone else has crap.

My old sensei used to say things like that ALL the time. I have always been able to leave my problems at the door (even boyfriend and husband problems, which is harder to do when they train with you at the dojo!)

~Look into the eyes of your opponent & steal his spirit.
~To be a good martial artist is to be good thief; if you want my knowledge, you must take it from me.
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Old 11-11-2009, 11:40 AM   #8
Aikibu
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Re: Leave your problems at the door, they'll be waiting for you when class is over.

Why go to Aikido or any class for that matter...The Mat can be a place were we learn to become better people...But that's just my opinion...

This is one of those phrases that sounds good but is completely ridiculous

Of course one should be "teachable" while on the mat and have good manners However....

There are no time outs...I need to work with whatever my life 'is" at the moment... not to pretend it does not exist. If anything something like practice gives me a set of practical tools to deal with "life"

Aikido always works in the Dojo...learning to make it work outside of the Dojo for my life is the reason I go to class in the first place.

William Hazen
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Old 11-11-2009, 01:06 PM   #9
RED
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Re: Leave your problems at the door, they'll be waiting for you when class is over.

I don't really run into that many jerks to tell you the truth. In my own school there is an absence of ego-maniacs, I've run into maybe 2 people who were just to "hard" at seminars...but over all most people are nice. Unless I only think this because I'm the jerk?!!! 0_0'''''
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Old 11-12-2009, 07:48 AM   #10
kokyu
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Re: Leave your problems at the door, they'll be waiting for you when class is over.

Quote:
Pauliina Lievonen wrote: View Post
One of my teachers often introduced the short meditation before bowing in with "whatever your day has been like, put it all in a little box, and put the box next to your slippers. When you leave, you can decide whether you want to take it back home with you" or something along those lines.

kvaak
Pauliina
I like this one

I often find my worst days outside the dojo become my best days in the dojo... you know, one of those days when everything seems to go wrong and you just feel so tired, really have to drag yourself to the dojo... and then... suddenly it's such a relief to focus on something else, and the practice becomes really smooth.. and yes, your problems still wait for you when the class is over, but maybe all you need is an irimi tenkan
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Old 11-13-2009, 01:26 AM   #11
michael tan
Dojo: Aikido At The Red Barn
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Smile Re: Leave your problems at the door, they'll be waiting for you when class is over.

I teach my students to leave their issues at the door upon bowing in and that Mokuso is the time to gain mental, emotional and physical clarity and readiness. Let what you learn in class to go with you and approach those issues you left out there with a mind of non contention. Aiki is to assist one in dealing with life's issues with a centered self. Just something to think about.
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Old 11-13-2009, 10:55 AM   #12
lbb
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Re: Leave your problems at the door, they'll be waiting for you when class is over.

Quote:
William Hazen wrote: View Post
This is one of those phrases that sounds good but is completely ridiculous

Of course one should be "teachable" while on the mat and have good manners However....

There are no time outs...I need to work with whatever my life 'is" at the moment... not to pretend it does not exist.
That. Also, how do you draw the line between "leaving your problems at the door" in a healthy way, and escapism? Aikido can be an escapist pursuit, as much as anything else can, and it can be addictive for all the wrong reasons. If someone has something wrong in their life, and instead of dealing with their problems they go to the dojo in order to temporarily forget about them, to my mind that's no different from using alcohol or drugs to escape: the problems are there, bigger and badder than ever, when you walk out the door.
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Old 11-13-2009, 11:07 AM   #13
Janet Rosen
 
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Re: Leave your problems at the door, they'll be waiting for you when class is over.

My approach seems different from the either/or...

I don't try to leave things outside per se, because that assumes there is some kind of dichotomy. For me the training is for the integral me in toto to be fully present and aware in the moment.

The "baggage" is there because its part of me, but it doesn't need to define or change the current reality.

Janet Rosen
http://www.zanshinart.com
"peace will enter when hate is gone"--percy mayfield
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Old 11-13-2009, 12:39 PM   #14
Victoria Pitt
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Re: Leave your problems at the door, they'll be waiting for you when class is over.

I'm usually so worried about getting what I am doing "right" I am too occupied to think about anything else besides:

"Ooh, my back hurts."
"Ouch, I slammed my knee down too hard on that one."
"OMG, Are you okay? I didn't mean to punch you in the face but Sensei told me to hit you 'with intent'"
"Gee, I'd like some water."
"Oh great, more swari waza, my back is still hurting and I think my knee is broken from earlier."
"Oh, you mean my other left!"
"Are my pants still up?"
"If Chuck Norris were to walk in right now and challenge my Sensei to a duel, I wonder who would win?"
"Water?"
"I like her nail polish."
"If Vin Diesel, The Rock, and Chuck Norris were to jump my Senesei, I wonder who would win?"
"WATER!!!???!!"

Which might explain why I was told to try to be more "focused" lately. But I assure you, my mind is in the dojo as soon as I put on the gi because its such a different world to me than what goes on outside.

~Do one thing each day that scares you...~
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Old 11-13-2009, 12:54 PM   #15
ninjaqutie
 
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Re: Leave your problems at the door, they'll be waiting for you when class is over.

I wouldn't mind if Vin Diesel came into my dojo. My husband probably wouldn't appreciate me wanting to work with him on every technique though. HAHA.

~Look into the eyes of your opponent & steal his spirit.
~To be a good martial artist is to be good thief; if you want my knowledge, you must take it from me.
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Old 11-13-2009, 02:39 PM   #16
Joe McParland
 
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Re: Leave your problems at the door, they'll be waiting for you when class is over.

If a bokken is swinging at your head, you'd be hard pressed to argue that you couldn't move because you're behind on the bills. Handling the attack does not deny the bills.

Similarly, your maiming the attacker because you had a bad day is similarly unjustified. A vigorous practice can positively transmute a shitty day into a wonderful evening, but there's no need to imagine your boss' face on uke as part of the process.

The ability to remain fluid is very important. Part of this is is developing the ability to realize quickly when you are stuck and to shift yourself quickly from that state. This "stuck" comes in different flavors between "attachment" (e.g., can't let go of a bad day, focusing on uke's grasp, focusing on uke's blade, etc.) and "aversion" (e.g., escaping life by going to practice, avoiding that technique because you're not good on that side, etc.), but the result is the same: you're out of "center."

The sign is a tripwire, a reminder. Changing clothes, bowing in, and so forth are other reminders: "This is where and when we practice Aikido."

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Old 11-13-2009, 03:23 PM   #17
Jeremy Hulley
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Re: Leave your problems at the door, they'll be waiting for you when class is over.

I find that being clear with my training partners about my state of mind can make for a safer, better training experience for both of us. It only seems fair that I should let folsk knwo about the stuff outside the dojo that could be impactign my itneractions in the dojo..

Jeremy Hulley
Shinto Ryu Iai Battojutsu
Tuesday Night Bad Budo Club
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Old 11-14-2009, 04:11 PM   #18
Guilty Spark
 
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Re: Leave your problems at the door, they'll be waiting for you when class is over.

Quote:
David Skaggs wrote: View Post
Are you told this in your dojo?

I have often thought that there should be a wastebasket at the door.

As you leave you can throw away the things you left there that you now realize you don't need.

David
Incredable idea

If you're hungry, keep moving.
If you're tired, keep moving.
If you value you're life, keep moving.

You don't own what you can't defend
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Old 11-14-2009, 07:12 PM   #19
CNYMike
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Re: Leave your problems at the door, they'll be waiting for you when class is over.

Quote:
David Skaggs wrote: View Post
Are you told this in your dojo?

I have often thought that there should be a wastebasket at the door.

As you leave you can throw away the things you left there that you now realize you don't need.

David
Great idea. Not always easy to do, depending on what's going on in my life; but I still feel good after class. It helps me get through it.

"I am not a big fat panda. I am the big fat panda." --Po, Kung Fu Panda
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