Welcome to AikiWeb Aikido Information
AikiWeb: The Source for Aikido Information
AikiWeb's principal purpose is to serve the Internet community as a repository and dissemination point for aikido information.

Sections
home
aikido articles
columns

Discussions
forums
aikiblogs

Databases
dojo search
seminars
image gallery
supplies
links directory

Reviews
book reviews
video reviews
dvd reviews
equip. reviews

News
submit
archive

Miscellaneous
newsletter
rss feeds
polls
about

Follow us on



Home > AikiWeb Aikido Forums
Go Back   AikiWeb Aikido Forums > General

Hello and thank you for visiting AikiWeb, the world's most active online Aikido community! This site is home to over 22,000 aikido practitioners from around the world and covers a wide range of aikido topics including techniques, philosophy, history, humor, beginner issues, the marketplace, and more.

If you wish to join in the discussions or use the other advanced features available, you will need to register first. Registration is absolutely free and takes only a few minutes to complete so sign up today!

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 05-31-2004, 08:53 PM   #1
PeterR
 
PeterR's Avatar
Dojo: Shodokan Honbu (Osaka)
Location: Himeji, Japan
Join Date: Mar 2001
Posts: 3,319
Japan
Offline
Self Image During Training

All this talk about personal warrior code got me to thinking along slightly more general lines.

What self image do you have during training.

Do you see yourself as Stupendous Man (ala Calvin and Hobbes) or the recipient of Takuan's teachings in the Unfettered Mind (specifically The Mysterious Record of Immovable Wisdom). Is it hard ass-ed warrior training or just someone who likes training the Aikido techniques. Street fighter or purveyor of peace and harmony.

Now I realize that it might be a combination of several and not necessarily one of the above - but if you had to say in ten words or less what it was - could you?

I like training in Aikido techniques.

PS I am referring to the state of mind during the actual training.

Last edited by PeterR : 05-31-2004 at 08:55 PM.

Peter Rehse Shodokan Aikido
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2004, 09:00 PM   #2
p00kiethebear
 
p00kiethebear's Avatar
Dojo: Tonbo Dojo
Location: Bainbridge Island WA
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 374
United_States
Offline
Re: Self Image During Training

Humble. And always intrigued and asking questions to myself

"Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity"
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2004, 09:49 PM   #3
kironin
 
kironin's Avatar
Dojo: Houston Ki Aikido
Location: Houston,TX
Join Date: Aug 2000
Posts: 1,038
United_States
Offline
Re: Self Image During Training

No mind.




or at least working toward it
while at the same time I just like
doing aikido technique.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2004, 09:52 PM   #4
Bronson
 
Bronson's Avatar
Dojo: Seiwa Dojo and Southside Dojo
Location: Battle Creek & Kalamazoo, MI
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,677
Offline
Re: Self Image During Training

Mostly like this....

Bronson
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	spuderman1.gif
Views:	146
Size:	32.2 KB
ID:	180  

"A pacifist is not really a pacifist if he is unable to make a choice between violence and non-violence. A true pacifist is able to kill or maim in the blink of an eye, but at the moment of impending destruction of the enemy he chooses non-violence."
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2004, 10:02 PM   #5
PeterR
 
PeterR's Avatar
Dojo: Shodokan Honbu (Osaka)
Location: Himeji, Japan
Join Date: Mar 2001
Posts: 3,319
Japan
Offline
Re: Self Image During Training

Hi Craig;

I like No mind also - the core of Tomiki Aikido is afterall Mushin Mugamae but for me during training, watching the instructor, trying to improve the technique, trying to help my kohai improve theirs, No Mind just can not describe my state of mind during training. It is however an ideal.

Peter Rehse Shodokan Aikido
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2004, 11:09 PM   #6
Jordan Steele
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 126
Offline
Re: Self Image During Training

I try to have the image of a solid line through my body and a ball of electricity outlining my body waiting to be projected. I understand the no mind idea for use in combat, but in training I believe it is very useful to have an image of yourself and things to improve upon.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2004, 11:13 PM   #7
Jordan Steele
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 126
Offline
Re: Self Image During Training

And to answer my state of mind during training. I treat training as an "encounter" that needs to be respected as if your uke intends to kill you. Focused, relaxed, alert etc. Training is mellow and trusting but as the saying goes "How you train is how you perform." My uke intends to kill me and I am not going to allow that to happen.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2004, 11:17 PM   #8
Largo
Dojo: Aikikai Dobunkan/ Icho Ryu Aikijujutsu
Location: Indiana
Join Date: Nov 2001
Posts: 247
United_States
Offline
Re: Self Image During Training

It depends on the day, what we are doing, (and recently) if I'm the one teaching

For example- atemi day- I AM GOD!!! Fear my mawashi geri and elbow strikes

kokyu ho day- don't grab so hard...I'm just a little shodan

teaching day- mae ukemi? eh? what's that?!?

irimi nage day- tin man on a rainy day.

nikyo day:
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2004, 12:24 AM   #9
Ian Williams
Location: Adelaide, Australia
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 136
Offline
Re: Self Image During Training

No mind for me isn't a choice sometimes..


*where did I leave those car keys*
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2004, 08:57 AM   #10
SeiserL
 
SeiserL's Avatar
Location: Florida Gulf coast
Join Date: Jun 2000
Posts: 3,902
United_States
Offline
Re: Self Image During Training

IMHO, self-image by definition is the internal visual representation that my learned ego identity uses as a frame of reference. I try to lose it as much as possible in training and in life. While its useful, it often gets in the way of new learning because it tries to make sense of something new in terms of something I already know and identify with.

When we had to rebuild the Dojo after a fire, many of us were happier without the mirrors.

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!
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2004, 09:15 AM   #11
kung fu hamster
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 166
Offline
Eek! Re: Self Image During Training

"Is that really me or does this gi make me look fat?"
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2004, 09:25 AM   #12
Ron Tisdale
Dojo: Doshinkan dojo in Roxborough, Pa
Location: Phila. Pa
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 4,615
United_States
Offline
Re: Self Image During Training

I'd say most of the time I'd have to go with Lynn's reply. If I can dump the self image I can get down to learning. I don't sucseed nearly as often as I should. Nearly all of my 'problems' on the mat are due to not being able to maintain the 'self image' of the moment, whatever it might be.

I also like training in aikido techniques...

Ron

Ron Tisdale
-----------------------
"The higher a monkey climbs, the more you see of his behind."
St. Bonaventure (ca. 1221-1274)
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2004, 10:51 AM   #13
happysod
Dojo: Kiburn, London, UK
Location: London
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 899
United Kingdom
Offline
Re: Self Image During Training

The calm centredness of Jack Nicholson in "The Shining" coupled with the murderous power of "Babe" from "Babe II" and the social integrity of Jaws - seriously Peter, stop smoking what ever you're smoking, I'm used to these type of questions from aiki-fruities like wot I'm meant to be...


Quote:
I don't sucseed nearly as often as I should.
- Ron, are you saying you're a budgie with a bent beak? - sorry, old joke, couldn't resist.
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2004, 11:52 AM   #14
Ron Tisdale
Dojo: Doshinkan dojo in Roxborough, Pa
Location: Phila. Pa
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 4,615
United_States
Offline
Re: Self Image During Training

cough...that should be succeed...

Good one!

RT

Ron Tisdale
-----------------------
"The higher a monkey climbs, the more you see of his behind."
St. Bonaventure (ca. 1221-1274)
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2004, 12:53 PM   #15
jxa127
Location: Harrisburg, PA
Join Date: Jul 2000
Posts: 420
Offline
Re: Self Image During Training

The gi definitely makes me look fat.

I just got back from four days of training at the AAA Eastern States Instructors Seminar. It's been a while since I trained so much in that short a time. For the most part, I found that I really didn't think much about myself during training; I simply thought about what I should be doing.

On the other hand, when I got back to the hotel room, I was surprised to see that I'm bigger than I felt. I'm a pretty big guy, but I've lost about 40 lbs. over the past year. So I'm enjoying being smaller than I was a year ago. But on the mat, I feel lighter and more agile than somebody who looks like me should be.

Oh well. If I continue to lose weight, I'll eventually fit my mental image of myself.

Regards,

----
-Drew Ames
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2004, 02:34 PM   #16
Chris Birke
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 258
Offline
Re: Self Image During Training

if I have meaning, I see nothing, if I see everything, it has no meaning
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2004, 03:01 PM   #17
kironin
 
kironin's Avatar
Dojo: Houston Ki Aikido
Location: Houston,TX
Join Date: Aug 2000
Posts: 1,038
United_States
Offline
Re: Self Image During Training

Quote:
Peter Rehse wrote:
but for me during training, watching the instructor, trying to improve the technique, trying to help my kohai improve theirs, No Mind just can not describe my state of mind during training. It is however an ideal.
Not sure I understood.

Yes, it's an ideal, but how wouldn't it help to foster that in all those situations you describe ? Such as bringing a full attention to detail at each moment. Like the full meaning of the kanji for "i" that begins iaido. At least that is how I look at it.

Craig
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2004, 04:21 PM   #18
graham butt
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 73
Offline
Re: Self Image During Training

I agree with Jordan Steele.
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2004, 05:15 PM   #19
Amassus
 
Amassus's Avatar
Dojo: Aikido Musubi Ryu/ Yoshin Wadokan
Location: Hamilton
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 306
New Zealand
Offline
Re: Self Image During Training

Self image?
I thought about this question for a long time after reading all the other comments.
The only answer that came to my head was this; I want to come across as my seniors. I aspire to them. I want to be as good as them, so I try to duplicate what they do, including being a good sempai to those below me.
I know this is dangerous as eventually I need to become my own teacher, but I accept this is where I'm at in my training.
So I don't have my own self image as such. I just like having fun in the dojo.

"flows like water, reflects like a mirror, and responds like an echo." Chaung-tse
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2004, 09:11 PM   #20
Lan Powers
Dojo: Aikido of Midland, Midland TX
Location: Midland Tx
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 660
Offline
Re: Self Image During Training

focus,trying to make relaxed concentration.
(ten words or less... remember?)

Play nice, practice hard, but remember, this is a MARTIAL art!
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2004, 09:41 PM   #21
Choku Tsuki
 
Choku Tsuki's Avatar
Dojo: Bond Street Dojo
Location: New York, New York
Join Date: Aug 2000
Posts: 123
United_States
Offline
Re: Self Image During Training

I don't think 'self-image'; I try to be water, or mizu:
I don't think of the kanji for water either; I think it's rather a handsome character (like myself). Seriously, for me there's little "I" on the mat.

--Chuck
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2004, 11:02 PM   #22
stuartjvnorton
 
stuartjvnorton's Avatar
Dojo: Aikido Shudokan
Location: Melbourne
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 225
Offline
Re: Self Image During Training

"Unco b*****d".
  Reply With Quote

Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Am i missing something?? aikigirl10 General 119 04-20-2006 12:07 PM
Beginners Retention Rates akiy Teaching 45 04-05-2006 11:13 PM
The Nage/Uke Dynamic - Guidelines senshincenter General 47 02-20-2006 05:20 PM
committed attack/sensitive ukemi paradox Janet Rosen Training 30 10-13-2005 07:18 PM
*Really* Tough Training… jxa127 Training 29 05-09-2001 07:49 AM


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:05 AM.



vBulletin Copyright © 2000-2024 Jelsoft Enterprises Limited
----------
Copyright 1997-2024 AikiWeb and its Authors, All Rights Reserved.
----------
For questions and comments about this website:
Send E-mail
plainlaid-picaresque outchasing-protistan explicantia-altarage seaford-stellionate