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Old 04-14-2003, 01:47 PM   #1
Paula Lydon
Dojo: Aikido Shugenkai
Location: Colorado
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 427
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balanced life

~~Just looking at the balance of my life at present between work, Aikido, other activities, chores, etc. Seems I'm a tad high on the training segment (5 or 6 days a week). What's your scale showing? Tipsy this way or that or pretty well balanced? Probably just me being obssessive ~~

~~Paula~~
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Old 04-14-2003, 02:51 PM   #2
wilmking
Dojo: Yoshinkan (IKA), Sei Shin Kai, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 9
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oh well...... my wife is seriously considering starting aikido so she "can see me every once in a while" as she sais.... its actually not that bad... i try to have "heavy training days" (training in the morning and evening) and "light training days", where i maybe work for an hour with the katana. 6-7 sessions a week on 3-5 days is my average and so far my body is thankful for the days rest in beween. i feel quite balances, if i dont train i get grumpy and work will be harder. family, train, eat, sleep and work sounds like a good list of life to me!

martin
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Old 04-14-2003, 02:51 PM   #3
erikmenzel
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Dojo: Koshinkai Leeuwarden
Location: Leeuwarden
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 594
Netherlands
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The scales definitly tip towards the training part.

Is that bad?? Does this mean my imortal soul is now lost for ever??

Erik Jurrien Menzel
kokoro o makuru taisanmen ni hirake
Personal:www.kuipers-menzel.com
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Old 04-14-2003, 03:45 PM   #4
Paul Sanderson-Cimino
Dojo: Yoshokai; looking into judo
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 434
United_States
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I end up training quite a bit - under an hour on Tuesday and Thursday (an informal 'buki night' that some of us have put together), 6:00-10:30 on Mondays and Wednesdays, and an open mat thing on Saturday from 1-4.

My sensei here once phrased it along the lines of "We try to live in balance, and sometimes that means skipping aikido." I think that makes a lot of sense. It's like any other priority; it can be a part of your life, even a big part, but I dunno, in my inexpert, college student opinion, if my wife said "I should sign up to see you every now and then" (assuming it wasn't completely teasing), I'd consider removing a class and doing something with her. I remember I had a girlfriend who didn't share an interest, really, and she sort of tried to join the interest (not aikido), but it didn't really work out. My current girlfriend is kind of into aikido, but not really. I do try to make quality time for other things in my life (not to mention school!) and am at present deciding I'll take it easy on the Tuesday/Thursday classes: i.e., skip one, the other, or both from time to time. Even aikido can be destructive if done excessively; addictions are bad even if they're to otherwise very healthy things.

I again note that aside from the wise saying of my sensei, this is /all/ some newbie kid talking. ^_- Just my novice experience, peppered with advice from my seniors.
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Old 04-14-2003, 05:51 PM   #5
ikkainogakusei
Location: All over CA
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 137
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Freaky! Re: balanced life

Quote:
Paula Lydon wrote:
~~Just looking at the balance ... What's your scale showing? Tipsy this way or that or pretty well balanced? Probably just me being obssessive
I know nothing of this 'obsessive' thing...

Lecture : 4 days/wk

Lab: 3 days/wk

Homework : heh 7 days/wk (5 projects)

Hours spent @ school/day:12(avg), Fri only 5

Aikido: 3hours, 40 min/wk

Play time with buddies: random, maybe 2 hours/wk

Balance...I remember balance...ironic that I'm studying balance


"To educate a man in mind, and not in morals, is to educate a menace to society." ~Theodore Roosevelt
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Old 04-15-2003, 02:50 AM   #6
fabion
Dojo: Rehovot Aikikan
Location: Israel
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 12
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i train 6 days/week (we have 5 training sessions of 1.5 h plus one of free training). i use to arrive 1-2 hours before the class for iaido training, and sometimes some extra aikido with folks that get early as well.

obsession http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/images/smilies/eek.gif? maybe... but right now i have the time, i'm single and living in a foreign country (no family around), so i'm just enjoying it http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/images...es/biggrin.gif

working/studiyng during the day and training in the evening, that's balance for me... http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/images/smilies/wink.gif
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Old 04-15-2003, 02:51 AM   #7
fabion
Dojo: Rehovot Aikikan
Location: Israel
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 12
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ops... something went wrong with the smile icons... well, never mind.
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Old 04-15-2003, 08:23 AM   #8
Joseph Huebner
 
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Dojo: Seiwa Dojo / Battle Creek, MI
Location: Hastings, Michigan
Join Date: Feb 2003
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I'd say as a newcomer my training has been a priority because this is all new and fresh for me.

My work schedule is such that I only work 10 days a month. There is alot of time for family and aikido. Not sure if I just traded a sedentary habit for a healthy endeavor but I believe I have a good "balance" going right now. Some weeks I train 2 days a week, others I can train up to 4.

Joseph Huebner
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Old 04-15-2003, 08:24 AM   #9
Larry Feldman
Dojo: Atlanta School of Aikido
Location: Atlanta, GA
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 387
United_States
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My prenuptials were for 2 days/week practice, 2 seminars/year.

I am up to 3 days/week practice (teaching), and snuck in an extra seminar for a few years. Presently at 2 seminars/year and holding. Occassionally miss class for family events.

When I was single time was easier to come by, but I also had other 'vices'.
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Old 04-15-2003, 08:41 AM   #10
rachmass
Dojo: Aikido of Cincinnati/Huron Valley Aikikai
Location: Somerset Michigan
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 794
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Prior to marriage, it was 6 days a week. Since marriage, it is 4 days a week, but I also get to go to as many seminars a year as I want (and can afford), which is usually around 10. Work takes up the bulk of my time, followed by family, followed by aikido. The balance would be better in thirds, but work supports family as well as aikido....
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Old 04-15-2003, 11:02 AM   #11
Bronson
 
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Dojo: Seiwa Dojo and Southside Dojo
Location: Battle Creek & Kalamazoo, MI
Join Date: Feb 2002
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Lets see...
  • I work three 12 hour days a week, Friday, Saturday and Sunday
  • I train twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday and also teach those same nights in another nearby city. Often staying after class and working with whoever wants to stay until 11:00 pm.
  • I do iaido on Wednesday night.
  • which leaves me with Monday evening free.*

*except for the month of April because I'm up on the rotation to teach the Monday night class at sensei's dojo.

It would seem that I tip pretty heavily on the training side. But since I don't work during the week and my girlfriend works 2nd shift we get to spend time together during the day...so it all works out. Not sure what I'm gonna do if she switches to days. Maybe try to get her into aikido...or find another girlfriend

Bronson

"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."
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Old 05-01-2003, 03:24 AM   #12
gi_grrl
Dojo: Institute of Aikido Australia
Location: Perth
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 48
Australia
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Last year I trained three times a week whilst studying full-time and working part-time. I felt like I was making progress in achieving my goals in both aikido and study. My relationship with my defacto started to fall apart...we simply weren't spending enough time together.

This year, I've only trained twice a week. I feel as though my aikido is going backward and I'm losing skills that I had been slowly gaining. It is frustrating me, and I need to try again to find the right balance.
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Old 05-01-2003, 01:43 PM   #13
taras
Location: West Yorks and Merseyside, UK
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 170
United Kingdom
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I only do Aikido twice a week, wish I could train more often but unfortunately there are only two classes once a week each. I work four nights, then for off. The work gets in the way, sometimes I have to find someone to cover me untill I finish trainig.

but I am wondering, is it too bad to be obsessed with Aikido practice? If I could, given circumstances, I think I would quite happily train daily. m-m-m nice to dream
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Old 05-01-2003, 02:09 PM   #14
DCP
 
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Dojo: Inaka Dojo
Location: Land of Lincoln
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 135
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With a job, wife, and two kids, I am only able to train once a week. If there was a dojo closer to my home, I know I would train much more. The closest dojos are between 45-75 minutes away. The sad thing is that they really aren't "far," it's just that Chicago-area traffic BITES.

Since I train only once a week, I find that I really, really look forward to it. (I miss the college days of three hour practices three times a week!) Those of you that train more than 3X a week, do you look forward to practice all that much, or has it become routine? I know I would enjoy practicing more often, but at what point does it become blah or half-hearted?

A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety.
- Aesop
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Old 05-05-2003, 06:51 PM   #15
Paula Lydon
Dojo: Aikido Shugenkai
Location: Colorado
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 427
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~~Daniel P.

No, even at 5 to 6 times a week (not always) I never find training blah, and I'm never half-hearted. Sometimes I am tired, though, especially Friday night classes after working the week, or even the second class in an evening depending on hard we trained in the first class. I also have the luxury (and blessing) of having different types of training offered all week long: Beginner, advanced, weapons, ukemi, centering, etc. so the feel and flow is different, using alternate energies and stimulating different parts of the mind/body. Lucky me! as I know this is hardly the case for most folks.

Grab what you can and enjoy the hell out of it! ~~

~~Paula~~
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