What would you do in this case..?

Imagine that for whatever reason (work,personal etc..) you move to a location (country state..) that doesn't have a dojo of your affiliation, or maybe not even a of a major affiliation. Just some dojo that teaches "aikido", and so with a heavy heart you go to satisfy your curiosity... Once there you train and get the following information and conclusions:
1- You liked the training ( even though it was different from your traditional style) and enjoyed it.
2- any belt you might achieve will not be recognized anywhere else..
3- that dojo is your only choice to practice aikido...

I am interested to see what would be your response to this...?
Regards to all!!
Gabriel

I belong to a dojo thats not affiliated. I say if you are focused on wearing a certain belt, you may be out of luck. If you had fun and thought the training was good and challenging i'd go for it. My dojo is not affiliated with anyone, yet I chose it anyway out of all others (some with affiliation) because I liked the training methods and instructor the best and it appeared the most structured and realistic.

Then again I really don't care too much about the color of my belt. From what you are saying though it doesn't seem like you have much choise.

If I liked the training and enjoyed it I would train.

It must be good as I wouldnt enjoy poor training.

If you are good ...then you are good. Who cares who recognises your belt colour?

If I didn't like the training I would work with the dojo to make it better. ...which is a long term target.

If all else fails I'd start my own dojo.

Cheers

D

Paul Daren , thanx for your esponse and your views. And no I don't really care about ranks or belts...
Regards
Gabriel

Funny... everytime this thought tries to creep into my head I snuff it out. My dojo and fellow training partners are a major part of my life... a foundation. There is very little that could force me to move away from it. I'd change jobs first.

That said, I think the gentlemen who've already responded gave wise answers. You're as good as you are. Having fun and growing seems to be what most of us are looking for.

Peace,
eD

1. TRAIN THERE.
2. Maintain contacts with my former instructor(s), and former affiliation(s)
3. Attend seminars under my former affiliation as well as my current affiliation, if possible and when possible.
4. Keep a journal of all your aikido -related activities -- even if it's just a list of date-event-instructor & hours practiced
5. When you get to another dojo, if ever you do, explain your situation to the head instructor, hand over your documentation, and (if there is any justice in the world) you will be properly evaluated. 6. You will have to earn the respect of your new sensei, and be prepared to await his approval for testing, for the rank he/she thinks is appropriate.

I'm actually kinda on that path, right now

Hi Peter great post, even better signature.
Best of luck on your path!!
Regards
Gabriel
P.S
Just to clarify, my post isn't happening to me. I just wanted to hear opinions. Why?
Curiosity, also I Have noticed a stong love for the art we practice in so many posts... that I just wanted to know how many would keep training.... 'cause I have also noticed strong feelings about affiliations...

Liking the new place despite no affiliation wouldn't deter me from training.

Whenever someone comes to our dojo and wants to train with us, they often mention a past kyu ranking they have. Sensei will allow them to wear their old belt, out of respect, and will watch this new individual as they train with us. If they are worthy of such a rank, he takes that into account. If they are not, then he would just deal with them on an individual basis and handle them with respect... but in the end, any and all new people would need to know our requirements to test for and earn our ranking.

I like Peter's response: keeping a journal with factual data, going to seminars often (as possible) and continuing on with your training.

Aikido should be done for the love of it, not for rank, status or anything like that.

John Boswell wrote: Aikido should be done for the love of it, not for rank, status or anything like that.

Good one John!

Regards
Gabriel

Good aikido training is good aikido training. At the end of the day, I am happy if I've had a good session on the mat whereas I do not recall ever deriving pleasure from gazing at my belt color.

Sounds like us. You're welcome to come and practice with us anytime you're in the area, as is anyone else.

Most of what I would say or note has been said above, particularly Peter and John.

Regards

Bryan

Forget belts, grades and recognition. Even forget about the martial art you are doing. If you want to get good at martial arts you will train at a good dojo, regardless. Nobody taught Ueshiba aikido, he learnt 'martial arts'. If your training is good, when you go to another good dojo they should recognise this and you'll soon be graded to an appropriate grade. Personally I'd rather be able to have a practical ability in aikido than a 9th Dan from the Hombu dojo - your dan grade won't protect your life (unless maybe you carry your certificate around in your pocket and you can show it to people to stop them attacking

Gabriel Arias wrote: 1- You liked the training ( even though it was different from your traditional style) and enjoyed it.

Great opportunity to broaden your experience I'm all for training in different styles, as often as possible.

Gabriel Arias wrote: 2- any belt you might achieve will not be recognized anywhere else..

Doesn't matter. Who cares what colour belt you use to keep your jacket closed?

Gabriel Arias wrote: 3- that dojo is your only choice to practice aikido...

If you're enjoying the training and learning, then by all means train there. If not, go check out the other MA dojos in the area or take up another activity.

Strong feeling about affiliation is just politics

Ruth

Well, my current Dojo is very similar to this situation. It is affiliated, but "Korindo Aikido" is such a small affiliation, disconnected to any other. And yes, I would not replace the dojo or my teacher with any other affiliated Dojo, though they exist.
My teacher is simply much better then all the alternatives I have seen so far. He is both much more experienced and of wider horizons (he has practiced Judo and Karate besides the Korindo Aikido, all for 35-40 years now).


And if I were forced to live in another place, I would have looked for the teacher that best suited me, knowledge wise and instruction wise. I wouldn't care about his affiliation or the M.A. he teaches.


Amir

Janet Rosen wrote: . I do not recall ever deriving pleasure from gazing at my belt color.

I dunno, I still like looking at my purple one, even though I've been promoted to blue...

Good training is good training, let your skill talk for you not your belt.

Trainings Training, wherever you are. Ask yourself would you prefer to live with or without Aikido?

In my organisation all belts are white unitl dan grade, the only distinction is hakama at 1st kyu. It makes for interesting experiences when visiting dojo's of different organisations...

1- You liked the training ( even though it was different from your traditional style) and enjoyed it.

Good fundamentals and training will show anywhere you train in the future. However, if the school demonstrates poor fundamentals and poor basics you may be building bad habits that will be difficult to break later.

2- any belt you might achieve will not be recognized anywhere else..

That is always a problem when you are getting kyu ranks and probably some dan ranks with different organizations. However, many instructors will recognize quality training when they see it and generally, if they have the flexibility to do so, will slot the person where they think they belong.

3- that dojo is your only choice to practice aikido... Bad fundamentals and basics may be a detriment in the future. However, if you recognize such and practice with that in mind and work on your fundamentals and basics it may not be a problem. I have had occasion to see this happen where students trained with an instructor with bad fundamentals and it was difficult getting them over old habits-even when they had a prior background with good fundamentals.