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Old 04-22-2003, 09:12 PM   #1
tedehara
 
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Dojo: Evanston Ki-Aikido
Location: Evanston IL
Join Date: Aug 2000
Posts: 826
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Eek! Becoming a White Belt

For seminars and visits to other dojos, I wear a white belt. I'm not a member of their organizaton, so I figure that a white belt is the correct rank to wear. Although I've discovered that it's dangerous being a white belt.

When I was in a seminar, I had some yudansha give me this all out attack! I'm wearing a white belt - What's this black belt thinking of? If I really was a beginner, I'd probably be in a hospital. As it was, the black belt just landed with a fierce thump when all that energy rebounded.

Then there are those who decide it would be fun to break your wrist. A shihan once expelled two members from his dojo and remarked, "Aikido is not about breaking wrists." Perhaps, this could be a future trend. So it seems one of the first priorities is to do plenty of wrist stretching exercises, if one wants to survive as a white belt.

Of course, wearing a white belt means that you're basically ignored by everyone ranked above you. Personally I think that's OK since some of the yudansha are outright dangerous to practice with. But I think it strange that the only person in the dojo willing to explain technique is another white belt who started training a day before your visit.

Of course the weirdest character I've encountered as a white belt is the Aikido Mime. They don't speak, they just ssslllooowwwlllyyy go through the motions like Marcel Marceau. You begin to wonder if you're their training partner or their audience.

Thomas Wolfe once wrote "You can't go home again." Perhaps not, but wearing a white belt reminds you of why you decided to leave in the first place.

It is not practice that makes perfect, it is correct practice that makes perfect.
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Old 04-22-2003, 10:55 PM   #2
DaveO
Dojo: Great Wave Aikido
Location: Alberta, Canada
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 543
Canada
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LOL - fun post; Ted.

When I first started Aikido; I had come from a karate/jiu-jitsu environment in which belt ranks are very important.

My first seminar was the VKS Summer Camp; six weeks after I started. The biggest lesson I learned? NEVER TRUST A WHITE BELT!!! He might be a newcomer like myself; but he just might have fifteen years experience.

An amusing situation; I'd just got my gi tunic; a used one from the dojo. None of the pants fit; so I wore black TKD pants with it. I was confused about why people were confused about my status; I didn't realize that in some schools, 1st kyus wear black pants. Lol - it was a bit funny; after my Famous Flying Superman Imitation (as it's referred to at my dojo), a few people were scratching their heads, wondering what we taught our 1st-kyus.

(The FFSI? My first time ever doing ukemi from a technique; it was zenpo-nage tenkan. I ran, grabbed, flew...and completely forgot to roll. Nage was a nidan; I was still going up two matlengths past - absolutely horizontal. I reached apoapsis and managed to say "Oh, crap..." quite calmly before crashing back to Earth - still flat. When 50 yudansha all go "OOOOOO!!" at the same time; you know it's a spectacular screwup!)

Later!

Dave

Answers are only easy when they're incomplete.
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Old 04-22-2003, 11:35 PM   #3
Andrew Wilson
Dojo: jiyushikan
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 31
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thats interesting, I was under the impression that going slow was one of the best virtues...

your elders in the dojo should be taking care of you, if they arent... well, you need to figure that out yourself.

"The wise man, after learning something new, is afraid to learn anything more until he has put his first lesson into practice." - Tzu Lu
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Old 04-22-2003, 11:41 PM   #4
DaveO
Dojo: Great Wave Aikido
Location: Alberta, Canada
Join Date: Jun 2002
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Canada
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Umm; Andrew.....

This is the humour section.

Answers are only easy when they're incomplete.
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Old 04-23-2003, 02:55 AM   #5
YEME
Dojo: South West Aiki
Location: Margaret River
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 51
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AHH, the aikido mime!LOL


Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome.
--Isaac Asimov

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Old 04-23-2003, 07:38 AM   #6
Andrew Wilson
Dojo: jiyushikan
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Join Date: Dec 2002
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Ummm... dave, I dont have a sense of humour.

"The wise man, after learning something new, is afraid to learn anything more until he has put his first lesson into practice." - Tzu Lu
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Old 04-23-2003, 07:44 AM   #7
Veers
 
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Dojo: Shinkikan Aikikai Aikido of Corpus Christi
Location: Corpus Christi, Texas
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Quote:
The FFSI? My first time ever doing ukemi from a technique; it was zenpo-nage tenkan. I ran, grabbed, flew...and completely forgot to roll. Nage was a nidan; I was still going up two matlengths past - absolutely horizontal. I reached apoapsis and managed to say "Oh, crap..." quite calmly before crashing back to Earth - still flat. When 50 yudansha all go "OOOOOO!!" at the same time; you know it's a spectacular screwup!
Ahahahaha, that's great Yesterday sensei did a technique on my and he didn't do it hard enough and I didn't jump to roll, so I kind of did a handstand before curling up in a ball and falling over. We laughed, but that could have been dangerous for my wrists had I been going faster.

The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
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Old 05-03-2003, 03:24 AM   #8
taras
Location: West Yorks and Merseyside, UK
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 170
United Kingdom
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Ted,

thanks for the post, it really made me feel better. As they say in Russia, in every joke there is a bit of truth, or as some say, in every joke there is a bit of joke (and the rest is truth).

I wear a white belt everywhere apart from the dojo where I graded. I am going to an Aikido Summer School this August and untill I read your post the question of my belt really bothered me. Now I'll quite happily wear white.
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Old 05-16-2003, 04:22 PM   #9
Mallory Wikoff
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 24
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NEVER STAND ON A BASKETBALL!! expesialy when you're in a gym with a hard wood floor, and you still dont have falling ingraved in your mind!

if your enemy hungers, feed him
if he needs cloths, cloth him
in doing this you are piling burning coals on his head.
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Old 06-01-2003, 02:43 AM   #10
Shelley
Location: Christchurch
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 12
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heehee how about sew a sign on you back, saying "newbie!" I wanted to do that but my people told me not to.

Personally I think we should be allowed to wear mood duct tapes. like, red means "I'm suffering from injuries", blue saying "I'm suffering from depression", green saying "I'm very drunk" etc to minimise the danger rating. ^_^

All men can fly. But, only to one direction.

Love
Shelley
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