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 05-30-2007, 06:14 PM   #1
booyaa
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 7
Canada
Offline
Off nights - is it just me?

Today is the day after my off night! I dont mean taking the night off, i mean i totally didnt get anything last night.

Basics that I know how to do, just weren't happening last night... im hoping that others have this too. I couldnt believe that i forgot simple moves like omote and ura ( i kept doing ura when i was suppose to do omote )

At least i knew what nikkyo was, that was my saving grace!

I know my tenkans suck, but last night i learned because my hamstrings are too tight, i cant do a proper tenkan, the way my sensei wants me too. He wants me to stretch my leg back more, yet i cant or else ill pull a muscle.

I guess in retrospect I did learn some things last night, I learned on my off nights, i am not there both mentally and physically.

Here is hoping that thurs night will bring a better training session.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2007, 07:39 PM   #2
Pauliina Lievonen
 
Pauliina Lievonen's Avatar
Dojo: Jiki Shin Kan Utrecht
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 562
Netherlands
Offline
Re: Off nights - is it just me?

I don't know how long you've been training, but in my experience you'll always keep having off nights every now and then. Last year I had a bit of an off year... Better learn to enjoy them.

kvaak
Pauliina
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2007, 09:05 PM   #3
Janet Rosen
 
Janet Rosen's Avatar
Location: Left Coast
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 4,339
Offline
Re: Off nights - is it just me?

Its TOTALLY normal.
Sometimes for reasons....never discovered.
Often, because there is a normal disconnect/time lag between body and mind in terms of integrating stuff.
In terms of hamstrings, there may be chronic imbalances between your quads and hamstrings causing your pelvis to be pulled and worsening the hamstrings tightness, or it may come from tight Achilles tendons and plantar issues - you may want to check with a PT or athletic trainer or myofascial therapist.

Janet Rosen
http://www.zanshinart.com
"peace will enter when hate is gone"--percy mayfield
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2007, 12:46 AM   #4
jennyvanwest
 
jennyvanwest's Avatar
Dojo: Aikido of ME
Location: Maine
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 61
United_States
Offline
Re: Off nights - is it just me?

Most definitely. They aren't fun but they are certainly good for humility, and I sometimes wonder if I'm not learning on a different level by being so confused I can't think.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2007, 03:15 AM   #5
happysod
Dojo: Kiburn, London, UK
Location: London
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 899
United Kingdom
Offline
Re: Off nights - is it just me?

Sorry Jeremy, but it's just you! The rest of us gods of aikido inhabiting aikiweb do not have "off nights", that is merely a justification for the weak and dilettante and you should scourge yourself mercilessly for even daring to have a less than perfect training.

The true student of aikido has off weeks, off months, even off years or decades! Due to this typical myopic Western obsession with short periods of time such as a single night we see the increasing signs of a declining dojo culture in aikido with obsessive hakama folding on a worrying increase and even reports of coloured lineage charts being passed between kyu grades after training.

Just remember, what would KP do (assuming your user name is a reference, and yes I am rather sad to recognize it)
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2007, 05:04 AM   #6
philipsmith
Dojo: Ren Shin Kan
Location: Birmingham
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 362
United Kingdom
Offline
Re: Off nights - is it just me?

To paraphrase the late great Jazz pianist Oscar Peterson
"We all play bum notes but the trick is not letteing the audience hear them"
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2007, 05:05 AM   #7
crbateman
 
crbateman's Avatar
Location: Orlando, FL
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,502
Offline
Re: Off nights - is it just me?

You aren't going to knock one out of the park every single night. Nobody is that good. But it is good that you attempt to gain from it by trying to figure out what it was that brought it about. Not in an obsessive way, but in a constructive one. It could be any of a million different things, maybe the same one every time, or maybe a different one each time. You may find that the more you practice, in a relaxed yet focused manner, the less often this will happen. But it will still happen from time to time, so don't be too hard on yourself. As for the hamstrings, work out some stretching exercises for before and after practice, and your flexibility will improve. Relax. Reach. Empty. Fill. Breathe. Train. Enjoy.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2007, 06:08 AM   #8
Kieran Barrett
 
Kieran Barrett's Avatar
Dojo: Midleton Aikido Club
Location: County Cork,
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 11
Ireland
Offline
Re: Off nights - is it just me?

Jeremy, you need to relax and realise to err is human....it is from our mistakes that we learn...is sounds like your sensei wants you to do things that you recognise you cannot, Aiki is about blending with yourself as well as your Uke....

Smile and think happy thoughts...good luck training tonight..let us know how you got on!
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2007, 06:34 AM   #9
Taliesin
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 82
Offline
Re: Off nights - is it just me?

Off-Nights???

You're looking at things the wrong way round. Nobody has off-nights - we all have very rare ON Nights when things go right.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2007, 06:50 AM   #10
gdandscompserv
 
gdandscompserv's Avatar
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,214
United_States
Offline
Re: Off nights - is it just me?

Quote:
David Chalk wrote: View Post
Off-Nights???

You're looking at things the wrong way round. Nobody has off-nights - we all have very rare ON Nights when things go right.
I like that.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2007, 06:58 AM   #11
gdandscompserv
 
gdandscompserv's Avatar
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,214
United_States
Offline
Re: Off nights - is it just me?

Quote:
Ian Hurst wrote: View Post
Due to this typical myopic Western obsession with short periods of time such as a single night we see the increasing signs of a declining dojo culture in aikido with obsessive hakama folding on a worrying increase and even reports of coloured lineage charts being passed between kyu grades after training.
Ha-ha.
I think you are right Ian.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2007, 09:53 AM   #12
Murgen
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 34
United_States
Offline
Re: Off nights - is it just me?

Quote:
Ian Hurst wrote: View Post
coloured lineage charts being passed between kyu grades after training.
What exactly is that!? Just curious. Is it showing the lineage from O'sensei all the way down to the kyu grades in the dojo? Sounds really weird.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2007, 10:25 AM   #13
booyaa
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 7
Canada
Offline
Re: Off nights - is it just me?

thanks for all the comments, they are great. I especially had a good chuckle from Ian, that really made me laugh out loud.

From now on im going to look at the nights im doing things well as the rarity!

Since I have only been in it for 3 months, i still have lots to learn, so its all good!!!!
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2007, 03:39 PM   #14
Qatana
 
Qatana's Avatar
Dojo: Aikido of Petaluma, Petaluma,CA
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 834
Offline
Re: Off nights - is it just me?

its the nights that everythng makes crystal clear sense that worry me!

Q
http://www.aikidopetaluma.com/
www.knot-working.com

"It is not wise to be incautious when confronting a little smiling bald man"'- Rule #1
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2007, 03:56 PM   #15
tarik
 
tarik's Avatar
Dojo: Iwae Dojo
Location: Boulder Creek, CA
Join Date: Jun 2000
Posts: 568
United_States
Offline
Re: Off nights - is it just me?

Quote:
Jo Adell wrote: View Post
its the nights that everythng makes crystal clear sense that worry me!
Why is that, or is this purely jest?

Those nights are typically (for me) remarkable milestones of learning and awareness when my understanding and ability are well matched.

I haven't had one of those in ages.

Regards,

Tarik Ghbeish
Jiyūshin-ryū AikiBudō - Iwae Dojo

MASAKATSU AGATSU -- "The true victory of self-mastery."
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2007, 05:25 PM   #16
Qatana
 
Qatana's Avatar
Dojo: Aikido of Petaluma, Petaluma,CA
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 834
Offline
Re: Off nights - is it just me?

Its partially true and partially jest.
Unfortunately I'm not well right now and rather brain dead so I really can't elaborate any further!

Q
http://www.aikidopetaluma.com/
www.knot-working.com

"It is not wise to be incautious when confronting a little smiling bald man"'- Rule #1
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2007, 06:14 PM   #17
ElizabethCastor
 
ElizabethCastor's Avatar
Dojo: Castle Rock Aikido
Location: Denver, CO
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 62
United_States
Offline
Re: Off nights - is it just me?

Quote:
Since I have only been in it for 3 months, i still have lots to learn, so its all good!!!!
Man!!! 3 months! sheesh 3 months in I was still very unsure of my footwork let alone omote and ura. AND I kept apologizing every time I threw someone on the ground REALLY. NO JOKE.

Plus, I am a little like Jo, I get a little wary/on edge/cautious if everything goes perfect. Mostly because I don't want to assume that I have it "perfected." I kind of remind myself to take mental notes on WHY everything is sync-ing up so well. That way I have my observations built up. Not really out of fear of screwing up but knowing how a technique feels in my body instead of how X Sensei or Y Sensei describes it to me. Also, so that I am not so hard on myself when that "bad day" happens... if I assume I got it then have a bad day I tend to get tough on myself, unnecessarily.

Lastly, I find "bad days" a little enlightening. I try to reflect on what my brain was focusing on instead of aikido. I learned a lot about my daily habits from this.

Enjoy!
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2007, 09:05 AM   #18
antonis paps
 
antonis paps's Avatar
Location: greece
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 56
Greece
Offline
Re: Off nights - is it just me?

Quote:
Jeremy Cassidy wrote: View Post
Today is the day after my off night! I dont mean taking the night off, i mean i totally didnt get anything last night.

Basics that I know how to do, just weren't happening last night... im hoping that others have this too. I couldnt believe that i forgot simple moves like omote and ura ( i kept doing ura when i was suppose to do omote )

At least i knew what nikkyo was, that was my saving grace!

I know my tenkans suck, but last night i learned because my hamstrings are too tight, i cant do a proper tenkan, the way my sensei wants me too. He wants me to stretch my leg back more, yet i cant or else ill pull a muscle.

I guess in retrospect I did learn some things last night, I learned on my off nights, i am not there both mentally and physically.

Here is hoping that thurs night will bring a better training session.
Do not worry

I hear this all the time by other people in the dojo.

I even feel sometimes that I was really crap

I guess everyone is allowed to be, or feel he was crap,

once, or twice or, lots and lots of times

hehe

Τὰ πάντα ῥεῖ , What Flows, Is.
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2007, 10:11 AM   #19
lifeafter2am
Dojo: Shindai Aikikai
Location: Orlando
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 153
United_States
Offline
Re: Off nights - is it just me?

Everyone has their off days! I had one about 3 weeks ago, I felt like I couldn't do anything right! I kept hitting my head doing foward rolls! I am actually good at those too!

"The mind is everything. What you think you become." - Siddhattha Gotama Buddha
  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
Aikido makes for cheap nights Michael Meister Open Discussions 15 05-16-2007 12:31 PM
Unsupportive spouse Esaemann General 40 08-09-2006 10:29 AM


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 06:24 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