by way of introduction ...
I thought it would be a good idea to introduce myself before I start making a nuisance of myself on the aikiwiki. :-)
Sometime in the late 1980's, after having grown increasingly disenchanted with the idea of handguns as a means of self-defense, I decided to take up a martial art. I read up on the various major martial arts, familiarizing myself with the basic philosophies and approaches. As a musician, I had no interest in jamming my hands into barrels of sand and gravel to toughen them. As a wimp, I had no interest in subjecting myself to gratuitous abuse, physical or otherwise. And I definitely wanted to learn a martial art primarily for self-defense, not for exercise or competition.
It quickly became clear that I wanted a "soft" martial art, not a "hard" martial art. I dismissed Tai Chi because almost nobody teaches it as a practical defense form. Everything I read about Aikido I liked, and I discovered that there was a club that met twice a week at the Y right in the town I was living in at the time: Nashua, NH.
So began my study with Michael Pabst Sensei (who I'm delighted to see here on the members list). I studied there for a few years, and loved it. If I remember correctly, I tested twice. Then Sensei moved to Ohio, the club folded, and a variety of factors conspired to part me from the world of Aikido.
Fast-forward to 2006. Now living in the Champlain Valley of Vermont, a different variety of factors conspired to return me to Aikido, chief among them my 6-year-old son Rowan. This spring we both began attending children's classes at Aikido of Champlain Valley in Burlington, VT. It's wonderful to be back!
My other lives include: software engineer, Episcopal church musician, ferroequinologist, SF fan, filker, woodworker, neo-pagan.
I'm off to the aikiwiki...
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