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Old 12-14-2003, 12:01 AM   #1
AikiWeb System
Join Date: Apr 2001
Posts: 1,320
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AikiWeb Poll for the week of December 14, 2003:

How intimidated were you by your instructor when you first started aikido?
  • I don't do aikido
  • Extremely intimidated
  • Very intimidated
  • Somewhat intimidated
  • Not very intimidated
  • Not at all intimidated
Here are the current results.

Last edited by akiy : 12-14-2003 at 09:59 AM.
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Old 12-14-2003, 06:28 AM   #2
DaveO
Dojo: Great Wave Aikido
Location: Alberta, Canada
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 543
Canada
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OOh; goody goody - I get to be first.

No; I wasn't intimidated; my first Sensei was Mike; a big hefty guy twenty years my senior. kinda looked like he could be mean; but was such a big-hearted, warm guy I relaxed with him immediately.

Answers are only easy when they're incomplete.
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Old 12-14-2003, 06:40 AM   #3
wendyrowe
Dojo: Aikidog Aikikai
Location: Massachusetts
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 199
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I was very intimidated by my Sensei the first day, but not because of anything he did -- it's just that he was so awesome. And he is very reserved and traditional in running the class.

I stopped feeling intimidated after that first class, when he very humbly checked to make sure I wasn't feeling frustrated from trying to learn so many new things. He sincerely wanted to make sure I felt good about his class, and seemed just as concerned about that as I was about hoping I wouldn't disappoint him.
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Old 12-14-2003, 08:32 AM   #4
MaryKaye
Dojo: Seattle Ki Society
Location: Seattle
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 522
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I wasn't intimidated by the sensei when I started out; everyone was very kind and supportive and helpful. Falling and rolling, those scared me, but I quickly saw that the people around me were there to help.

On the other hand, I've gotten slightly more intimidated (not in a bad way) as I've developed the eye to see how good they are! I was sitting on the floor in front of Grigsby sensei while she practiced a jo taigi -- plenty far enough away for safety --and I found myself wanting to back up whenever she made a move in my direction. I am agnostic about how literally "project ki from the tip of your jo" is to be taken, but it certainly feels as though that's what's happening.

It's funny. She's never thrown me hard or hurt me, but my gut is convinced that she's Terribly Dangerous, and I have more butterflies in my stomach when she throws me than with the higher kyu-ranked students who occasionally do pound me into the ground.

In bodysurfing (the closest thing I can think of to aikido in terms of how it feels to me), when you're out beyond the zone where the waves are breaking, even a very large wave will just pick you up and put you down again quite safely. But you definitely feel that you're in the grasp of something much more powerful than yourself.

Mary Kaye
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Old 12-14-2003, 06:34 PM   #5
YEME
Dojo: South West Aiki
Location: Margaret River
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 51
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not intimidated. in awe.

if i'd been intimidated i don't think i would have gone back again.

my instructor was more inspiring than anything.

here was this weedy guy who you'd take for an accountant if you saw him on the street, but he was chucking guys twice his size around the room...making them contort their faces in discomfort as he demonstrated wrist locks. he never looked frustrated, annoyed by lack of progress or bored...just projected this strength...

Mary summed it up really well...
Quote:
Mary Kuhner (MaryKaye) wrote:
In bodysurfing (the closest thing I can think of to aikido in terms of how it feels to me), when you're out beyond the zone where the waves are breaking, even a very large wave will just pick you up and put you down again quite safely. But you definitely feel that you're in the grasp of something much more powerful than yourself.

Mary Kaye
that's exactly it...

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

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Old 12-15-2003, 05:53 AM   #6
philipsmith
Dojo: Ren Shin Kan
Location: Birmingham
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 362
United Kingdom
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Intimidated, intrigued and fascinated in equal measure.

That's what turned me on to Aikido as a real martial art and still inspires me now.
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Old 12-15-2003, 08:17 AM   #7
SeiserL
 
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Location: Florida Gulf coast
Join Date: Jun 2000
Posts: 3,902
United_States
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Intimidated, no. Impressed, yes.

Lynn Seiser PhD
Yondan Aikido & FMA/JKD
We do not rise to the level of our expectations, but fall to the level of our training. Train well. KWATZ!
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Old 12-19-2003, 06:38 PM   #8
Jim ashby
Dojo: Phoenix Coventry
Location: Coventry, England
Join Date: Mar 2001
Posts: 303
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I wasn't intimidated at all. The first man to welcome me onto an Aikido mat was Ric Costigan Sensei. His invitation was "take your shoes off, come and have a go". A big bear of a man who has become one of my best friends, he now has his own affiliated club which he runs exactly the same way as he ran his classes, disciplined but good-natured. No-one is late onto his classes by design, but if you really cannot help it and you have made a genuine effort to make it, you are made really welcome.

(Is this alright Ric? See you Sunday)

Have fun

Vir Obesus Stola Saeptus
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