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Old 05-10-2013, 04:20 PM   #1
ThomasBaker92
Location: Wausau Wisconsin
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 6
United_States
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Advice for someone new?

I will be starting Aikido soon i am almost 17. I am wondering if anyone could give me any tips on learning it or just any advice in general. Anything would help im eager to get started and to enjoy many years of aikido in the future.
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Old 05-10-2013, 04:51 PM   #2
odudog
Dojo: Dale City Aikikai
Location: VA
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 394
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Re: Advice for someone new?

Patience, patience, patience. Then when you think you have it, apply even more patience. The sensei will make it look very easy, but it isn't until you get the feel which will take quite sometime. Study the feet movements extensively. You can easily practice them at home by yourself much easier than trying to practice the hand movements. Good luck and welcme to he mat!!
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Old 05-11-2013, 01:19 PM   #3
BJohnston
Location: OK
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 44
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Re: Advice for someone new?

What odudog said...

Aikido is something that takes time to develop. It's definitely not an instant gratifaction type of an art. When you learn striking arts you see the immediate results. Aikido is such a different animal. It may take a little while to understand the basic movements. Developing your ukemi is very important. Forward and backward rolls, breakfalls, and being martially aware is something that will come with practice.

I wish I would've discovered Aikido at your age. You're half the age I was when I started, but I just glad that I found something that gives me so much in return.

Have fun and good luck.

B
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Old 05-11-2013, 05:08 PM   #4
Lyle Laizure
 
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Dojo: Hinode Dojo LLC
Location: Omaha, Nebraska
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 566
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Re: Advice for someone new?

Maintain your eagerness. That feeling you have now about being so excited for class to begin. Hold onto that most of all, especially if you want to practice Aikido for years to come. Always spend time on your basics because your basics are what create what some call the more advanced movements. Pace yourself. Enjoy being a beginner. Don't be in a hurry to advance. Breathe.

Lyle Laizure
www.hinodedojo.com
Deru kugi wa uta reru
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Old 05-11-2013, 05:35 PM   #5
JP3
 
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Dojo: Wasabi Dojo
Location: Houston, TX
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 290
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Re: Advice for someone new?

Do as the instructor tells you, even if that "instructor" is only a green belt assigned to work with you through drills. Try to maximize the benefit you receive from each minute of the class you attend.

I find it interesting that the kanji character for kuzushi illustrates a mountain falling on a house.
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Old 05-11-2013, 05:57 PM   #6
Mary Eastland
 
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Dojo: Berkshire Hills Aikido
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Re: Advice for someone new?

Just keep showing up.

Mary Eastland

Dare to Tenkan
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Old 05-12-2013, 11:26 AM   #7
Basia Halliop
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 711
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Re: Advice for someone new?

Work hard and focus on enjoying the process.
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Old 05-13-2013, 07:58 AM   #8
lbb
Location: Massachusetts
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 3,202
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Re: Advice for someone new?

What Mary and Basia said, basically.

1. Keep showing up. Not every class will be fun and exciting, but that's how it is with everything worthwhile. To get the value out of it, you need to keep showing up.

2. Work hard, and don't try to get by on your natural gifts, whatever they may be. This is something I wish someone had explained to me at your age (but, knowing me, I might not have listened). If you've got natural talents of some kind, you've probably been able to do well without much effort -- at least, so far. Within the next few years, that will change. As a bright kid, I had no trouble being a standout student at a mediocre high school - it took my sophomore year at a competitive college (and organic chemistry) to teach me that no matter how gifted you may be, eventually you just have to buckle down and work in order to amount to anything. It's a character thing: the sooner you develop into the kind of person who accepts the work that success requires, the better off you'll be.

3. Enjoy the process -- not necessarily every moment (see #1), but don't do aikido (or anything) solely for some down-the-road goal. Ask yourself how you feel about what you're doing right now; ask yourself if you can keep doing it for a lifetime. I've known people who got to their third year of medical school before they were forced to admit to themselves that the answer to that question was "no". In martial arts, people sometimes focus on getting a black belt, but don't notice that the training (the process) the day after you get your black belt is no different than it was before. If you don't enjoy the process, if you're gritting your teeth and toughing through it to get to some future goal, that's a good reason not to do it.
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Old 05-13-2013, 05:11 PM   #9
JLRonin
 
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Re: Advice for someone new?

Welcome. Read everything on this web site. Happy Aiki Keiko.
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