Poll: Which "wall" do you run into more often during your current aikido training?

AikiWeb Poll for the week of October 8, 2006:

Which "wall" do you run into more often during your current aikido training?

• I don't do aikido
• Mental
• Physical
  

Here are the current results.

Funny... This poll seems to discriminate against physically handicapped folks; but then, there is no right or wrong answer...
In gassho,
mark

I don't think the poll discriminates. Back in the high season of political correctness, when I was in graduate school, I went to a lecture where people without any physical handicap were refered to as "temporarily able-bodied." I think that's actually a useful way to think about things. We're all physically limited in some way, and we are all very succeptible to becoming "handicapped," often through no fault of our own. If we're lucky, we get old and inevitably a bit creaky, and become handicapped that way. One major physical limitation we all face is a limit of time -- we only have so many decades in which to practice! One lifetime at a time!

(Sorry if this is a bit of a digression).

--Amelia

Generally I hit the West wall, which is fortunate as the mats go two feet up the wall. As opposed to the East wall, which is entirely mirrored and not a good idea to hit...

So Jo is obviously usually hitting a physical wall. In most other cases - and this is not limited to temporarily able-bodies human beings, even when you think you hit a physical wall, it is mental wall. Probably it is the mental wall (buffer-zone) you create to avoid crashing into your physical limit, but very often it is a mental barrier you just create to simplify your world.

After all the years I still have problems throwing strong and heavy fellow-aikidoka, although I know from a few "accidents", that they fall as easy as the others, when the technique is applied correctly.

And when ever I am totally exhausted, it is mostly just because I blocked myself from staying calm and breath. I see this very often at other aikidoka so it not just me, but I guess most aikidoka run against mental walls.

Jo Adell is an exception

Best regards Dirk

Mental wall. Because generally if I have hit a physical wall, it's because I hit a mental wall first.

[QUOTE
Jo Adell is an exception /QUOTE]

cool. I got it in Writing!