Aikido and Libido

I don't know how to phrase this delicately, has anyone else noticed an increase in libido after beginning aikido training? Through the training and physical contact I am starting to have a realization of people's "fleshiness." Other people seem more real to me somehow. This new sense has caused me to see members of the opposite sex in a new light. In everyday interactions I have a more physical sense of their being. Maybe it's a natural side effect of aikido training?
Maybe it's just me.

Could just be you!! I don't remember any thing like that when I started Aikido!!

People say the oddest things....

Whether it is just you or a real part of just starting aikido, my advice would be: Find a partner that also trains and go for it like bunnies!!

Enjoy it while you can

Increase in libido happens after any physical exercise, not just aikido. I think it is just your body's natural reaction to the start of such exercise....

It puts the lotion on it's skin, or it gets the hose again.

Aleksey S (shihonage) wrote: It puts the lotion on it's skin, or it gets the hose again.

DUDE! EeeeeeeeWWWW!

I'll be having nightmares over that one...

Erik Jurrien Knoops (erikknoops) wrote: Whether it is just you or a real part of just starting aikido, my advice would be: Find a partner that also trains and go for it like bunnies!! Enjoy it while you can

Ah, you have to love the pragmatism of the Dutch.

Sean

x

You know... somebody wrote an article about Aikido increasing libido a few years back. We laughed at it. But I see now, it's actually serious.

Get Real! It is downright prudish to equate increased libido with serial killing.

Sex is good for you, and sexual energy can and should be present in as many parts of life as possible. It isn't perverse to feel good about bodies, it isn't perverse to learn about one's sexuality from the intimacy inherent in aikido.

...nor does this sexiness necessitate/condone inappropriate behavior on the mat. It sounds like the individual who started this thread is keeping the sexiness off the mat, between her/his own ears, etc. What's the creepiness in that? I think about the sexiness of aikido all the time, and it totally increases my sex drive. I think part of it is general endorphins, but part of it is the partnered, intimate nature of the art. It's all about connection, right?

Why else do you think I keep pressuring my lover to join the dojo?

Troll mating season...

So...this thread has sex, aikido and serial killing?

Wait till the BJJ guys see this.

() wrote: Through the training and physical contact I am starting to have a realization of people's "fleshiness." Other people seem more real to me somehow.

That's one of the weirdest, coolest, things I have heard anyone say about aikido in recent memory.

I agree that part of the reason could be (depending on this person's recent excercise background) just the fact that aikido is physical excercise. BUT: note the nature of the quote above.. very cool, it seems part of this has nothing to do with physical excercise, instead something more abstract that is much more specific to aikido! Like someone said, "it's about connection" in aikido training, and apparently exploring this type of feeling has had a specific effect for this person. VERY cool hey you should go talk to a sex psychologist, they would be very interested!

--JW

i started a thread sometime ago on a similiar vein and it didnt go down as well as this.

aside from increasing libido, aikido also strengthens and adds mobility to those hips and increases sensitivity and awareness of yourself and your partner for more fun between the sheets.

One Japanese Shihan has already explored the realtionship between Aikido and Tango. If Tango is sexy, then Aikido should be as well, with a partner of the right sex, that is

I partly agree with John Hogan that some of what you're experiencing is just a reaction to starting an exercise program. Increased heart rate, endorphins flowing, better blood circulation (that last one especially)... And any kind of exercise will increase your physical awareness, especially in comparison with the sedentary, cerebral routines most of us live with.

But I'd also agree, Anon, that there's something special about aikido. Don't know where you're writing from, but in America anyway, everyday social interaction tends to be pretty cold physically. Casually touching people isn't that socially acceptable. (Compared to, eg, Mediterranean countries where acquaintances, incl. same-sex, often greet each other with kisses, and your radius of "personal space" is smaller than in the US.)

So when you get to the dojo, all the close physical contact can be an enormous release. Not "getting off" on it (sex is the last thing on my mind during practice), but just filling the ordinary human need for touch. It's even nice to be able to touch people & be physically close to them *without* sex having anything to do with it. So I totally see where you're coming from, having this sense of people's "fleshiness" - it's like a light bulb goes on & you realize that we're not all just disembodied brains doing brain stuff (talking, writing, posting on Aikiweb). How about that, we have bodies!

I've also noticed how different everyone feels physically as a training partner, even people of similar height, weight, build, etc. Extraordinary. Everyone has their own "movement personality" (for lack of a better term), as unique as their fingerprints. Even doing blindfolded randori I'd know exactly who I was throwing.

If a student believes that aikido is "sexy," then it seems to me that there is something wrong with the atmosphere in the dojo and/or the attitude of the student. If training is undertaken with the proper focus and intensity, there shouldn't be much mental energy left over for thoughts of sex. If there is, it means you are not properly focused.

I do agree with Mike completely. If you have time to think about sex than you are not training hard enough. On the other hand one also learns to observe and to be honest towards ones observations in the dojo. This means that at one point one may come to recognize beautiful and sexy people for what they are. This is good in my eyes, but also realy doent mean anything.

There is also another side that can play a part in this: If I compare the dojo with the real-world(TM) than it seems to me that the percentage of men/women in good (natural)physical shape is much much higher in the dojo compared to the real-wordl(TM)(And at least in my simple male brain good physical shape adds to beauty and sexiness).

Tactile/sensory stimulation can increase libido. So can physical exercise, getting the heart rate up. Feeling better about yourself because you have had a good workout and doing something good for yourself also helps.

Please, IMHO, don't lower your center of gravity too much by focusing on the "sexual" aspects, could really throuhg your balance off.

Until again,

Lynn

What I often find strange about beginners is that they are shy of the physical contact (esp. during pins when the opponents arm is very close to the body). The reason I find it strange is that when I do aikido it takes me all my time to think about the technique, the openings, the martial aspects etc. I'm sure the same occurs to students as they continue as this embarrassment seems to dissapear.

Ian

Unfortunately many people, especially young teen-agers, use training as a way to interact and flirt with persons of the opposite sex. Eventhough this is not commendable behaviour, but it is understandable. What I cannot understand is middle-aged male Yudansha flirting with cute teen-age female beginners.

I would agree that it's a general thing caused by excercising not by aikido specifically, moreover, if you do think that aikido is the reason for it and not the effort of excercising then you're not really paying enough attention to the waza...? One ought to try to have an alert mind and develop awareness at all times (not awareness of getting the horn!!!!!!!)

Check the web for "Kinky Aikido Fetishes" and It will probably redirect you to the person who posted this thread. Or...

I bet this person has just started "Adolescence waza"

Hi !

I'd say that there definitely can be time enough for sensations/attractions when training with a partner,but thankfully never time enough for wrong mindsets to occur.

The mat is not a dancefloor but a great place to be.

yours - Chr.b.

I am still amazed. Why this separation between sexual energy and all other energy?

This thread is not about inappropriate behavior or mind-wandering fantasies - it seems to be about admitting that people's bodies feel good, that engaging in a connected act increases one's sexual energy. What's wrong with that? Why is that a distraction from the upright goal of martial activity?

Why is that a distraction from the upright goal of martial activity?

If you've got to ask ...