Newby

I have just registered on the forums, and I suppose I'll be a frequent visitor here.
I own a dojo in Omaha in which I teach Shaolin Kempo, and this afternoon I am going to a local Aikido dojo to see what they are doing there and I will probobly apply to take classes there.
Other than what I have gleaned from many books, and some of the films that are available,( most notably the IMHO excellent film on Steven Segall),
I have no knowledge of Aikido.
Shaolin Kempo is an excellent form, and yet I yearn for what I have seen of Aikido, and I appriciate the philosophy behind it.
I dont have a pride problem, and althogh I will introduce myself as a Sensei, for the sake of honesty, I put no stock in that fact insofar as that
title will not infer any intuative gift for Aikido.
I would appriciate any advise for the total new guy. My ultimate aim isn't rank, but rather knowledge, and experience.

Thanks all!

Tom

It sounds like you don't need advice.

Just the obvious points, train hard, be honest with yourself and don't expect everything to come to you immediately.

I would grade if you can, it helps you to focus on your techniques and put them in a logical order in your head.

Knowledge and experience is not in short supply in Aikido, as you may glean just by reading these pages. There really isn't an end to what you can learn in Aikido, but thats not to say don't learn everything you can. Having done kempo you will probably discover things about Aikido that many others have not.

when you realize that an awful lot of professed akidoists dont follow many if any of the main principals, turn aikido into something more resembling brawling and claim to still be practicing pure aikido

(can you tell i'm slight disgusted?)

Tom Scott wrote: I would appriciate any advise for the total new guy. My ultimate aim isn't rank, but rather knowledge, and experience. Thanks all! Tom

Welcome to the forums. You sound as if the Aikido bug has bitten you. FWIW, the advice of a beginning level student with a background similar to yours is:

o Train for life.
o Train in such a way that yoursituation and body will let you train for life.
o Keep an open mind and focus on Aikido as Budo.

YMMV,

A wee bit ago I played with some Shaolin Kempo guys. Interesting folks. I liked what I saw of the strikes. Unlike what we do where it's one strike (maybe a follow up if we're feeling bold) the stuff I saw was consistently a heapin' helpin' of strikes. It made me rethink some things (like catching an arm in flight). It'll be good for your new Aikido friends to get a taste of that at some point too. It would be good for me to get more of a taste of it.

If I have any advice it would be to learn to fall, not that you'll have a choice with it. I'm reasonably certain it will be different from what you do. If you can get the rolling and more advanced falling down, go find someone to throw you around (do this even if you don't have it down, just let them know). Fall, fall, fall! I've learned more that way than I would have ever imagined.

[Edited by Erik on October 30, 2000 at 03:42am]

well, I did it.
I signed up for classes, and will appear in fresh white gi, and fresh white belt next Sunday.
Its a tiny dojo...I mean really tiny.
Like 3 times the size of a normal kitchen, but the atmosphere,...the ' vibes ' if you will were good, the instructors humble yet obviously well taught themselves, and alas....Omaha isnt the Aikido Mecca of the world, so I consider myself fortunate to have found an Aikido dojo at all!!

Ill keep the forum posted on the goings on in the cornfields from time to time.
Thanks for all the replys and encouragement. BTW....Im 44...so...
I will in effect be studying for life whether I like it or not!...

gratz (gee, you're the same age as me tom) it sounds like you found a real good dojo. Hope everything goes well for you. Who's your sensei?

Instructors are
Senseis Wally and Mike Taylor.
They are a father son team, and appear to have a really good teaching style.