(no subject)
The gentle way,
often misinterpreted as lacking strength,
is, in reality,
steel whipcord wrapped in velvet
that must be felt to be appreciated.
I got this from the blog of a fellow aikidoka on aikweb. It really does some up what aikido is to me as an artform.
When visitors turn up to watch a lesson before deciding if they want to do it, they always ask "How does that work? It can't be real, you guys are throwing yourselves". People are so used to seeing striking arts and grappling arts that stop the momentum of the attacker. They don't understand how leading the movement, blending with the energy of the attack and redirecting it can be effective. Just trust us. We're more than happy to show you if you don't believe ;)
Oh dear. I've turned into an aikiwanker. I promise to stop that immediately; I just wanted to share this with people because it really does say it the best.
In other news, I'm excited and a teensy bit nervous because my two sensei have decided I'm ready to take my first grading soon. Although I have no idea what 'soon' actually translates to; is it next week or next month? I suspect it's within the next month though. I've had a few quite confidence inspiring comments from shodan I've trained with in the last month. It's nice when someone who's been training for nearly two decades says "How long have you been training? Your aikido looks really good". So I promised myself a new tattoo when I get my first rank. I'm feeling confident that I'll pass so I'll start checking out tattooists shortly.
often misinterpreted as lacking strength,
is, in reality,
steel whipcord wrapped in velvet
that must be felt to be appreciated.
I got this from the blog of a fellow aikidoka on aikweb. It really does some up what aikido is to me as an artform.
When visitors turn up to watch a lesson before deciding if they want to do it, they always ask "How does that work? It can't be real, you guys are throwing yourselves". People are so used to seeing striking arts and grappling arts that stop the momentum of the attacker. They don't understand how leading the movement, blending with the energy of the attack and redirecting it can be effective. Just trust us. We're more than happy to show you if you don't believe ;)
Oh dear. I've turned into an aikiwanker. I promise to stop that immediately; I just wanted to share this with people because it really does say it the best.
In other news, I'm excited and a teensy bit nervous because my two sensei have decided I'm ready to take my first grading soon. Although I have no idea what 'soon' actually translates to; is it next week or next month? I suspect it's within the next month though. I've had a few quite confidence inspiring comments from shodan I've trained with in the last month. It's nice when someone who's been training for nearly two decades says "How long have you been training? Your aikido looks really good". So I promised myself a new tattoo when I get my first rank. I'm feeling confident that I'll pass so I'll start checking out tattooists shortly.