I wanted all of our students to log in and tell everyone if Aikido has been what you thought it would be like before you started. What has Aikido practice been like for you?
Best wishes,
Sensei

hmmm, when i joined, my parents had enrolled me saying i needed to do more activities, so i was pretty apathetic to aikido in the first place. I have to say though, I've stayed because i enjoy it beyond most of my activities. Often i find myself losing my problems rolling aorund on the mat or getting thrown. Its like a good book once you get into it.

That has been my own experience as well although when I started, Aikido was my problem. I was out of shape, badly overweight, and very afraid most of the time. After the first year, I lost 53 pounds, I got into excellent condition and I lost many of my fears about doing aikido although I learned that managing fear on the mat is part of aikido. Once I started having fun doing aikido, it became a source of stress relief. I learned how to relax while being thrown and for that hour and a half, I had no problems. My friends at aikido would often go to a Japanese restuarant after class so I learned to eat Japanese food as well. That was a big factor in my losing weight because I found something that tasted better than the junk I was eating and yet was low in fat. I also found a new set of friends that I was more distant from than my immediate friends and yet provided concern and support. The fact they were separate from my regular life was a help because that gave me distance from my regular problems.
Mine are the musings of a decade of aikido practice though. These are things I think about after almost 10 years. A few times, Aikido itself became a problem and when that happened, I just changed dojos. That cleared everything up.
Best wishes,
Sensei

I have enjoyed the sessions a lot. Sometimes I see the techniques when they are demonstrated, and I perceive some of the elements of performing them. Other times I see the technique, and I don’t perceive anything. I feel that two elements of perception are classification and relevance so I hope I can work on both of these.

I am happily surprised that I can still do so much stuff, I thought I was in far worse shape than I am.

It is great to be learning stuff again. I feel that now things change so much in life, that you have to be open all the time to relearn. So now I feel a lot of resonance with learning aikido every time it comes up. I have diferent knowledge in other areas so it’s a little richer each time I see it.

Its great to have an analogue to broader life, where you work things out.

Greetings from Midland, Texas!

My name is John Boswell and I train in aikido under Sensei Riggs... going on two years now. Riggs Sensei has taken it upon himself to learn more about Kato Shihan and therefore I have opened up a line with Jorge Sensei... thus, here I am! :)

Just wanted to chime in on this thread as it is an interesting question. "What has Aikido practice been like for you?"

Before starting, I was very out-of-shape and in no hurry to do anything about it. My only other martial arts experience was TKD back in the 5th grade. All I ever learned was to punch and kick... and the first time I ever used it, I dropped the guy with one kick and felt guilty since. I swore I'd never get into that "stuff" again, but was anxious to find something.

I found Aikido by driving down the road and seeing a sign. When I got back to the office, I logged on the internet and read everything I could possibly find regarding aikido and found it matched my life values and philosophy very well, almost identically.

Well, long story short (I know... too late! ;) ) Aikido was something of which I had no preconcieved ideas about and it turned into so much more than I could have hoped for. I'm looking forward to getting down to Houston to meet Sensei Garcia and Kato Shihan someday and furthering my training.

Have a good one! Congrats to Sensei on this wonderful website!

Thanks John,
We are working on the site and have a lot to do yet. I hope to meet you soon. We are a new group here in Houston but are progressing rapidly and are also looking forward to the first visit of Kato Sensei to the Shudokan School of Aikido. Enjoy the site and please continue to share your insights.
Best wishes,
Sensei Jorge

I don't think there has been a feeling that I haven't experienced since enrolling in this class. They run the gammut from frustration to challenged to pain to near tears to feelings of accomplishment. I may not be the swiftest kid on the block but I am determined.

Now, if only the health would just cooperate so I can get back to class.

That so describes my first six months in Aikido except I have to add one adjective-fear. I was afraid of anything that had to do with a roll because I couldn't roll. I also felt badly that people that started when I did were rapidly progressing while I couldn't. I noticed that some people that came in learned to roll on the first day. I also noticed that some senior students didn't have a happy look on their face when I picked them to train with. I hurt all over too. My waist hurt for almost a year. My forearms, my wrists, and my shoulders all hurt. I remember in the middle of a class thinking, "What am I doing here?". The thing was though that the doctor had said I was a diabetic, had super high cholesterol, and was about 80 pounds overweight. He said I was well on my way to a heart attack and that scared me more than doing Aikido and that motivated me more than my fears. Then there was a little boy who kept saying, "Daddy, I love this!".
Well, you guys know the rest of the story. I still struggle with my weight (I have 20 lbs. to go), my cholesterol and sugar count are normal, and I learned to do a liitle Aikido along the way. If I can do it, so can any of you. Thanks for your contribution Amy. Stay in there and make Aikido your own!

When I joined the Y, I was determined to learn some sort of Tae Kwan Do. When they told me the only martial art offered was Aikido my thought was, "same thing, sign me up". I wanted to learn a way to defend myself in case I ever needed. My perception was that I would learn some chopping, kicking, punching, rolling, maybe some yelling, and how to be a tough chick like in Charlies Angels.
I have learned that Aikido is nothing like that. I learned that it's so much more than I could ever imagine. I have such a satisfying feeling of accomplishment every time I finish a training and it never has anything to do with fighting and showing off. I'm always in a great mood when I'm going to class and after class. I look forward to Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays training, and can hardly wait for the weeks to come. I feel like I finally found something I am truly passionate about.

That's the kind of testimony I like to hear. 1) An understanding that Aikido isn't about fighting. 2) A joyfulness in training 3) an anticipation in doing more. 4) A passion for what you are doing. This makes me happy because it says that we are doing something right. I know that also means that there are others of you that feel the same way. I am convinced that there are so many others, that we as a group, can help to find this good thing that is blessing our lives by sharing it with them. In other words, there are other Velias, Mollies, Mikes and even Jorges out there!