During training, I see so many openings or points of attack or weaknesses. However, every attack creates its own opening and they are certainly easy to see during training, especially practicing technique one step at a time, but at full speed, it happens so fast, there is no time to think, there is only time to react. This is the point when “other training” will reveal itself.

I am training or retraining myself. I am not abandoning my previous training. I am adding to my knowledge and technique. To blend it all is my ultimate goal. As a preacher once said about studying the bible, “As we read scripture, we may not understand all we read at the moment, but a little here and a little there, over time, it comes together.” I think my previous training and current training are similar to that quote.

Chris

But joking aside, I enjoyed it. I too have a problem with prior experience. For me, the reason why my randori is not good (being rank/experience a bit of a factor) but personally I feel its not good because I am constantly thinking “ok, dont Roundhouse kick Fabian…Ryan is too my left, dont spear hand him…Christine coming from behind, dont back pivot kick her”. And the longer I do it, or the more people added, the more dangerous I feel i get because I want to so badly kick you

And I dont want to come off like I dont appreciate Aikido teaching and principles, like my first posts on This topic. If I didnt believe in it, I wouldnt train in it. I take from aikido a non-agressive (relatively non-agressive to MY experience, since Jerry and I have already discussed) method to use in the not too distant future

Scarlet, at that time in her life, did not want to face up to the realities of life. Life is hard at times, things happen that shape us everyday. Some are so subtle we never notice. While others explode in psyche.

The death of a childhood friend, I will never forget, has impacted me all my days. The birth of my daughter, the same. The martial arts training…these are things that are a part of me, they have impacted my life.

Aikido is the latest impact in/on my life. I would have most likely abandon all other forms of martial arts early if I had discovered Aikido as a teenager. The essence of Aikido is fascinating…does it permeate throughout my life? In some ways yes. I do ponder various situations and how they might develop. Because of my experience, I naturally try to mess Aikido and other disciplines.

Example, in training last night, we were working on randori with uke’s tsuki attack…admittedly tough. Previous training teaches me to ignore an attack that is not committed to me, or one that will not cause me damage/harm. Don’t waste the energy on it. That is my training, however, in a “real” randori situation, would I truly ignore it? I have multiple attackers approaching, maybe once or even twice I might ignore the non-committed attack, but the individual has to be dealt with…previous training teaches me to “take them out”, hence, not having to deal with them any more. Class training is re-educating my thought process and reaction.

Training is just that, training. To move from thought to reaction. This happens all our lives…training, re-training, constantly developing. I’m sure O’Sensei did not train the same at 30 as he did at 60. More thought, experience and training causes us to develop or grow. Just like Scarlet O’Hara, growing from only thinking about boys and the bar-b-que to how to survive in an ever changing world…the essence is Aikido is a part of the trainee’s life and has an effect on the life. For some, its small, for others, it’s huge.

My challenge for all is to find something of Aikido, no matter what and apply it to everyday life.

Boy, this is way to deep for me. As Forrest Gump said,”…and that’s all I’ve got to say about that.”

Chris

I don’t really know where to begin.

I should stop procrastinating and just write an article about it.