Tuesday 18 February 2014
Understanding My Own Body
It has only been three weeks since starting Yoshinkan Aikido and already I am beginning to understand that I am so ignorant about my own body. The Kihon Dosa, the basic set of stances and movements, are designed to improve posture and develop proper body weight distribution. Strength is not the aim of Aikido but rather the correct distribution of body weight applied through maintaining a strong centre line through the alignment of hips and shoulders. It is this alignment of hips and shoulders and centring of the body that is so difficult as a novice. The angle of the feet, the width of the stance and the distribution of body weight in a forward direction through the centre line are all crucial. These movements are painful for the person, like myself, not accustomed to them. Yet they will bear fruit further into my training and indeed Kamae and the Kihon Dosa are the basis of all Yoshinkan Waza. I am happy to practise and drill these basic movements as I know and can already see in my sensei that they will produce a strong core and foundation for my Aikido journey. A journey of self development and discovery.
Friday 7 February 2014
A New Journey Begins
My Jujutsu journey is over. For almost three years I trained in Dentokan Aikijujutsu. This was an important time in my development as a martial artist. It taught me much of traditional Japanese budo and self-defence. But ultimately it was a foundation. A foundation for what I hope will be a lifetime of learning. A new journey now begins for me: a journey through Yoshinkan Aikido.
My transition to Aikido has long been contemplated. I originally discovered Aikijujutsu by chance. As a teenager I did Judo for a time, a sport I fell in love with, but I yearned at the time for a deeper connection to the ancient Japanese art of budo. It was through Judo that I learnt of Jujutsu, its progenitor. As an adult in my early twenties desiring to return to the martial arts, I was determined to try Jujutsu for myself. Thus I searched and found a school of Jujutsu known as Dentokan Aikijujutsu. I had no idea of the world that lay ahead of me.
Very shortly after joining the Dentokan organisation I began researching the art, its history and its techniques. It was during this time of knowledge acquisition that I happened upon a similar art - Aikido. At first the differences seemed opaque, as a novice they looked very much alike in many ways. But slowly as my understanding increased, I began to see the differences in technique, approach to training and philosophy. It was then that the appeal of Aikido really started to draw me towards the art.
Much has changed in my life over the past three years and I am now living in Japan, married to a Japanese national. Living in the spiritual heartland of Aikido I made the decision to make the transition and become an Aikidoka. Yet my time as a Jujutsuka moulded me into the martial artist I am today and so I sought the smoothest possible transition. This is why I chose Yoshinkan Aikido. Yoshinkan Aikido has a reputation for being the "hard" style of Aikido. Whether this proves true in practice is left to be seen.
A new and exciting future awaits me, already the differences in approach are apparent, with the emphasis of Kamae (correct posture). I may need to "unlearn" some of what I was taught in Aikijujutsu, but I have the tools to adapt and the desire to develop an aptitude for the art. I am happy to finally call myself an Aikidoka and relish the challenge of learning the Yoshinkan way of self-defence and non-resistance.
My transition to Aikido has long been contemplated. I originally discovered Aikijujutsu by chance. As a teenager I did Judo for a time, a sport I fell in love with, but I yearned at the time for a deeper connection to the ancient Japanese art of budo. It was through Judo that I learnt of Jujutsu, its progenitor. As an adult in my early twenties desiring to return to the martial arts, I was determined to try Jujutsu for myself. Thus I searched and found a school of Jujutsu known as Dentokan Aikijujutsu. I had no idea of the world that lay ahead of me.
Very shortly after joining the Dentokan organisation I began researching the art, its history and its techniques. It was during this time of knowledge acquisition that I happened upon a similar art - Aikido. At first the differences seemed opaque, as a novice they looked very much alike in many ways. But slowly as my understanding increased, I began to see the differences in technique, approach to training and philosophy. It was then that the appeal of Aikido really started to draw me towards the art.
Much has changed in my life over the past three years and I am now living in Japan, married to a Japanese national. Living in the spiritual heartland of Aikido I made the decision to make the transition and become an Aikidoka. Yet my time as a Jujutsuka moulded me into the martial artist I am today and so I sought the smoothest possible transition. This is why I chose Yoshinkan Aikido. Yoshinkan Aikido has a reputation for being the "hard" style of Aikido. Whether this proves true in practice is left to be seen.
A new and exciting future awaits me, already the differences in approach are apparent, with the emphasis of Kamae (correct posture). I may need to "unlearn" some of what I was taught in Aikijujutsu, but I have the tools to adapt and the desire to develop an aptitude for the art. I am happy to finally call myself an Aikidoka and relish the challenge of learning the Yoshinkan way of self-defence and non-resistance.
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