Aikido!

[enismirdal]

So, I went to the university Aikido demonstration. Overall, it looks great. The atmosphere is friendly, the people are really nice. The techniques at lower levels were more static than I'd choose, but that was partly a lack of high grades at the demonstration, I think. There's a nice big mat and the sports hall was a good temperature, and there was a photo of O'Sensei.

Oh, and people were putting committment into the techniques rather than just sort of doing a ballroom dance with each other. Even if the attacks were a bit telegraphed at times (and I don't mean for the live weapons, as I'd telegraph them too!)

My only reservations are:
1. They don't teach any formalised weapons at all! Meep! *is a big fan of a large weapons component*
2. They managed to do a demo without mentioning the word "ki" once. I consider this to be a bit like teaching someone to drive without mentioning the car's brakes.

Still, I'm keen to train again, and the classes seemed well-paced.

I just hope I'm not the one the Sensei picks next time to attack him with a live katana! The poor 1st Kyu got nicked as the sword was taken from him, and left the mat with blood pouring from his eyebrow. Like all face wounds, pretty much, it bled a lot without being deep, but was still rather dramatic!

So I'd say the club was not very traditional - the etiquette is rather more relaxed than I'm used to, and I suppose there was less connection to the origins of the art than I was accustomed to in the Lancashire Aikikai. But yeah, nice people.

Comments

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

They managed to do a demo without mentioning the word "ki" once. I consider this to be a bit like teaching someone to drive without mentioning the car's brakes.

*snickers* Actually, I'd consider this a big plus. I love Aikidô, but one of the things that drive me batty is when they turn the demo into some esoteric kind of Feng Shui thing. Yes, ki is essential. But - at least here - they mention it a whee bit too often, and despite everything, ki is not a god that has to be appeased by constant invocation, nor does it need to be rubbed in into a mildly curious audience (where most of the people will then assume that Aikidô is some kind of hippie sect thing). It is important, but it doesn't necessarily belong into a demo for beginners. But that may just be me, who has been tormented by many a tedious philosophy-laden bûdô demonstration (Aikidô isn't the only art suffering from this - Iaidô, for example, tends to be REALLY bad...)

[enismirdal.livejournal.com]

I don't know... I agree that when people go on and on and on about ki as if everyone should instantly be able to do Aikido with the power of their mind alone, yeah, it's annoying. But I think it's worth explaining if only to give the origins of the name of martial art, and a demonstration of how effective it is. The one I really like is when a Sensei extends ki through their feet, making themselves next to impossible to lift up.

I actually really love the atmosphere in Iaido, the way it's so introspective and calm. I like getting the feeling of being completely settled within myself.

But then I suppose I'm of the opinion that if you're doing a sport where you're commonly waving around 2 and a half foot long pieces of metal with a razor sharp point, it's better to go overboard on the discipline and philosophy than make slicing people up a habit because you were approaching it too agitatedly. LOL.

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

But then I suppose I'm of the opinion that if you're doing a sport where you're commonly waving around 2 and a half foot long pieces of metal with a razor sharp point, it's better to go overboard on the discipline and philosophy than make slicing people up a habit because you were approaching it too agitatedly.

Oh, absolutely! It's just that I sometimes feel that people don't so much believe what they teach but just talk about it to fill with sound their empty brains sound important. And if that's what they do it for, I'd really rather they shut up. ;) If they're serious about it, and doing a small demonstration rather than offering long blown-up lectures, that's certainly effective - and good. But sadly, that's fairly rare - here, at any rate...

[ilanin.livejournal.com]

Excepting that the weapons work wasn't a part of the original form of aikido; whilst you can do almost all of it with or without a sword it is certainly an optional extra.

Personally, I think it's silly; a martial art developed in the 1920s shouldn't really be wedded to bladed weapons.

[enismirdal.livejournal.com]

Well, we were taught that every empty-handed technique has its origins in a sword technique. It might be an optional extra in terms of implementation, but I think you understand the essence of a technique better if you know its origins.

And yes, OK, it's 1920s, but the principles are older.

[ilanin.livejournal.com]

As I understood it, the reason for that was that the point of the techniques in Aikido was that they represented an evolution away from a bladed weapon.

Unfortunately, people like swords.

[mirien.livejournal.com]

Got to say, reading that made it sound you have more doubts than positive feelings about this and in my experience, once the newness of a fresh group of people wears off, the doubts get worse.

Not trying to be negative, just an observation :)

[enismirdal.livejournal.com]

LOL You're right in some ways, but I am generally negative about pretty much any Aikido style that's not what I'm used to! This is a mixture, I guess, of everyone liking what they're used to, and the fact that I've had some truly fantastic intructors. I tend to compare everyone on a scale of "nought" to "Steve Magson Sensei", and I guess a professional Aikido teacher is pretty hard to match when you're teaching 1-2 lessons a week.

However, the style is better than the club in Cambridge, so I intend to give it a try. If I don't check it out, I'll never know! And the instructor actually said, "If you can remember the weapons work you were taught, we can go over it and perhaps teach it to the whole class." That would make me happy; I love teaching and I love weapons!

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

W00t! Though, um -- aren't you supposed to be careful with live katana? I mean, I don't mind however many minor cuts I get in the course of fun, but was it clear this was a one off accident? because it sounds like half an inch the other way and he could have hurt his eye, which is not cool at all.

[enismirdal.livejournal.com]

They did say this was the first time it happened.

If I was being cynical, I'd say the Sensei was showing off a bit; he had already done a few "party pieces", so to speak, and the particular move that he was doing with the sword was...erm...designed to gut someone if they didn't move VERY fast.

But I suppose I shouldn't level accusations at people with more experience than me, so I guess it was just an accident or the 1st Kyu being dopey. Up until that point, I'd actually assumed it was an iaito, which has a blunted blade, not a real live katana; only a minority of very experienced Dan grades in the Lancashire Aikikai even own a live katana, and even then only use them for Iaido.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

I see. Well, that sounds mostly ok.

But I suppose I shouldn't level accusations at people with more experience than me, so I guess it was just an accident or the 1st Kyu being dopey.

Well, I don't know. To quote Speaker for the Dead, "In my judgement? Of course in my judgement. I'm sorry, but I don't have anyone else's to use." I'm sure he is fine, but there must be some reckless instructor somewhere, and surely part of requiring students to trust you is showing you're not dangerous: surely one should be prepared against kyu studends being dopey?