Space Voyager Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 You're finding seiza comfortable? that is weird, in the years I had been training the most I could ever find seiza is tolerable, and for short periods of time.Me too... The periods did get longer with training but never would I call it comfortable. Perhaps FA is the ultimate fighter material! FA, great work on those bruises! Chicks love those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted July 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 Doubt it, SV, I think my knees are just buggered. Speaking of which, on my first ushiro ukemi (backwards roll) on monday, when I came back up on my knees, my left kneecap gave a solid pop, and hasn't been quite right since. I don't think it's anything serious, as it's fully functional and there's no pain, but I'm still thinking about seeing a doctor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorondor Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 Good start on that bruising, you loose-cannon. Do try not to 'pop' your neck in the near-future, though, FA. :: Here's something to consider to reduce pain... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted July 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2011 Ahh, my first foray into the swamp of aikido politics. Signed up to Aikiweb and within a short while received an email from a rather senior chap in another organisation. Did I know so-and-so who runs classes near me, welcome to come along and train, etc. Mentioned this chap to my instructor last night and the look on his face said it all. Apparently this chap is no friend to our organisation, knocks our sensei, instructors, training, etc. My instructor made it perfectly clear he didn't like the chap but also said I was welcome to go and see, none of his business if I did. Don't think I'll be touching that one with a ten-foot pole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorondor Posted July 26, 2011 Report Share Posted July 26, 2011 Nice way to get oneself in a pickle, FA. It could, however, prove profitable if you get them to fight each other. :: Meet my instructor... Edit: not that I don't like teasing... but here's linkage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ywta5oyv9dg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted July 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2011 You little tease, Thor, embedding has been disabled on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted July 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 An aikiblog post commented on a much more famous (apparently) martial arts blog by karateka Rob Redmond, 24 Fighting Chickens, covering posts about why karate practice is not noble and why martial arts do not make people more moral. While I sort-of agree, I mainly disagree quite pointedly. Karate isn't a noble pursuit? I don't think it's quite as simple as that. Redmond mentions earning a living for your family as being more noble, but personally I think that's more of a biological imperative (I'm feeling very sceptical of free will these days, apologies). Maybe I'm deluding myself (it's happened before), but when participating in a martial art, you're helping to propagate it, extend its lifespan. You don't have to get to black belt to do this, you can be a lowly talentless idiot and yet your going will suck in other people, directly and indirectly. People who would otherwise leave, or try it once and not come back, will stay, partly because of you. You're spending your time/effort/money, which could be spent on many other things, participating in a form of physical education which I daresay every human being on the planet should have (not necessarily karate, I just think it would be better if everyone knew the basics of a martial art, for self-defence if nothing else) but which none of your descendants will necessarily participate in. It will benefit other people, even if you go there for purely selfish reasons. And what of aikido, for which one of the main goals is preventing the attacker from being injured? I can't help thinking that's a step well beyond the vast majority of martial arts in terms of nobility. Is it attainable for your average aikidoka? I doubt it, but nevertheless it's an ideal to be strived for. As for martial arts making people more moral. I do agree mostly with Redmond here. I think if you're a bad person, you can learn a martial art and it won't make you good. However, (and to be fair Redmond mentions this) we have no way to measure morality, self-confidence, maturity, etc. So saying "I think", "I believe" and so on is of limited usefulness, because you can think and believe all you like, someone else may believe the exact opposite and will be just as correct because there's no proof one way or the other. The aikiblog post mentions Seagal's recurring infidelity and an aikido instructor who became involved with an under-age student. But, we have no way to gauge morality, so perhaps these people were really really bad before they did aikido and aikido made them more moral? Perhaps they would have behaved even worse had they not done aikido? No way to tell, unfortunately. And just to round off my argument, a sample of two is far too small to have any kind of meaning for a population numbering in the hundreds of thousands. P.S. I am grumpy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Voyager Posted July 31, 2011 Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 Ok, it is 2 am and I am slightly drunk but... this whole this-or-that martial arts making you more or less moral... is bollocks. A person will train martial arts for various reasons, most likely (modern world) being a need for exercise. You will most likely train martial arts being available to you, meaning it is in your neighbourhood and price affordable. No martial art whatsoever will shift your morals. NONE. What CAN actually accomplish that is the trainer. If he/she is into morals, honour and all that he/she will try to pass it on to trainees, as simple as that. Karate being the issue here... I've seen karate abused and I've seen people, real street fighter class imbeciles, find a new calling in karate, calm down and seek deeper truth in it. Deeper than there really is, but that remains in the eyes of the beholder. P.S.: Thank gods for spelling checker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted July 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 I keep making the assumption that ladies are delicate flowers. When attacking or performing a technique I automatically tone it down, which is a mistake when there are so many aikido ladies that are either brown or black belts. When paired with one particularly fetching example I threw her gently, and she politely encouraged me to do it properly. I did it semi-seriously the next time, and when it was her turn, she blasted me across the mat. And I must weigh twice what she does. A tad humbling. I can use speed and strength to make up for failures in my technique, but I can't compare to someone who is not as fast or as strong, but more skilled. I like the way aikido adds an extra dimension to people. When discussing another aikidoka, you talk about what they are like, their personality, how you feel about them, and also what their aikido is like, e.g. "I don't like the man, but his aikido is good." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorondor Posted July 31, 2011 Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 My thoughts on this are mostly in line with what SV expressed. People see martial arts in different light, depending on how they approach them: most simply see it as a form of exercising, others as a competitive sport, some as a means gaining basic self-defense techniques and some still which see it as more than a physical activity, as a discipline and a philosophy that is then translated into a certain personal stance in daily life. Morality, honourability, honesty are values either more prevailing or less prevailing in people and have nothing to do with martial arts. People can be influenced by other people in either a good or bad way (peer pressure, etc). All I would add with regards to martial arts is that they can be potentially misused with very real consequences. Instructors have the responsibility of teaching trainees not just techniques, but also how to act responsibly now they know them, because some can cause great harm or even death if used without restraint or proper knowledge of their effects. Some idiots, just because they have some proficiency, tend to get too keen on provoking fights, mostly during adolescence or early adulthood, simply to show they can beat up other people. So, for me, immaturity and petty evilness, responsibility and nobility all come down to each individual - one's own moral compass, temper and personal conduct. :: The fool thinks himself to be wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool. - William Shakespeare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunflash Posted July 31, 2011 Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 I keep making the assumption that ladies are delicate flowers. When attacking or performing a technique I automatically tone it down, which is a mistake when there are so many aikido ladies that are either brown or black belts. When paired with one particularly fetching example I threw her gently, and she politely encouraged me to do it properly. I did it semi-seriously the next time, and when it was her turn, she blasted me across the mat. And I must weigh twice what she does. A tad humbling. I can use speed and strength to make up for failures in my technique, but I can't compare to someone who is not as fast or as strong, but more skilled. I like the way aikido adds an extra dimension to people. When discussing another aikidoka, you talk about what they are like, their personality, how you feel about them, and also what their aikido is like, e.g. "I don't like the man, but his aikido is good." Force of habit from being such a dapper gentleman, I suspect! Howardmump and Samellaborn 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted July 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 Just good old-fashioned sexism I think. I automatically start being gentle with women, which gets painful when I'm with one of my main instructors, who is about five feet tall. "Now, I mustn't hurt her." I think and then it's me who ends up on the floor in agony. In a way, being smaller can be an advantage. If I grab her wrist (five feet to my six) and she moves off line, I have to bend over to go with it fast enough, so that's my balance gone. If I pull back, even better for her because she simply reverses direction and often changes the technique, driving me back. Balance gone again. Because she's so small and light, her technique has to be very good, she can't muscle it, and so she's a great example. Plus she always has a mnemonic trick up her sleeve for each technique. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Voyager Posted August 1, 2011 Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 Just good old-fashioned sexism I think. You don't need to be this hard on yourself! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted August 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 If I was a street fighter one method I would try is to get the attacker's shirt pulled over their head tying up their arms. This is where this thought process is coming from. A classic from an aikiweb thread. Recently got invited and went to a senior aikidoka's anniversary party. The aikido people were only a small part of the whole, but it was a nice enough evening, especially meeting lapsed aikidoka who were keen to get back on the mat. There was one extremely attractive woman there who, while still having all the necessary womanly qualities a man looks for, including a cleavage that gives you vertigo, was also quite athletic and you could see that she was in good shape, good musculature without being masculine. Seeing her dance was something cavemen would have clubbed each other for. Only problem is she's married with two children and I had to struggle not to stare. I hope, for the sake of my concentration, that she doesn't come back, or if she does, she trains elsewhere. I hope to avoid any sort of trouble like this entirely. I think this, too, is aikido. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted August 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2011 Spotted some rather brilliant ideas over on the NaNoWriMo forum concerning aikido. Aikido and Judo do NOT work for self defense. dumping your opponent on his back without hurting him will just make him mad. I'm just going to approach this from an aikidoist perspective. When I train, I hit the ground perhaps a hundred times, probably more, in two hours. Some of these will be gentle, most will not. Now, there are two things that allow me to do this without getting seriously injured or dead. 1) The aikido focus on rolling, breakfalling, and generally being thrown and minimising, if not eliminating, damage and 2) Mats. I am not a ninja. I'm a fairly large chap, who is also a passenger on HMS Fat Knacker. So, take an average aikido throw in your average street situation. There's no such thing as either of those, but never mind. You're out in 'the street' and some bad-tempered ruffian takes exception to your flamboyant mode of dress and engages you in fisticuffs. You 'dump him on his back' on pavement. Perhaps the tarmac of the road. Perhaps the kerb. Perhaps the glass of a broken bottle. I've got to say, I think it might hurt a bit more if you're 1) Not a trained aikidoka and 2) Landing on stone. Yes, when you see aikido demos, people are getting flung all over the place and bouncing back up and attacking again, because they're trained to roll or fall out of the throws instead of getting their arm broken, and they get to land on nice, soft mats. I've tried rolling on hard surfaces, and I can do it. But that's me, rolling, that's not me being thrown. I can roll right most of the time when thrown, and when I don't, the mats are there to save me. If I trained on concrete, I'd be out of action with serious injuries and that's when I know how to roll. One good throw on concrete is going to take care of most people. And quite frankly, if you throw someone on concrete and cannot follow it up quicker than they can get up, you deserve to lose. if your instructor wants you to take off your shoes, put on pajamas and bow to your sparring partner you are going to get stomped in a street fight. This is funny because I've done various martial arts with such requirements, and I've won far more fights than I've lost. Yes, training in a dojo is artificial. All training is artificial. I'd love to see real fighting as teaching because there'd be no-one left alive after about half an hour. You do things politely on the mat for a good reason. Out in the world, your mentality is not going to be the same, the human brain has the ability to recognise different contexts. I know how to kick someone in the testicles, I know how to gouge an eye with a thumb, I don't know my aikido techniques and principles to the same extent. That's why I train. In the middle of a street fight, I am not going to stop and look around, wondering if I am in the dojo and if it's okay to kick someone when they're down. If he pushes you he expects resistance. if you pull him when he pushes you he goes farther than he expects and falls over. Pull when pushed, push when pulled. Sort of correct, but not really. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any technique where it's a simple, linear movement. There is always a circle, or spiral, somewhere in the movement. If someone charges into you, pushing, and you pull back, you'll just get trampled because he can move forward faster than you can move backward. You always use to rotation to redirect their force, you don't just carry on moving on the axis they choose. Akido = Defensive dodging No. Even in terms of broad strokes this is wrong. One of the things I've noticed when I'm not flying through the air, being smashed into the mat so hard I bounce, etc, is that aikido cheekily says it's purely defensive, when virtually every technique is a counter-attack. So of course they can be adapted into attacks, if necessary. We train to avoid attacks, but we don't simply dodge out of the way, at my low level we usually do block+get off line+strike, then a technique. Injury updateSo, I think I dislocated my thumb. Or part of it. I was thrown and landed awkwardly, partially on my hand. While I often injure my thumbs at work, it's usually stretching them too far from my hand by attempting to carry fifty books in one paw. Anyway, this pain/ache stretches all the way down my thumb and into my wrist. When I got up from the throw, my thumb was a bit wonky, wouldn't flex properly, etc, so I sort of wiggled it as best I could, pulled on it and it clicked back into place, but it hasn't been right since. Anyone got any experience of treating this sort of thing? I thought about taping it up, and then thought "How the bloody Hell do you tape a thumb?" Just needs some extra support I think. Answers on a postcard to the usual address. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted August 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2011 So, my injuries are cropping up quickly, and I've recently wrecked my hand again, my thumb, pulled a muscle in my leg, lost a chunk of toenail and bled all over the mat, ripped some skin on another toe and bled all over the mat. Healing up in the single days between training sessions is a bit optimistic, really, and the constant enquiries from family and friends about all my bruises are not exactly reducing my stress ("I know you know I got to aikido four times a week! Stop asking!") and letting me clot in peace. However, with great punishment comes great privilege, apparently, so I'm being chosen more often to get chucked around by the instructors. Hence!https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/aiki2.jpgAndhttps://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/aiki1.jpgStrangely I find breakfalling and flipping easier than rolling, probably because rolling requires actual skill, whereas with flipping you just do your best and slap the mat. If you mess it up, it generally happens too fast for people to correct you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted August 27, 2011 Report Share Posted August 27, 2011 Sooo... do you spend much time upright, or is it mostly flying through the air these days with you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted August 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2011 It depends. Some days, I spend whole minutes upright, others it's more flat on the floor. One day it might just be getting chucked about:https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/aiki5.jpgThe next day I might get to pick on a little girl:https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/aiki4.jpgAnd other days I just get flattened:https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/aiki3.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Voyager Posted August 27, 2011 Report Share Posted August 27, 2011 Phenomenal photos!!! Yellow belt is you?! If so, you sure like flying! Out of curiosity, how do others cope with their damages? I'm sure you're not the only one to be all broken, right? RIGHT? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted August 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2011 Yep, I'm the mellow yellow ("Mr Sunshine." to one wonderfully acerbic black belt). I'm far from the only one to be hurt, and mine are toward the lower end of the scale anyway. Got one chap who is currently out with a broken collarbone where the ends slipped past each other and then healed, creating a 'knot' of bone. He can't train until the doctors operate and re-align the bone, taking out the spare bits. Got another who has just re-broken some ribs, various wrist sprains (and ankles, funnily enough. Why ankles?) and some dodgy knees (from suwari waza, kneeling teechniques, and shikkyo, knee-walking, I think). No-one really seems to be ahead of the game about treatment, except stuff like Feldenkrais which seems to really work but in essence can only prevent further damage and encourage healing. I don't really believe in icing injuries, it seems counter-productive to me. Yes, it reduces swelling and pain, but surely the cold reduces blood flow to the injury, increasing healing time or ensuring the healing is not 100%? I'm not taking stuff like ibuprofen, either, since it seems to dampen the body's reaction to physical stress (linky) and can mask twinges telling me that, no, actually, I shouldn't be twisting that way. I don't know what it is, but martial artists, dancers, etc don't seem happy with normal healthy range of motion. Pushing your body past what it's supposed to do might seem to just make you more flexible but sometimes they only way to get more flexible is to damage the joint repeatedly, in doses small enough to bear, and you might not notice it for decades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Voyager Posted August 28, 2011 Report Share Posted August 28, 2011 I don't really believe in icing injuries, it seems counter-productive to me. Yes, it reduces swelling and pain, but surely the cold reduces blood flow to the injury, increasing healing time or ensuring the healing is not 100%?There is logic in your thinking but reducing the pain seems awfully nice to me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorondor Posted August 28, 2011 Report Share Posted August 28, 2011 Mr.Sunshine: "You're bleeding, man. You're hit."FA: "I ain't got time to bleed." One thing that strikes me as rather nonsensical in all of this, if you ask me, is that if you weren't attending those classes you would surely not be as regularly bludgeoned as you are. :: So, is this really the best way not to be getting knocked around? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted September 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2011 Had a bit of a rough week, as the standards go up, the training becomes more demanding and I hear "That's good enough to pass a grading, but that's not good enough." more and more often. It's excellent though, one of the things I love about aikido is that you cannot fake it (not unless every single person you train with is willing to as well). You can either do it, or not. It is demanding, and it will only ask more and more and more, and I'm not going to kid myself that I will get to a certain point and that's it, there will be nothing left to do, or learn. I will always be improving (or not, if I don't keep up the training). I cannot kid myself like with other things, "Oh, I will get around to it some day." because that's an illusion I use that only deceives myself (and not even myself, much of the time). Injury updateHurt my right elbow a little, but I've done something nastier to my left, which is fine up until I have to use any effort, then it hurts deep inside the joint. No weightlifting until that heals. Pulled a muscle in my right leg, above and behind the knee. It usually warms up fine, but stiffens up abominably after each lesson. My left hand and thumb is still not right, and doesn't seem to be improving. That's quite worrying. Strained something else near my right shoulderblade, but aikido eases it beautifully, and it's almost gone. Romance updateShe's the first girl I've ever met who actually does get more attractive each time I see her (scientifically verified, 13% per meeting). Trained with her, got to visit the pub with her, and I had to struggle not to stare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorondor Posted September 2, 2011 Report Share Posted September 2, 2011 https://store.drumbum.com/media/guitar-tshirt-king-pain.jpg meet... https://fabnob.com.au/wildfox-couture-royal-pain-oversize-v-neck-t-shirt-in-militant-1.jpg :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Voyager Posted September 2, 2011 Report Share Posted September 2, 2011 Mmmmmm, that is one pain I'd not use cooling on. Heating on the other hand... https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Smiley/drooling.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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