Sunflash Posted July 2, 2012 Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 At least you've got the choice there, FA. I've got the problem of knowing enough to be dangerous to others, but not knowing enough to do much outside of a complete 'stop' of an aggressor. >.> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted July 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 You're gonna go Steven Seagal on some poor bastard aren't you? I do hope not. I've got the problem of knowing enough to be dangerous to others, but not knowing enough to do much outside of a complete 'stop' of an aggressor. I think that's essentially what you need, though. You need to be able to stop them completely, because anything less is reliant upon them deciding not to take it any further. One of the things I like most about joint locks is you can almost always maintain them and carry on striking at the same time. I do wonder exactly how long anyone is going to last when pinned and being lamped repeatedly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Voyager Posted July 2, 2012 Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 Locks are nice, but they have two serious problems; mostly you need to be REALLY good to perform them as people don't just stand there like at the training sessions - and there is this problem with the second attacker. Who's joint is not locked and is wielding it toward your face or something even nastier. If talk doesn't help, I'd go for a break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted July 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 One of the good things about several of our joint locks is that if an attacker tries to hit you while it's even halfway applied, it puts the lock on even more. It's quite amusing to watch someone try to hit you and inflict crippling pain on themselves. I'm simply not content to rely on them, though, and as far as I'm concerned they're merely another step towards stopping that attacker, they're not an end in and of themselves. Aikido's very concerned with mobility and multiple attackers, thankfully, so the pins aren't as secure as judo pins, but they sacrifice far less mobility in order to give you the chance to disengage from one and combat another. [media=]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJX9QnrZtfc[/media] Superb job here, quite frankly, and I hope I'm anywhere near as restrained, should it come to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Voyager Posted July 2, 2012 Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 The guy is hardly standing on his feet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted July 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 I think he's well past the point a judicious word is going to stop him. Injuries, injuries, injuries. I'm glad to report no new ones. My shoulders feel kind of chunky, as if they've been roughly engineered, like those Soviet tank engines that ended up smoothing off their own edges with their first few hours of running. The left is bad, and doesn't react well to joint locks when they're put on fully. It is at full strength and mobility, but it clicks a lot. The right is similar, but not as bad. I can roll on them, lift weights, etc, no problem. Bulking up my shoulders to maximum size makes them hurt a little though. No more posing for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted July 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 After a browse and a few recommendations, I picked up a pair of training shoes for when I'm practising outside. Training in bare feet is fine but it's not ideal for when conditions are bad and I still want to train. Plus, I have no wish to have my already-ugly feet get uglier.FeiYue are cheap and someone mentioned them to me as being excellent value for money so I got a pair and wasn't disappointed. Not only do they look proper Bruce Lee, they're a very snug fit (wearing them with socks can be a problem for the fat-footed amongst us) and they have a very grippy sole. The counter is quite low, however, so they don't feel 100% secure on your heel, even though they're so tight they can't actually come off. Perhaps I'll get home high tops next time? The odd twinge is reminding me I usually wear boots. Damn posture and balance and stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorondor Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 Perhaps I'll get home high tops next time? Wouldn't put it past you... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted July 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 Been indulging in daily training, usually first thing on a morning after a banana and a cup of tea (never exercise on a completely empty stomach, kids!). Nothing strenuous, press-ups, crunches, and squats. I'm doing it without equipment so I'm a little limited, but I'm looking around for other exercises to include (suggestions welcomed). Leg raises look like great fun. But they're not. So they'll be incorporated. On the plus side, it wakes me up and I do feel better both physically and mentally. It's also assisting with weight loss and strength, which is nice. Hilariously, when your abs start to build up, it makes you look even fatter, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted July 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 A piece on simultaneous initiative from a blog I just discovered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted October 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2012 So here we are in October, and I'm looking at a possible grading to brown on Saturday. I do not believe my aikido is at the necessary standard for brown belt. There are blues who are much better than I who are not grading. Passing them would not feel right to me. Even worse, if I did pass I could be looking at my black belt grading within six months (best case, though). I do not believe I have the skill. I've believed this, more or less, for every grading, but this time it has reached a new peak. Currently, my aikido is somewhere between a glass hammer, and Anne Frank's drum kit, in terms of use. I have not integrated the necessary body form, I have not internalised the principles. I am not ready. RobertVep 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunflash Posted October 12, 2012 Report Share Posted October 12, 2012 One NEVER thinks they are ready. When you do, you are at the bottom of the rung. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Voyager Posted October 12, 2012 Report Share Posted October 12, 2012 You may never be completely satisfied by your knowledge, but you have a blue belt and are going for brown - that imo gives you a very educated perspective on your knowledge. What I'm trying to say is that if you KNOW you're not ready, it really may be better to take another blue term. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.Perhaps you could ask sensei for his opinion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted October 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2012 My day-to-day instructors are urging me to go for brown. Sensei sees no shame in staying at blue (I think he said he stayed at blue for four or five years) but otherwise does not have an opinion that he cares to share with me. Getting some extra training in tonight, anyway, so we'll see how it goes. Last month, the course was for the lower kyus, and I was very pleased to see three newbies that I train with get their yellow (on their second try for two of them), and an orange move up to green (graded by Sensei for extra pressure). I was surprised by the amount of pleasure I took from it (especially after the tension of seeing the two who were repeating their grading stumble at first). I know one of them was doing almost the correct thing, and thankfully the instructor grading moved her on and then back to it, which shook things loose and everything was fine after that. I was also happy to note I could tell who would pass and who would fail before hearing the results, having just watched their grading. I was tempted to torture my three newbs when they asked me if they had passed, but my heart wasn't in it. Far too proud of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorondor Posted October 12, 2012 Report Share Posted October 12, 2012 I'd posit the following:• compare yourself with the best blues. In terms of your knowledge of skills/techniques, and then in terms of actual practical execution. Can you perform at their level?• compare yourself with the freshest brown. Despite being a blue belt, do you believe you can match what he/she is presently doing? :: Grading requires due preparation at a personal level, both physical and mental. Yet, if, without false modesty or bias, you've answered positively to both questions, I'd say you're able to make the grade, FA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted October 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 Brown belt trophy unlocked. Started off with a total nightmare, an absolute mess, then worked out pretty well, with only one wrong technique (thankfully, Sensei is looking more at awareness, body form, movement, and actual skill) in the grading itself. Disregarding the total cock-up on the revision part of the test, I did okay. Nothing more, nothing less. Could have, and should have, done a lot better. Certainly capable of a lot better. I'm still amazed at my lack of failure. Second day of the course tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunflash Posted October 14, 2012 Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 CALLED IT! ./cheer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jman4117 Posted October 14, 2012 Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 so...going to hit on the blackbelt chick now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Voyager Posted October 14, 2012 Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 ALRIGHT! Congratulations! Brown belt is definitely something to be proud about. And yeah, we're all wondering about what Jman said... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted October 14, 2012 Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 I still reckon she would kick his arse all over the mat, but maybe that's the point? Nah, seriously well done mate! I think the thing is you'll always be doubting yourself before a grading and you're right - at each belt you're on it's still possible to see people who are better or worse than you - but at the end of the day if its Sensei grading you and he thinks you're ready and he saw you were good enough then you've got to be pleased with that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorondor Posted October 14, 2012 Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 Congratulations, FA! Very much deserved given all your effort and dedication. :: So, there is beauty in brown after all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted October 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2012 so...going to hit on the blackbelt chick now? She has her eye firmly on someone else. There is, however, a newer student (currently at yellow) who everyone says is attracted to me. I'm not sure I see it myself, but she does approach me often, and we get along nicely. She's younger than me, but not disgracefully so, and very attractive, but also seems to have had a corker of a bad relationship in the past. I have an advantage in being older, in that I constantly win our swapping of bon mots, but I make sure not to demolish her. Anyhow, I'm trying not to think about it, because it's distracting me from my training. In a way, now I'm at brown, the pressure is off. I can only train and complete the dan preparation courses, and nothing else. I will be invited to attempt to grade to first dan when Sensei thinks I'm ready, and not before. I am now on the receiving end of at least two beastings per session, expected to perform at a higher standard, and do so for longer than the other kyu grades. I will be pushed relentlessly to see exactly how much I can do, every session, without respite. I will be used as an example on how to do things for the lower kyus, I am expected to share in the teaching responsibilities (coaching and first aid courses coming up, no doubt), and I will be beasted all the more if I am not up to scratch. Injury-wise, I'm not too bad. My left thumb, strained again and again at work, is not in the best shape. My shoulders are better than they have been for a while, but are still not as good as their pre-injury state, and probably never will be. Overall, I'm in decent shape to crack on harder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Voyager Posted October 18, 2012 Report Share Posted October 18, 2012 Anyhow, I'm trying not to think about it, because it's distracting me from my training. Sorry friend, but... YOU FOOL! Will you be squeezing a belt when you grow old (or now when I think about it)?!!??!?!?! Training is exercise, love is life. The other way around is FALSE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunflash Posted October 18, 2012 Report Share Posted October 18, 2012 ....you are now picturing a body pillow wrapped in akido belts and FA hugging it at night. Jman4117 and FullAuto 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorondor Posted October 18, 2012 Report Share Posted October 18, 2012 *hastily erases mental image* Being practical: no pain, naught to gain, isn't it what they say, FA? You should keep in mind that, physically at least, you'll scarcely ever be more on top of your game than you are at this age. Knowing your mettle, you'll shrug off most punishment and ask for seconds. You've shown it before, and I believe you're in a position to prove you're up for it once again. :: As for your chances with Ms. Mellow Yellow, let me put it this way: you're not getting any younger, Bub... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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