Thorondor Posted November 24, 2011 Report Share Posted November 24, 2011 I suppose I want to know why I'm doing it, but I don't really know.Did you know you can be incredibly profound even when you're not trying to? Why are you doing it? Accomplishment. At the risk of being quite blunt, FA, this is, if momentarily, perhaps the one area of your life where you actually feel you're accomplishing something. It's not some make-believe accomplishment - you are making progress, and getting better at it almost every day - that's satisfying. Belts are just extra validation. Achievement and self-improvement is what keeps you going back. I don't know what I need.Just now? Not more bruising, or aching body parts, that's for certain... It's maybe the greatest bane of the self-aware, but it boils down to something quite simple: you just need to have a sense of purpose. It's a fact of life that one can't constantly be claiming momentous feats (except when gaming, obviously ), but it's never uplifting to find yourself kind of drifting aimlessly. We're goal-oriented creatures. :: So... "join the club!" - and quit making excuses: make a move for Her before some other, clearly undeserving, pompous, braindead idiot does. p.s.: Step nbr.1 - make her laugh. Preferably not _at_ you. I'm sure you can manage that. Right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted November 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2011 It's a bit disconcerting when people see things about you so accurately. You're bang-on, basically. It's very satisfying both mentally and physically. you just need to have a sense of purpose. This. Been looking for it my entire life. And I don't want to lumber aikido or the object of my affections with such importance because it will inevitably fail, it has to be something internal. Injury update I have shin splints, apparently. Now, medical mumbo jumbo aside, I dunno what that means, but the nurse says "Ice" and "Rest" are the two operative words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted November 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2011 Currently ROFL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Voyager Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 AAAHAHHAHAHAHAAA!!! Great find! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted November 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 Turns out I was mistaken. You don't have to stay at brown for a year, you just have to do two dan preparation sessions, which only happen 3-4 times a year. So two of those, plus another grading, means it's about a year anyway (possibly more if you can't travel abroad and do a dan prep/grade on an international course). If sensei thinks you're good enough, you'll be invited to grade after two dan prep sessions. If not, all you can do is keep going to them. Shikko, or knee walking, is fairly difficult to do well. Mine has improved, somehow, to the point where it's actually practical, but it's not as smooth as walking (see about 50s in the video above, I'm very jealous). The movement is a little more accentuated than when walking, but is just as smooth. I'm still at the stage where I use my arms to give things a bit more energy, swapping from left to right with my leg movement, but I seem to have clicked with it, just a little, and digested the way it works (without practising shikko, which is, er, fortunate). Tiny things can be important. One of the things I should have picked up on before now, and which the video has just made glaringly obvious, is that you must have live toes. Laugh, I did. I think the Japanese term is kiza, related to seiza (knelt) and anza (cross-legged). Live toes means you do not rest the top of your foot on the floor. Doing so makes it more difficult to get up. Your toes and the ball of your foot are kept touching the floor, even as the sole of your foot is basically vertical. Image, back foot in kiza. This bloody hurts when you start doing it, and never really gets to be pleasurable, but I'm getting used to it. It helps that a lot of the suwari waza (kneeling techniques) simply require you to be sat kiza at all times, to enable fast movement. And it actually works. Sort of sickening to admit, when I'm in a grumbling mood, but it makes turning and knee-walking much easier, much smoother, and more stable. 'My way' is more instinctive, and is crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorondor Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 Quite the toe-twister that and not the most natural of positions to be sure. Some of the attending with the black lower garments almost seemed about to step on their own dragging clothing and trip. :: Do only the most advanced aikido practicioners wear those, by the way, or does it come down to an option in dress code? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted November 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 The hakama is a wonderful little addition to one's dojowear. Who gets one depends upon the school of aikido. Initially, everyone was meant to wear them, due to their association with bushido (samurai wore them as cowboys wore chaps, the seven pleats are said to represent the seven virtues of bushido, etc). In my aikido, only dan grades get to wear them, so they are a sign of distinction, and they are also cursed often, as one must re-learn a lot of aikido in order not to trip and fall over. In other schools, everyone wears them, in others women wear them but men do not. Brand-new dan grades can be easily spotted by their propensity to A) catch their own feet on it, and B) be tripped up by others 'accidentally' stepping on it. I'm told that quite a lot of hilarity can be obtained by standing behind a black belt, stepping on just a little of the trailing material, and watching them fall over when they move. Sad to say, the wearing of the hakama makes the grace of some black belts almost inconceivable. If I am clumsy without a hakama, how can I ever possibly be like that with one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted December 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 And I do believe I'm seriously injured. During a throw, tori stepped on my foot, and uke (me) could neither roll nor flip, and ended up spiking into the mat shoulder-first. It bloody hurt, and my shoulder joint did not and still does not feel 'secure'. I have full range of motion, but the pain is considerable when I raise my hand in front of me. I think it's medical advice time tomorrow. I'm praying it's not a torn rotator cuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunflash Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 Well please don't sit there and try to figure out the exact point at which the pain spikes. :X Will only make it worse! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorondor Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 How are things, FA - did you manage to give that pain the cold shoulder? :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted December 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 50/50 chance it's either a bad sprain or a minor tear of the rotator cuff, according to the specialist. Codeine for the pain, X-ray soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 Here's hoping it's just a sprain, painful as that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted December 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 Certainly feels like a sprain after some codeine, mmm-mmm. Went and watched tonight, and it was so frustrating. Every technique, I just wanted to get up and join in. It's very instructive, watching from the sidelines and getting views of techniques you wouldn't normally get from the mat, but it's so difficult to rein in the thirst. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Voyager Posted December 8, 2011 Report Share Posted December 8, 2011 Some rest will do you good. Also it will give you a chance to examine the techniques used by female martial artists. One especially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted December 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2011 'Examining techniques' goes out the window. Watched her a little yesterday; footwork, co-ordination, balance, I saw none of it. My thoughts went something like: "Doesn't her hair look lovely. She's so graceful. Beautiful smile. Wonderfully athletic. Oh, aikido. Right." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorondor Posted December 8, 2011 Report Share Posted December 8, 2011 Beats codeine every day, doesn't she? Watching from the sidelines has its benefits as you point out, and busting yourself up again before you're up to it is not going to do you any favours. :: Wishes of speedy recovery, FA! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted December 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 Thanks, Thor. This thread was an interesting snippet on aikiweb until genin (Roger Flatley) dropped yet another bollock. But you also have to keep in mind that the man was not being attacked, so this wasn't combat (although it technically could be considered that.) Someone sticking a gun in your ribs is not an attack. I must remember that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted January 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 The somewhat triumphant return, albeit with added pain. Shoulder not up to full speed, but I've been off too long, skill fade is setting in and it's time to get back to it. Been thinking about chokes lately. I know they're very safe and very effective. Ocular fixation occurred in 16 subjects (time 9.5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorondor Posted January 10, 2012 Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 Your mention of chokes reminds me of an interesting episode I've seen on a TV series (called Sports Science) where they exemplify and monitor the effects: *yipe!* :: Watch out aikidokas - FA is once again reeeeaaaaady too ruuuuuuuummmmmmbleeeeeeee! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Voyager Posted January 10, 2012 Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 Damn, that vid is scary. Why were you thinking about chokes, FA? Do you feel your windpipe squeezing when she comes near? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted January 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 Oh I see, stick the knife in and work it around, yes. Why do I tell you lot anything I don't know. Next, I'm going to research what it's like to be alone forever... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted January 10, 2012 Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 Next, I'm going to research what it's like to be alone forever... If this were X-COM, your research progress would be "Excellent". Sorry, that's one of the harshest things I've ever said but it did sound funny in my head You'll get a girl - bound to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted January 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 If this were X-COM, your research progress would be "Excellent". LOL! Aye, I know it, it's just funnier if I play up being alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted January 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 Well, I didn't sleep last night, and I'm on my third cold shower and sixth cup of tea in an effort to stay awake and go training. Don't know why that is, but I'm doing it. I suppose I'm pushing myself, see how I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunflash Posted January 11, 2012 Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 Oh good, because no sleep and pushing physical training is SUCH a good idea! > Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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