Did the unthinkable (my Aikido journey)

GlimmerMan

Huge Member
TD - don't worry. It took me ages to get flexible when I was kickboxing. You just have to persevere with things like that. Some people are physiologically more bendy than others and if you are not naturally flexible then you are bound to find it a stuggle.
 

Amos Stevens

New Member
YOu want to be more flexible TD?? I will just pretend you're one of those stretch rubber dolls & pull an arm this way-tuck a leg that way...ta-da,problem solved!
 

TDWoj

Administrator
Staff member
I must say it's a good thing we've got universal health care here in Canada. With all of your "solutions", Amos, I now have a direct line to the emergency room, no waiting.
 

tora

Funmaker
TDWoj said:
Good for you, Tora! The thing is to keep it up. I took up piano when I was 20 years old, but gave it up 13 years later when it became clear I would never get any better than the level I had reached. I wish I hadn't given it up, now - but my hands are too stiff to go back.

Who knows,TD,maybe your aikido classes lead you to a state when you decide to make up your mind for piano again.I hear people starting something at all ages and the most important thing is to love what you're doing...and patience of course.Things just don't work an easy way,that we all know should've learned by now.
 

TDWoj

Administrator
Staff member
Well, maybe I will - I keep promising myself a Christmas present of a reasonably good keyboard, only I haven't found one yet that simulates the pressure of a real piano well enough yet (that I can afford).

-----

Last night's class was actually testing. Not as big a group as there was at the first testing - there was one each of 6th, 5th and 4th kyu, and two of prerequiste to advanced weapons testing.

I was supposed to test for 6th kyu last night but declined because I'm still useless at ukemi. I wanted to hold off and test in December, but my sensei isn't having any of that - I have to test in September, she says, and that's that. I'll fail, of course, because of my poor ukemi skills, but I guess a "test" test is warranted, just to see if I know the techniques.

It was brutally hot in the dojo even with both doors open and two fans going. During one of the weapons tests, a belligerent drunk happened to look in and started making all sorts of rude comments, especially about the person being tested, who happened to be female. When he started talking about things I guess I shouldn't mention for the under-16 crowd that might be reading this, that's when our sensei got up and went out to speak to him. She tried being reasonable at first, but even her patience wore thin and she eventually had to shut the door, which made the dojo even warmer. When the guy started banging on the window, one of our bigger, male black belts went out to deal with him. He got the point, and vamoosed.

(There were about thirty students in the class watching the testing - what did the guy think - he could take us all on if we decided to confront him in force?)

I had to give credit to the person being tested, though. It was an awful distraction to have to deal with.

But it was fun watching the testing. The worst part about watching the testing is having to sit (and forget about sitting seiza, which technically we're supposed to do) for the whole process. My stiff hip was protesting within the first 15 minutes and I was in an agony of pain by the end of it.
 

TDWoj

Administrator
Staff member
Sweltering heat and the fact that we had testing last night meant we had a small class tonight - only six students. It also meant that during ukemi practice, I didn't have to hold anyone else up - there was plenty of room on the mat for us all!

The one thing that the senseis last night were concerned about was the sloppy footwork of the testers. I have a feeling we will be concentrating on footwork for the next little while - which is just as well, because I know that's one of my weak points (where are the feet supposed to be again?).

The big thing was that people were not putting their feet in the proper han mi position after completing ukemi and during techniques. The instructor tonight told me he's observed that while I'm still having trouble rolling, I always end up in the proper han mi position regardless! Well, that's something anyway.

Tried a couple of standing forward rolls tonight. Ow. Shoulders protesting mightily! Telling me, don't do that again! I'm ignoring 'em.

Iriminage continues to be elusive.

Tired now. Going to bed.

Ow.
 

ad_adrian

Twitter: adadrian
well done td wog there is always something good to come out of your training even though ur not doing it properly your instructor sounds like an admiriable man

what dan ranking is your sensei?
 

TDWoj

Administrator
Staff member
ad_adrian said:
well done td wog there is always something good to come out of your training even though ur not doing it properly your instructor sounds like an admiriable man

what dan ranking is your sensei?
Well, the sensei who owns the dojo is a 5th dan. She's studied aikido for 30 years; before that she was a dancer (and a nurse!). She teaches Monday night and Saturday morning basics classes, and the Tuesday and Thursday morning all levels classes.

Last night's instructor is a 1st dan. He was supposed to go for his 2nd dan test in May in Montreal, but he suffered a torn deltoid muscle at February's seminar that's been taking a really long time to heal. This is the guy who started aikido when he was 54 years old; he's now 65. (I worry about him in this heat, because he's suffered two heart attacks already.)

Our other instructors I think range from 1st to 3rd; I'm not sure, and I don't know if it's polite to ask! I should find out, though. We also have a weapons-only instructor, and he is absolutely a stickler for precision - well, in weapons, one has to be precise, or you could hurt somebody!

Oh! and I just remembered another reason why our class is so small - a lot of the students have gone to the aikido camp in British Columbia. That's an expensive gig; not only do you have to pay for registration, you have to pay for the privilege of using the mat! And the accommodation! Maybe next year, if my financial situation improves (as if).
 

TDWoj

Administrator
Staff member
Amos Stevens said:
Hey TD...I know of someone who has a pet Hedgehog they're looking for a new home for-make a great pillow for your back :)
Thanks, Amos. I know I can always count on you to come up with the latest instrument of torture! :D :D
 

TDWoj

Administrator
Staff member
Stayed for the double class tonight, although I was really tired, not having slept well at all for a week because of the hot and humid weather (though it's cooled down some now with two days of rain from a cold front that moved in - thank goodness! Now, if I could just find the fecacte weasel who's been playing music until 4 a.m.....).

Instructor from the second class says I'm improving, though I'm still having trouble believing it. I have a really hard time going into a forward roll from a throw - I'm landing on my ribs, hard, and that can't be good. I'm terrified I'm going to crack one one day.

Iriminage continues to be a problem. Shihonage, too - I'm not getting down low enough, to keep uke's hand in front of my eyes. Also, I was working this week (yay! although not ending up with as much money as I was hoping for), so sitting all day didn't help my back any, and some of the techniques we did today required back stretching.

I'm going in tomorrow to the massage therapist for a "tune-up". That'll be nice... (TD purrs just thinking about it).

In the meantime...

Ow.
 

ad_adrian

Twitter: adadrian
i personally think your going at it to hard tdwoj i mean....your getting sore just about everything...try taking it easier untill you stop getting sore.
oh that was my problem to....still is...going to a forward roll from a throw...when they throw me how to roll ova....its difficult for me to..landing wrongly..grrr
 

TDWoj

Administrator
Staff member
Adrian, I get sore just walking to the store for a litre of milk!

Soreness is a chronic condition with me, irrespective of doing aikido. I've been in constant, sometimes excruciating pain for nearly 20 years. ANY kind of movement, walking, or even getting up from a chair, results in pain. Aikido actually helps because it releases natural endorphins and I find that my overall pain is diminishing. It's just taking a while for my stiff joints to loosen up. Also, I'm working muscles that haven't been worked in years.

Yesterday, for example, I went into class with the muscles that had been previously injured seriously throbbing. I was debating even going to class at all, because it was so achy. I decided to go. And guess what? The achiness went away - I was much better this morning, there was much less achiness, and it turned out I didn't really get that much benefit from the massage as I thought I was going to.

My joints are going to ache and they'll continue to ache for a long time, because they are so stiff and it's going to take a long time to get them to loosen up. I'm careful in class; I don't let myself go too far if something doesn't feel right. Right now, because i'm attempting standing forward rolls during ukemi practice, my shoulders are sore because the muscles are being worked differently. And during techniques, I know I'm doing forward rolls incorrectly (although purely by accident, on Monday night before testing, I did one right, and damned if I can remember how I did it!) which results in sore shoulders again.

I'm not worried about the soreness. It'll go away, eventually, once my joints and muscles loosen up. It'll just take longer for me than for other people.
 

Nick

The Writer
I think it's great what TD is doing. He is working hard at something. Rocky Balboa would be proud :)
 

Littledragon

Above The Law
GlimmerMan said:
TD - don't worry. It took me ages to get flexible when I was kickboxing. You just have to persevere with things like that. Some people are physiologically more bendy than others and if you are not naturally flexible then you are bound to find it a stuggle.


Am I flexible? :D :D
 

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TDWoj

Administrator
Staff member
Littledragon said:
Am I flexible? :D :D

Oh, go away, LD! :D :D :D

There's a guy in my class I call "Gumby". Such is my advanced age, however, that he doesn't know what I'm talking about.... <sigh>
 

TDWoj

Administrator
Staff member
Yep - here's the bonus question: what's is Gumby's sidekick and what is his sidekick's name? No searching the internet for the answer - has to be from memory! (Extra bonus question - what colour is Gumby, and what colour is his sidekick?)
 
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