| TheTurboMongoose |
| (Stranger) |
| 09/05/05 07:00 PM |
No aikido in my area, still possible to train?
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Greetings everyone!
This may be my first ever post but I have been reading many of the messages posted here over the course of the past several months. Last fall I was fortunate enough to begin learning Yoshokai Aikido at a course offered by a local community college. Shortly after completing the course I moved onto a four year school in less populated, more remote location. Here, best I can tell, Aikido of any kind is not offered. While my practical experience (in class training, not outside reading or watching videos) with aikido was only about four months I felt something very positive and I believe that, after reading about other arts, Aikido fits my own personal philosophy and life style best. My question is ultimately this; is it possible to train and learn aikido, at some level or another, in solitary? This new university has very active Karate, TKD and Brazilian Jujitsu clubs but if it were possible to further my ability and knowledge of Aikido under these current circumstances, I would find that preferable. What are your thoughts on this?
Thank you.
| MattJ |
| (Free Rhinoplasty!) |
| 09/05/05 08:45 PM |
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Re: No aikido in my area, still possible to train?
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Aikido as a martial art is really dependant on partner practice, especially with the fairly limited amount of time you have been studying the art. The fine nuances necessary to master defensive flowing and joint locking are almost impossible to learn without a partner.
I would suggest looking into training another martial art until you are able to locate an aikido school.
| Joe Jutsu |
| (Enthusiast) |
| 09/06/05 01:58 AM |
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Re: No aikido in my area, still possible to train?
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As previously posted, having practice partners is an absolute necessity in training aikido. With your limited experience, I would not recommend you trying to start a club at your college, unless you could find a quality instructor. So if it is your intention to keep training in budo, I would look into another MA. I would think about the Karate club personally, since it is a Japanese MA (ie budo) and though philisophically disparate, it may give you a really insightful background to take to your aikido practice once you find yourself in a different set of circumstances.
Best of Luck,
Joe
| larryf |
| (Newbie) |
| 09/06/05 08:19 PM |
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Re: No aikido in my area, still possible to train?
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The previous posts are right, but tell us where you are going to school, and what town that's in. Maybe there is a class you just haven't found it.
| TheTurboMongoose |
| (Stranger) |
| 09/12/05 06:19 PM |
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Re: No aikido in my area, still possible to train?
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Michigan Technological University. Houghton, MI.
I found an Aikido club, sort of. They call it a community program, not sure exactly what that means but it meets four nights a week and I will be checking it out tonight.
| larryf |
| (Newbie) |
| 09/13/05 07:00 PM |
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Re: No aikido in my area, still possible to train?
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It is an ASU dojo with a 3rd dan instructor. You could do A LOT worse.
Community based probably just means that it is not taught in a full-time dojo, but in a shared space.
| TheTurboMongoose |
| (Stranger) |
| 09/13/05 08:51 PM |
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Re: No aikido in my area, still possible to train?
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Well, last night was a pretty fun lesson. People from outside our school can participate, so I think that may be what makes it a community program instead of club. We had class in this wooden floor room at the school gym, only with those generic blue velcro mats on the floor. You were correct as it's not a traditional dojo, a bunch of other classes and clubs share this room during the week. Before Aikido was one of the TKD clubs (maybe 20-30 people in there from what I saw) and after was a dance club of some kind. Our aikido class is very small, two senior students and maybe four of us that have probably had no more than a year of Aikido. Perhaps this is a blessing as it allows for more personal instruction than would have been possible in a class of 30 or more. Between having to take the summer off (broken leg) and moving from AYANA to ASU the next couple weeks will most likely be like starting over. I'll miss the other students and instructors I had trained with previously but it's a blessing to beable and continue forward with training in Aikido while at such a remote area.