# Third class



## Manny (Feb 26, 2013)

Well I went to my sunday aikido class and let me tell you how it was. This time more students came in, a couple of black belts plus the sensei two 2 kyus and 2 third kyus. The class was good, I am struglin with the concepts and the techs but my classmates are very nice with me, the first lesson I was wearing my tkd black belt, sensei told me as long as I am guest I can do it, however I felt a little unconfortable and swithed to an old white belt I had in my bag, I did it for respect to the sensei, the class and the dojo.

The last 10 minutes of the class were hard the sensi put the black belts and the 2 kyus only to do the techs (some very complicated to me as a begginer) using trows when I saw that I stayed kneeling on the tatami becaus I am learning to roll and a fall like those would hurt alot, I not used to fall or rol in that way.

I am going easy trying to remeber the techs, I am not in a hurry.

Manny


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## K-man (Feb 26, 2013)

Well done Manny. Hang in there and it gets easier as you become more familiar with the techniques. As to belts. We didn't have coloured belts for the first five years I trained. Our Sensei suggested we could wear our black belts if we chose but no one did.  Doesn't make much sense when you're being thrown all over the place.


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## Manny (Feb 26, 2013)

K-man said:


> Well done Manny. Hang in there and it gets easier as you become more familiar with the techniques. As to belts. We didn't have coloured belts for the first five years I trained. Our Sensei suggested we could wear our black belts if we chose but no one did.  Doesn't make much sense when you're being thrown all over the place.



In the aikido dojo I go students use white belt with cero embroided or bars or rank till they reach the shodan level, then they can wear proudly the black belt. I can work with a white belt who can be a 5th kyu or a 1st kyu.

Manny


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## Aiki Lee (Feb 26, 2013)

Interesting, I've never heard of someone doing that. I like it. It will weed out people concerned only with rank. I never understood people who want to wear their BB when enrolling in a new art. Rank means nothing outside of the organization you recieved it in. If you want someone to know your good, let your skill speak for itself.

I'm wondering Manny, how are your aikido classes structured (I'll ask you too K-Man if you want to answer), I'm curious to see if the structure of your classes are run differently than mine.


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## Manny (Feb 26, 2013)

Himura Kenshin said:


> Interesting, I've never heard of someone doing that. I like it. It will weed out people concerned only with rank. I never understood people who want to wear their BB when enrolling in a new art. Rank means nothing outside of the organization you recieved it in. If you want someone to know your good, let your skill speak for itself.
> 
> I'm wondering Manny, how are your aikido classes structured (I'll ask you too K-Man if you want to answer), I'm curious to see if the structure of your classes are run differently than mine.



How structured the class is? Oh boy, good question! Let me tell you the sunday mornings aikido class is not for beginers per se, this class is for the guys who can't go to class during the week. I was invited to come and try, I am a guest right now who interactuates with the aikidokas. The class stars with every aikidoka doing his/her own warm up to then proced to practice techs, for give me about the names but basically are techs agains wrist grabs, elbow grabs and lapel grabs,finishig the class with an exercise that involves both aikidokas kneeling infront each other  one of them gabing the wrists of the other and the other lifthing arms and unbalance the other and trow him to the ground, forgive me but I am still learning.

So why I only go to dojo once a week and not two or three times in the beginers class? simple because I don't have the time, I teaach TKD classes twice a week and once a week go to aikido clases.

Manny


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## K-man (Feb 26, 2013)

Himura Kenshin said:


> I'm wondering Manny, how are your aikido classes structured (I'll ask you too K-Man if you want to answer), I'm curious to see if the structure of your classes are run differently than mine.


We have two types of classes. The main class is what you would expect to find in any good school. General warm up then a demonstration of a technique while everyone watches. Then partner up and practise for five or ten minutes, then onto the next technique and so on. That might include a bit of randori as well as suwari waza. 

I rarely get to those classes because of other commitments but I attend the so called "master class".  It is much less formal and I am the least experienced one in the class. At present there are only four or five of us. We train against total resistance 80% to 90% of the time which teaches us to better utilise soft against hard because hard against hard fails virtually every time.  We probably spend about a third of the time on each technique before moving on to the next.  But the big difference is that we train to use our minds. From your posts, I know you understand what I mean.  What I have learned in those classes has transformed my understanding of the martial arts and has substantially changed the way I teach karate.     :asian:


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## Aiki Lee (Feb 26, 2013)

My aikido sensei likes to run a 2 hour class where you do one or two techniques only the whole time. I understand the need for repitition, but sometimes it is hard to remain mindful the more you repeat the same action.


Huh. I wonder if that is the point?


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