Craig, I'm so glad to hear that you're enjoying aikido. You'll come to love it even more as you become more familiar with the intricacies of the art and the subtleties that make things happen that look like magic right now. Ukemi, like everything else in the arts comes with time. The more comfortable you get with the idea of throwing yourself at the ground the easier the falls and rolls will become.
Jenn, your "lecture" (and a good one BTW) is an important one for any beginning student in aikido. Soreness is part of the art... pain compliance is a big part of it... BUT you can alleviate a great deal of injury if you leave your pride at the door and answer the pain when it first hits instead of forcing your nage to put a great deal of pain on you before tapping or rolling/falling. We're dealing with that in spades with several new students in our dojo right now and I don't expect they'll last long before something pops.
Jeff , I Really Really like this. Thanks. ( A fine point, I think some people don't get the difference between pain compliance and pain avoidance. )
Jenna, a bet your students miss you too.
lori
