Hey guys - couple questions

[Steel Tiger]

interesting, that the hummingbird would have that connection. I wonder how it fits into the mythology.

They had a lot of funny iconography. Butterflies associated with the death god. I think the hummingbird comes from Huitzilopochtli's constant struggle against darkness. It is a symbol of constancy.

 

[The_Fish]

Very interesting. I did a little research of my own before reading this, and came to the conclusion that it was a very new 'homemade' style of sorts. I'll be sure to steer clear, especially considering as I think I've found my perfect mix.

I went to a Kickboxing class last night, and I really enjoyed it (if I'd have known the Kickboxing class was about prior to posting this I wouldn't have posted!). Aside from stretches and the like, we did 1-on-1 padwork with some punches, kicks, knees, elbows and basic combinations, with the instructors putting a lot of emphasis on stance/posture and footwork. It's only an hour lesson so there isn't much time to mix things up in a lesson but I'm really looking forward to the next one.

I also feel that I want to continue with Aikido now I've found a Kickboxing class to satiate my 'striking wants'. Although Kickboxing is very different to Aikido, I feel that one will not conflict with the other due to the nature of the styles. I've only had a couple of Aikido classes so far but it is very enjoyable - great atmosphere (not too big in numbers, very helpful students), fantastic teacher (tries to keep things as 'real' and 'live' as possible in an Aikido training situation, stressing that training should never be with Uke over-exagerrating his movements, but rather with Nage doing the techs properly. He's also a perfectionist). I've heard the word 'relax' about 23409234923423423 times because I have a real problem focusing on what I'm doing whilst trying to keep relaxed, but that'll come with time.

Anyway, I'm going on and on again now. Thanks for your time, help and information all.

Nick