Solo training exercises

[Logan]

I have been doing Tomiki style Aikido for about 7 years now. I was just wondering what sort of exercises you do outside of class on your own that you feel is beneficial to your training?

For me, aside from kata and the hand/foot movements, all I do is mentally go through the techniques...

 

[kosho]

Meditation about 30 mins a day is to me ONE of the most inportant things you can do for your mind and body. If your mind is not calm things do not work well.
Kosho

 

[charyuop]

I haven't done Aikido for that long, only few months.
What I usually do daily (except when it rains since I don't particularly appreciate practicing in the mud and if I ruin the ceiling with the Jo my wife will kill me) is 31 Jo kata and 20 (23) Jo suburi. Repeat many times bokken cuts. Moreover i torture the huge tree in my backyard with the Jo...don't know what it is called, but it is that block that looks alot like the tsuki.
Of course I am not at your level so I do these exercises to imprint in my muscles basic movements like keeping the elbows low, turning with the hips and smotthness in handeling the Jo. But most of all to get better with my left side. I am right handed and in my life the only times I used my left hand was to tie shoes and eat a steak...you should see how retarded I look when I do the Jo kata with the left hand

I don't do meditation, but I also practice Tai Chi daily which helps alot with concentration and relaxation.

 

[Yari]

I dont know which kata you do, but these would be afla/omega to what else you have to do.

Any movment can be done along, or be broken down to easliy defined movements that can be practiced.

On the genral side, doing som running/biking like that would help too.

/Yari

 

[Logan]

I do alot of general training but lately I've been substituting more MA stuff as my cardio. I'm interested in how other people approach their training without an uke at hand (hence the mental stuff).

Alot of people I talk to seem to enjoy cross-training with similar MAs e.g. Judo et al. On one hand I can see the benefit of a different perspective lending a new approach to Aikido but I often wonder if cross-training with a similar art could be confusing and lead to a temptation to insert bits of one into another e.g. "Hmm this throw is difficult....I know, I'll do that move we do in X and then it will work...".

I feel most Martial Arts are complete systems. The trouble is though that most classes I encounter do not have sufficient time to adequately cover everything within the system and usually fall into the habit of focusing on one particular aspect.

How would you approach solo training stuff not covered regularly in class? Kata is generally fine but partner stuff is a thinker...

 

[Yari]

Your talking about two things here:

1) Cross training
2) practicing by yourself

Crosstraining is a difficult area, because you'll experience influence from the style your cross training with. it could be minute or major... really depends.... but it would always be there.

Praticing by yourself to improve on your own level. Well anything goes (nearly). Doing the techniques by themselve, geeting ekstra strenght by weightlifting, mental training......

By asking this, you'll probably just get to the conclusion that everthing goes.....

/Yari

 

[Logan]

Well not exactly..... apologies for not being clearer.

What I am asking is what training you do outside of class, in particular how you approach aspects of the "syllabus" not regularly covered by your dojo.

My reference to cross-training was due to previous conversations with people who choose to practice other martial arts that focus on aspects e.g. ground-grappling, punching, kicking etc. rather than practice "the Aikido appraoch", if that makes any sense.

For example, each time I go to class we may not use Jo or bokken techniques but at home it is easy to practise the respective katas. There are other techniques we sometimes practise with an uke that are not done often but which I try and find ways to practise at home. Without a partner it can be tricky. My preference is to work out ways to practise these without supplementing gaps in my knowledge with another Martial Art's approach to filling the hole. I am interested in sharing ideas to see if there are other effective ways of solo training in Aikido.

 

[Yari]

We might be talking pass each other.

The first thing that comes into mind when I read your post is "just do it".

I know that some things will be more difficult than others, but any practice is better than none.

Yes, partner practice is best, but doing it without a partner is better then not doing it.

Antoher way of praticing is trying to find a way the techniques fit together and then us them while praticing with a partner. You dont do it often but once in a while do another technique then expected, just to pratice. You'll get 2 benifits from this: 1) you get to pratice something that you dont do to often 2) You get to pratice the technique on a person that doesn't know it's coming. Be carful of your partner.

/yari

 

[morph4me]

Just do the techniques as if you had a partner, but without the tension. Allow your muscle memory to take over, got through the techniques, check your body position, footwork etc. Do it slowly and examine each technique, what makes it work, are you using all the principles when you do it alone? If not you're probably not using them when you have a partner. Solo work can show you where you are getting by vs. actually doing the technique properly. The same as slow motion work, with or without a partner.

 

[punisher73]

Not sure what style of Aikido you do, but I know that some have the "aiki taiso" which are movements meant to be practiced alone that will "instill" in you so to speak principles needed for the techniques.