Читать книгу Aikido Basics - Phong Thong Dang - Страница 14

YOU HAVE ALREADY WATCHED a few classes, so you have some idea what you can expect. You have interviewed and chosen a school and teacher that you believe can provide you with the best training available. You have signed up, shown up, and suited up. You walk into the school for your very first class. Welcome to aikido, the way of peace and harmony.

Before Class

Expectations

A word of advice is not to have too many expectations. The plan you have in your mind may not be the plan your new teacher has for your first lesson. If you are not filled with your own expectations, you will be more open to whatever is offered. As a beginner, you will encounter several new things when you attend your first class. Some will be physical and some will be psychological.

You may, at first, feel disappointed from a martial arts perspective, since aikido can look soft. As you study, however, you will find that the soft appearance gives way to the power of the throws and locks of aikido. With training, the softness returns but brings with it the power of the martial art. Aikido takes patience and persistent training. Eventually, your disappointments will turn to enjoyment and even amazement.

Humility

On first appearance, the techniques of aikido look simple to perform. When one actually tries to do them, however, they often turn out to be much more complicated than they seemed initially. The excitement you initially feel may give way to frustration when training actually begins. Be patient. With consistent and persistent training, the frustration is replaced by the even deeper excitement and appreciation for what aikido is, and for the skills you have gained.

Considering all that aikido encompasses, you should expect the first class to be overwhelming. Aikido keeps evolving and changing. Expect to change with it. Aikido has an infinite number of combinations of techniques that change with every encounter. Don't try to memorize everything too soon. Be patient with yourself and train hard. Eventually, the things that once overwhelmed you will become automatic.

Be Prepared and Show Up Early

It is considered disrespectful to show up after a class has begun. Arrive early to show that you respect the teacher, the school, your fellow students, and yourself. Have your uniform ready to go. Give yourself enough traveling time. Walk in, look around, and welcome yourself to your new home.

Introductions

Introduce yourself to others. Aikido practitioners are usually friendly. It is a way of practicing harmony and extending ki beyond the traditional practice on the mat. These strangers will become your friends, and most importantly, your training partners.

The Start of Class

Bowing

Expect to bow in class a lot. Bowing, called rei in Japanese, is a form of greeting and respect. Bow when you first enter the school and when you first step on the mat. At the beginning of the class, kneel and bow to a picture of O'Sensei Morihei Ueshiba. Bowing is not a religious gesture or ceremony that goes against anyone's faith of choice. Bowing to O'Sensei Morihei Ueshiba is simply thanking him and showing respect for what he has given to the aikido community. In the front of the training area, usually opposite to the entrance, is the shomen. This is traditionally a raised, or recessed, shrinelike structure that is a place for ancestral spirits to reside and watch over us as we practice. The shomen usually contains a picture, a scroll, and some plant or greenery to remind us of nature. The shomen is a way to remember and honor O'Sensei Morihei Ueshiba, as our ancestor, for giving us aikido as a physical and spiritual practice. The shomen becomes a focus of training.

Bow to your teacher. Learning respect, humility, gratitude, and appreciation is just one of the benefits you will gain through your study of aikido.

You will see people doing a simple standing bow. They may just put their hands at their sides and bend slightly at the waist. Others will put their hands in front and bow deeply. Some schools or teachers advocate keeping your eyes open and focused on your training partner as you bow. Watch how others are bowing, and follow their examples.

Line Up, Kneel, and Bow

Line up according to rank. At your first class, you will more than likely be the one with the lowest rank. Take your place at the far left of the line, by sitting on your heels with your back straight. This is the traditional kneeling position. Relax and breathe. You will line up at the beginning and end of class, and quite possibly several times in between.

To assume the traditional kneeling and bowing positions, simply step forward and then lower yourself onto one knee. Bring your other knee onto the mat and align both knees. Sit on your heels. The toes can be curled under so the bottom of the toes and balls of the feet are on the mat. This position actually makes it easier to stand and respond if attacked. For formality, most people let the tops of their feet touch the mat. Some schools allow their students to sit with their knees apart. Others feel that this position is impolite and the knees should be together. Both hands rest, palms down, on the legs. The spine is straight. To bow, move the left hand forward onto the mat, follow it with the right hand, forming a triangle between the hands, and rock forward, letting the head dip down. Rock back up to a kneeling position. Return the right hand first, followed by the left hand, to their original position on the knees.

Listen

Expect to listen. Listen with your ears, your eyes, and most importantly, with your body. Hear what the teacher tells you and follow instructions. Listen with your eyes as the teacher demonstrates the techniques. Listen with your body by making subtle movements that mimic the movement being demonstrated.

Minimal Social Conversation

Stay focused on why you have decided to become involved in aikido. The social contacts and friends you make will be important to you for the rest of your life. There is time outside the school to cultivate these relationships. While in class, keep your social conversation to a minimum. Some schools prohibit social conversation during practice. You are here to train, not socialize. Minimize your talk and maximize your training. You will find it worthwhile.

Follow Instructions

Follow instructions to the best of your ability. What you are told to do will sound easy. What is demonstrated to you will look easy. Following instructions will make it easier for you, but remember, as a beginner in your first class, you are not expected to get it right. You are just expected to do your best. There are many subtleties in aikido. Many times, you will think you are doing exactly what you have seen the teacher demonstrate, and yet it doesn't seem to work. Following instructions will allow you to adjust your technique ever so slightly and discover that it works.

Behavior

Ask Questions

Most questions are answered through training. As a beginner, you will either be full of questions far beyond what you need to know for the level of your training, or you will not have the slightest clue about what to ask. An empty mind is the open mind of the beginner, and will be ready to receive learning. Accept the answer you receive. We often ask questions but do not really listen to the answers. Once you have an answer, return to your practice. Many times the words will make better sense if they are practiced though aikido movements.

Take Turns

Aikido is cooperative, interactive learning. You will learn to both give and receive the basic techniques of aikido. Your training partners will help you by allowing you to practice with them. You will reciprocate and allow them to practice with you. This partnership becomes a profound learning experience that extends far beyond the relationship you have in the school. After you have practiced a technique a few times with each hand, bow to your training partner and let him or her have a turn. Do not monopolize the training opportunity and time.

After Class

Gratitude and Appreciation

Expect to cultivate an attitude of gratitude and appreciation. You will appreciate the efforts made by others to show up and train with the discipline that has allowed them to advance and share their learning with you. You can look forward to the day when new students will appreciate, and be grateful for, what you will share with them.

Not Knowing

Aikido does not lend itself to easy description or definition, even by the best of practitioners. You may not totally remember what you learned. Learning will be gradual. There will always be more questions than answers in aikido. The beauty of the art is that it keeps refining and teaching you.

Exhaustion

Breath control is another factor of aikido that many beginning students do not anticipate. The cardiovascular aspects of being out of shape for the vigorous workout may leave you out of breath as well. As a new student, you will be taught to breathe normally while executing the aikido techniques and when taking the falls. Your cardiovascular fitness will increase over time. What once made you out of breath will later only take your breath away as you experience the beauty of aikido.

Soreness

Many new students find they are sore after their first class. You have used your body and muscles in ways you are not used to. The body takes a while to adjust and accommodate itself to the new workload. If you are in pain, it may mean that something has been injured. Talk to your teacher and consult with a medical care professional. Some soreness just means that you had a good workout and that you are taking your body beyond its normal limits. It means you are learning. You will learn eventually to relax and gain harmony with your body.

Now that you know what to anticipate in your first class, don't expect it to be exactly as described here. Each training partner you have will approach you with slightly different energy. You must be able to respond to each. This adaptability is essential to aikido. It is explicit in the teachings and implicit in the training.