Intro

Hello there. Well, after debating back and forth, I have decided to start a blog. The main reason is that I would like to look back every so often to see how I have progressed in one way or another. Before I continue, let me tell you a bit about my background. The world of martial arts isn’t new to me. From 1999-2006 I studied Aikijitsu. For those of you who don’t know much about that style, it is fairly aggressive and involves judo, aikido and a few other styles thrown in. The throws were my favorite part though. We also worked with several types of weapons, which I also enjoyed. I really enjoyed doing martial arts and it helped boost my self confidence over time. I used to be a shy person, but it eventually brought me out of my shell. In August of 2006 I moved an hour and a half north for grad school. Due to my 14 hour days from school and commuting by train, that left no time for me to train anywhere. Eventually I graduated and I got a job cross country. My husband and I packed up and headed towards the unknown. After settling in for 7 months, my husband still was unable to find a job. We occasionally spoke of martial arts and how much both of us missed taking classes. I began to search for a martial arts dojo for him to go to. That way he would be able to get out of the house and socialize. The closest thing we could find to our beloved style of Aikijitsu was Aikido. We eventually found a dojo that he liked. So, I encouraged him to sign up… without me. That idea didn’t go to well and he told me that he refused to join unless I did. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to do martial arts, but I thought it would be nice for him to have his own thing and would let him get out of the house. Not to mention that with only one paycheck, paying for one person is a lot easier then paying for two people!

Well, after several days of bickering and arguing, I gave in and decided to join with him. It was more important to me that he was there and if I had to be there, then so be it. Well, it turns out that it made me realize just how much I missed martial arts. I thought that my previous martial arts background would give me some sort of advantage, but I have yet to figure out what that actually is! I feel like a hopeless beginner all over again. Lost and confused in this brand new world. The only difference is that I am a little more aware of my body and I am able to take falls. There are some differences in the way they do ukemi here, so I’m asked to do things differently. I am used to falling on the outside, where they want me to fall to the inside here. I was taught to roll all the way up the body during a face fall, here they want you to catch yourself on your forearms… OUCH! I still can’t seem to grasp this one. As a matter of fact, I have several bruises on my right forearm from last nights class. The strange part is I don’t even know how I bruise this part on my forearm! I could understand if they were on my elbow because then I would know I was catching myself on my elbow, but this is in a strange place. I have even tried putting my arm on a flat surface to try to figure out what I am doing and I can’t seem to make the bruise area hurt…. So until I figure out what I am doing, the bruises will continue!

I have noticed that my bruising is getting less frequent. They are pretty much only on my wrists and arms now. I used to get them on my knees all the time, but I am guessing this was from me not used to sitting in seiza and doing shikko (knee walking). My husband and I have also joined iaido and tai chi as well. I really love working with the bokken and look forward to buying an iaito in the future. In fact, I have it already picked out. I just need the $600 to make the purchase. :O) I have had minimal exposure to the jo in Aikido and I am not sure if I like it yet, but that may change. I do miss using the other weapons from my old style. We used the bo, jo, nunchucks, sword, tonfa, sai’s and escrima. I had the most experience with the bo and the nunchucks though and I miss training with them. :O(

With our busy training schedule (Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday evenings), it seems we are never home during week nights anymore! We also take a Saturday morning classes as well. We have been taking classes for a little over 3 months now and I have enough hours to test for 5th kyu. Whether I am ready or not is a different story, but at least I have the hours in. I am guessing that they won’t offer the test for another month or two, but I could be wrong. That gives me time to work on my horrendous technique!

Well, I guess I better close for now. At least I have the first post done, which now allows me to move to the present. Sorry I didn’t think to do this when I first started! It would have made things much more simplistic on my part.