Aikido is a very personal journey as I said above the initial reason for starting aikido was to replace a major sporting activity in my life, rugby. What has surprised me is that after nearly 30 years of year of practice I still enjoy it as much as ever.
I have been very lucky to have been taught by some really great practitioners of the art, Ken Williams, Paul McKechan, Denis Burke, Sensei Maruyama, Sensei Michael Williams and more recently Sensei Yoshigasaki and Obata Sensei in Toronto, to name but a few.
Many teachers want you to copy them exactly, there is a correct way and an incorrect way. However since I left the tutelage of Ken Williams and discovered that there many many different styles of aikido, some gentle, some hard, some competitive some not; there is no correct way. There is only the way that works for you.
That’s why I love our association name. Aikido for Daily Life. That’s what aikido, for me, is all about. It provides a structure and ground rules that just help you to get on in life, in all its facets.
In my opinion it is no better than yoga, pilates, religion, philosophy, etc whatever you study that helps you get through life in a happy and contented manner, is just great. Aikido just does it for me.
Why do I like it. Well I love the fact in some areas I get better as I get older, I love the freedom of being thrown through the air and landing safely, I love the physical contact, I love the mental agility, I like the confidence it gives me, I like the camaraderie, world wide, I like that I can still practice at 54 plus and my oldest student is 75, I like the fact that I still feel like a beginner and that one day I might crack it.
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