Reason # 4,456,742 why I love Aikido
This is a reproduction of story sent to an aikido listserve by an aikido student from another (not AiBerk) dojo.
This is a reproduction of story sent to an aikido listserve by an aikido student from another (not AiBerk) dojo.
Hey all -
At this point many of you don't even know me; I was at the dojo for a few years and left 4 (yes, folks, FOUR) years ago to head back east. Since then I have spent perhaps 10 or 12 hours on the mat, total.
But today I learned that muscle memory is a great thing, and learning how to take ukemi is an even better thing.
I was rollerblading in my bathing suit (I'm on Florida) with my mother-in-law, and we were going VERY fast. I'm not an experienced rollerblader, but the one thing I learned quickly was how to go much faster than I had any control over. Being fool-hardy, I was enjoying this. So while going VERY fast, with precious little of my body protected by clothing (I did have wrist guards, but no elbow guards), I lost control and tripped-or-something, and took a heckuva spill, landing SPLAT on asphalt while going 15-20 mph.
Somehow, I was almost completely unhurt. I pulled a muscle under my right arm, and my right flank will have a big bruise tomorrow, but nothing was scratched, torn, hurt, etc. Once I got up, and my mother-in-law and I had marveled that I wasn't in need of an ambulance, I realized that without thinking about it, my body automatically responded to the danger as if I were on the mat taking a fall - I had, in fact, managed to land almost perfectly, given my feet were encumbered with the roller blades. My arms, my legs, my torso - everything went were it was supposed to. And so I got up and kept rollerblading, instead of going to the emergency room.
I'm sharing this mostly for anyone going through a sophomore slump who might be wondering how practical all this rolling around on the floor stuff really is. I'm telling you: it works! 2 years of practice, 4 years ago. Still in the muscle fibers. Think about it.
Labels: Aikido
| posted by Unknown @ 3/30/2009 11:27:00 AM
Not just another ending
At Lear's end, Edgar stands in the midst of death and, ashamed, tries as best he can to muddle through. After all, "the weight of this sad time we must obey / Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say." Thankfully, I am not Edgar and, despite my sadness, am not ambivalent about this death. Greg Hornecker is an admirable man and not Lear, despite the size of his spirit, probity, and love of the law. What I feel and might ought to say are identical. I asked his advice on many things and he responded thoughtfully and with respect despite my inexperience. He never pressed, except for the opportunity to offer a gift or kindness. He loved children: his, theirs, and the community's. He found a way, when my son died, to let me know that, in his kingdom, all my feelings were honest and would have time and space for expression. He also communicated without words that the future does not die with the dead and that the time to allow the sun to rise again may come as unexpectedly as did the dark.
Ok. Fine. He might suggest, now that he is the beloved dead: I'll miss you too. Move on.
So. I'll honor Greg not by doing what he told me to do, because he never told me what to do. Instead, I'll do as he did. I'll do what I admire in him. When someone is in need I'll do my best to help them take care of themselves. When they do me a disservice I'll do my best to let it become a part of a past we can both laugh about. When someone shows me kindness I'll return it many times over. And when I die, maybe somebody else will say something they thought about for a while, feel the loss of me, and move on into tomorrow with the desire to love his people a little more.
Ok. Fine. He might suggest, now that he is the beloved dead: I'll miss you too. Move on.
So. I'll honor Greg not by doing what he told me to do, because he never told me what to do. Instead, I'll do as he did. I'll do what I admire in him. When someone is in need I'll do my best to help them take care of themselves. When they do me a disservice I'll do my best to let it become a part of a past we can both laugh about. When someone shows me kindness I'll return it many times over. And when I die, maybe somebody else will say something they thought about for a while, feel the loss of me, and move on into tomorrow with the desire to love his people a little more.
Aidan and Grandpa Greg
Labels: Aidan, death, image, kin
| posted by Unknown @ 3/12/2009 09:21:00 PM
