Hi Patrick. My name is Robert Angotti. I am the chief instructor here at North Wind Aikikai. I found your message in our inbox here. I would like to provide you a special offer. You are welcome to come participate in our aikido training for free. There are only three pre-requisites. First, I ask that you provide a check to us for three months of classes in advance. We will keep the check, but we won’t cash it during those three months. Second, you will need to attend our 5:30 class every Monday, Wednesday and Friday during those three months. Third, you will need an aikido training uniform. You can purchase one at the dojo. And, lastly you will be required to engage in the practice in a manner that supports the training opportunities of all our participants. If you can meet these criteria we will destroy your check!
Is aikido fake? I think you should come find out for yourself. What I can tell you is that the lessons of aikido appear endless. The first lesson of aikido is courage. It takes great courage to try aikido practice. I admire every person who steps on the mat at least once.
Aikido also teaches humility. Most people who try aikido quit after only a couple practices. It is much more difficult than people expect. Aikido quickly introduces us to the frailty of our ego. If a student can endure three months of regular practice they may have acquired enough humility to realize that there is a great deal one can learn through the practice. Its always a joy to participate in that journey with students who have the courage and humility to travel those three months. But aikido is not for everyone. Nevertheless, knowing if aikido is truly for you would take at least three months of regular practice.
The next stepping stone in aikido would require three years of practice at least three times a week. This is the amount of practice needed for most people to develop some competence in the art. It is through this period that aikido shares some really profound lessons. In many dojos this might be the time when a student could test for a black belt. However, this kind of student is rare, exceptional even. This kind of student is a person of great character. Not only do they possess courage and humility but they have willingly engaged in a path of service. This kind of student has begun to embrace the lesson expressed by O’Sensei with these words.
“True victory is victory over oneself.” ~Morihei Ueshiba (Founder of Aikido)
These are the kind of students who become pillars in the dojo. They sacrifice their time for the benefit of others. They endure the pain and occasional despair that comes on any meaningful journey of self transformation.
Next you come to old timers like me. When I was young I thought about fighting, I thought about what aikido might allow in a martial moment. Now I realize that thinking is naive and childish. What I can tell you after over three decades in the practice is that there is never a day on the mat when I don’t feel I have accessed something true and yet indescribable. One of the wisest books I have know begins with the words below. Wisdom like this is what gets folded into traditional practices like aikido over centuries.
“Those who speak don’t know, those who know don’t speak.” ~Tao Te Ching
Patrick, let’s see if you are ready to engage in a journey towards that. Come join us!
