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So today I went back to aikido for the first time in far too long...
I'd picked up a new hakama in the last week, since the two hakamas I had from previous practice both had their knees torn open from use and were being held together (not very well) by duct tape on the inside of the fabric, making them both very heavy and very stiff (not to mention very ugly). I tried on the new hakama when it arrived Friday, and thought I resembled a 15 pound sausage stuffed into a 10 pound casing.
I'm looking forward to aikido taking off 10 - 15 pounds over the next several months. At least I hope so.
Walking back in the door was like walking into an old, comfortable home full of good friends. There were lots of hugs all around, and I felt the warmth and welcome as a palpable embrace. Wonderful!
I expected to be both incredibly sore and incredibly exhausted after the first session on the mat in so long. Luckily, the muscle memory seemed mostly intact, and I found that I could still roll and still fall without killing myself. There's a lot of rust to polish away, but (to mix metaphors badly) I can still see the bones of old technique underneath. And, strangely, I was neither exhausted nor particularly sore afterward. I was taking it a little easy because I knew I'd have no stamina if I did a lot of high falls, but I was actually pleased that I was still breathing fairly well at the end (though Charlie did come over at one point and grinned at me, panting dramatically, so I guess I looked pretty gassed.
Mind you, a few hours later, my legs are protesting somewhat, and yeah, I'm tired, but I'll blame that on a lack of sleep last night and far too many papers graded this afternoon.
All in all, I'm happy to be back. I've also committed to Charlie Sensei to teach the Thursday noon class (since Thursday's not a day I teach). So -- if you're local and an aikidoist and free on Thursdays, come on down to the dojo! I'll need all the support I can get! Thanks to Charlie and everyone at the dojo for making me feel like part of the family once again.
I'd picked up a new hakama in the last week, since the two hakamas I had from previous practice both had their knees torn open from use and were being held together (not very well) by duct tape on the inside of the fabric, making them both very heavy and very stiff (not to mention very ugly). I tried on the new hakama when it arrived Friday, and thought I resembled a 15 pound sausage stuffed into a 10 pound casing.
I'm looking forward to aikido taking off 10 - 15 pounds over the next several months. At least I hope so.
Walking back in the door was like walking into an old, comfortable home full of good friends. There were lots of hugs all around, and I felt the warmth and welcome as a palpable embrace. Wonderful!
I expected to be both incredibly sore and incredibly exhausted after the first session on the mat in so long. Luckily, the muscle memory seemed mostly intact, and I found that I could still roll and still fall without killing myself. There's a lot of rust to polish away, but (to mix metaphors badly) I can still see the bones of old technique underneath. And, strangely, I was neither exhausted nor particularly sore afterward. I was taking it a little easy because I knew I'd have no stamina if I did a lot of high falls, but I was actually pleased that I was still breathing fairly well at the end (though Charlie did come over at one point and grinned at me, panting dramatically, so I guess I looked pretty gassed.
Mind you, a few hours later, my legs are protesting somewhat, and yeah, I'm tired, but I'll blame that on a lack of sleep last night and far too many papers graded this afternoon.
All in all, I'm happy to be back. I've also committed to Charlie Sensei to teach the Thursday noon class (since Thursday's not a day I teach). So -- if you're local and an aikidoist and free on Thursdays, come on down to the dojo! I'll need all the support I can get! Thanks to Charlie and everyone at the dojo for making me feel like part of the family once again.