#aikidoka — Public Fediverse posts

@Setok

For Valencia, I would have a recommendation for a #dojo but about 350km is to far to just pop by in the evening.

But it would be a highlight of #fediverse if you turn up there and tell them you heard #aikidoka in Fediverse aout that dojo. That Akidoka is a fellow Aikidoka of the #german that regularly visits your dojo and attends the training.

@MLa @schreibmax
Hallo #Aikidoka
du bist bist absolut im #Trend ! Weil #Aikido einiges an Training braucht und erstmal wenig Spektakulär wirkt zieht es die Jugend nicht so an. Besonders wenn es um Aikido geht das in #Sportvereinen betrieben wird. Oder es wird während der beruflichen Karriere bzw. #Familienplanung aufgegeben.
Aber die Art, dass man an sich arbeitet und nicht einen Wettbewerb hat, hat die Sache auch für mich attraktiv gemacht ungefähr im gleichen #alter wie ich damals.
#Aikido

It occurred to me that rather than trying to convince #aikidoka to join the fediverse, I can try and convince the fediverse to try #aikido. So here's my pitch.

Do you have a new year resolution to try and get in shape? Do you want to try a #MartialArt?

#Aikido is a non-competitive art of Japanese origin practiced around the world. There is a saying "aikido is for everyone". Training consists (generally) of paired practice where you and your partner work through a kata that was demonstrated by the sensei. The goal is to improve your (and your training partner's) ability, not to "win". There are (wooden) swords and short staffs and disarmament that you get to play with.

So why shouldn't you try it? The only thing I've got is that we're still in an ongoing multi-year pandemic and, unfortunately, the number of people still masking largely reflects the rest of society. If that's a deal breaker for you, you might need to wait until someone invents public health and the airborne virus is controlled through ventilation.. aikido is largely based on trying to blend with an attacker's energy and redirect it to control the situation. It is hard to do without a partner.

If you can, I still think you should try a class (or watch one) at your local dojo. If your idea of martial arts comes from Hollywood or you think there's inherent competition in the concept you might be surprised. I'm sure there are bad dojos, but I haven't seen many. Most have a warm and welcoming atmosphere and it's a great way to get in shape.