I've been going to my Aikido class for a month now, and I've got to say two things. 1. I love it 2. It's confusing as hell I say that because there is no rhyme or reason to what and how we are learning the art (that I can see). It might be due to the fact that the school is small. We have the instructor, a shodan, and the rest at 4th or 5th Kyu. I'm used to a very strict syllabus, white belt was a form, 15 basic techniques, falling skills, stances, punches kicks..the basics. That’s all you have to worry about, occasionally you’ll help a higher belt student by being their “uke” equivalent, but you are not learning their techniques. In Aikido so far, we’ve worked on so many different techniques and variations that my head was spinning. I honestly thought that my first test was going to be impossible because of all the different techniques I was learning. I’ve come to find out, that I don’t need to test on those techniques at all… So, is this normal in Aikido… for me, it seems pointless to learn the subtleties of a 3rd Kyu technique when I’m thinking of testing for 5th.
I only ever practiced Aikido extremely briefly so I can't comment on the art itself, but this sounds standard for any small school where there are not enough people at each level to have belt-specific classes. Personally I prefer this approach, although it can seem daunting at first.
This sounds pretty much like the jujustu class I used to attend. Make sure you know which techniques are part of your own curriculum, and just have fun with the rest : ) At any rate, you won't get bored.
Sounds like my school, but we make sure to tell lower ranks they don't have to worry about the more advanced things. I find it creates well balanced people, because they can their techniques into the context of the art as a whole.
It was normal in the class I used to train at. While in Aikido it is important to be a stickler for accuracy. It's not so important to be super regimented. The techniques are vehicles to learning the principles that underpin "why" they work in the first place. Which is why it is massively important to realise the opportunity to be uke in Aikido is the best lesson you'll ever learn. Aside from building a healthy level of stubborn, dogged determination. Being uke gives you an invaluable opportunity to experience the effect a technique has on your body. A lot of Aikido classes also have some form of randori or free practice. Particularly for higher grades. During these sessions nobody is going to attack in a certain way for a certain technique. You have to learn to just deal with whatever is thrown at you. Control the situation and get out of it alive. Your techniques if you manage to pull any off will not be exactly like those you're learning for 5th kyu or even those dan grades are doing regularly. In that respect Aikido is formless. You're not limited to A,B or C. You are perfectly free in the real world to improvise. Aikido can't be done properly by numbers. It must become intuitive.
