What's It All About Alfie?

Monday we worked on ukemi AND watched some of a Donovan Waite video. Really great stuff. I've been at this in my own half assed way for over three years and still sometimes there is something totally new. I've seen Shiba Sensei demonstrate some of this ukemi before but I gather he wants us to focus as much on that as the nage technique. I “think” I understood a bit more after Monday...I hope I did.

Tonight Charlie Sensei taught but he had Shiba Sensei act as uke so we could see the two parts of the instruction. Again, pretty great. Much like Donovan Waite's comments at the end of his ukemi DVD where he talked about focusing on soft practical ukemi as opposed to dramatic high breakfalls...Shiba Sensei is superbly efficient, useful and UN-dramatic, yet incredibly graceful.

Upshot and the bad part for me was that it was very aerobic and I TOTALLY wimped out and had to ask to sit on the sidelines after an hour of fairly fast paced practice.

In past practices I once had to leave because I couldn't breath ( some sort of bronchial asthma ) but aside from that I always managed to make it through class...but not tonight. I have rarely exercised outside of Aikido since before last summer and I guess it finally caught up with me. I remember once I could outlast younger fellow Aikidoists but not now.

So it comes down to thinking about practicing Aikido and saying “What's it all about?” Can I get the gumption up to exercise more in order to practice in a fuller fashion? I once could. Can I do it again? I don't have to be a madman about it but maybe I'll actually have to discipline myself to ride my bike before work as I once did. BUT, sadly self -discipline is maybe my weakest point.

So what is it all about? Can I change my behavior for a goal? Something I want to do? Or am I just fooling myself and need to accept I just too lazy to break out this pleasant but un-aerobic tendency I have to drink wine and beer and eat pasta, cheese and chocolate?

What is IT all about and what am I all about?