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daigun yamamoto
18th June 2000, 15:42
good day to all,

if it's o.k. just want some advice if it's still safe
for a 54 yr old man to get into aikido. he's a neighbor
who saw aikido in our community center and wants to join.
he did wrestlin in high school and college. still active
physically. especially mountain biking around.

i mentioned sensei george leonard who started at 47 years
old. so i figured, our neighbor can do it too.

thanks.

d. yamamoto



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thank you for teaching me.

Gil Gillespie
18th June 2000, 20:36
Dear Daigun

Welcome to E-budo!

I would have to answer a resounding "yes." An active mountain biker should be able to enjoy Aikido. Hopefully the other members will go easy on your friend's joints, but they should with any new student.

I am over 50 and I make necessary adjustments to still train. The important thing is to still be out there. I can't do breakfalls and hard joint locks like I used to. But the rolling, stretching, and vigorous training of Aikido keeps me warm. When I can't train for a few weeks first my back, then everything else progressively stiffens.

My sensei journeyed to Las Vegas last year to award a shodan to an 80 yr old man. Tell your friend to be careful, pay attention, and train joyfully.

Chad Bruttomesso
19th June 2000, 05:36
In my humble opinion anyone can do Aikido. I have trained with a 76 year old man who could apply a shihonage like nobody's business and still take break falls.

Basically, what is old anyway? Listen to your body at every age and you should be able to get along just fine.

Just a thought.



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Chad Bruttomesso

Dennis Hooker
19th June 2000, 06:01
We as teachers must take time to consul the prospective students if we feel there are needs to do so. The student, and particularly an older student, should know what could reasonably be expected. I think a teacher should be able to evaluate a prospective student through an interview, and an interview should always be held if there is a question with regard to age, illness, and/or disability. The teacher has responsibility to protect the prospective student and the existing students of their dojo. A student should be allowed to train with a reasonable goal and reasonable expectations, and identifying that goal and those exceptions should be within the skills of the instructor. Also in our dojo I assign a senior student to every new student and I let the senior student know what is expected if special circumstances prevail. Together we will work for the new student’s best interest.

A prospective student with special needs should always be identified and helped and never left to their own devices. Usually they’re self-expectations and their idea of what the dojo is about is wrong. The preconceived ideas of dojo life and that of a student have been formed in the most part by people very unlike us. By explaining who we are and what the dojo is about we can take a lot of unnecessary pressure of the prospective students.

Dennis Hooker www.shindai.com (http://www.shindai.com)

Chuck Clark
19th June 2000, 06:27
Hi Dennis,

Of course, I agree with you. However, no matter how much "good info" we give students, they still color it with their own stuff. You met one of my older guys and he even admits having problems because he can't take ukemi like he wants to (read that like the youngsters) and finds it so frustrating that he stays away from practice. He's 70 now, by the way.

When I said, "it's up to them to find out...", what I meant by that is... each of us needs to explore and find out what our limitations are. Let the practice teach us by trying and finding out where the boundries are. Our intellectual stuff usually brings enough "skewed" concepts to the party that we can't trust much of it. Physical injury type limitations are in a different catagory.

In reality, this is just like anything else in our practice that's frustrating. These things are our teachers. Whatever choice we make...we are responsible for. Some of us stay and some don't.


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Chuck Clark
Jiyushinkai Aikibudo
http://www.jiyushinkai.org

[This message has been edited by Chuck Clark (edited 06-19-2000).]

Dennis Hooker
19th June 2000, 06:44
Chuck, my post was not in response your post just a general comment regarding new students. I know there are exceptions to the rule hell, you, Conner sensei and I are living proof that advice is best taken with a grain of slat. However, I still think it’s our duty and part of our charge as teachers to look to the welfare of the new student. They may not heed our best advice (god knows we each seconded guessed doctors and teachers to get where we are) but they will have it none the less.
Dennis Hooker www.shindai.com (http://www.shindai.com)

daigun yamamoto
19th June 2000, 07:54
thanks.

i showed our neighbor your encouraging posts.
he will join us this friday.

he's very scared about falling, rolling.
his wife is tagging along to comfort him.

gee. this is turning into a family affair.

yes. why not ask his wife to join?

thanks again.

daigun



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thank you for teaching me.

Daniel Pokorny
19th June 2000, 14:08
Daigun,

You wrote:

"he's very scared about falling, rolling."

I don't know if this will help but I always find this fear of the ground interesting in people starting Aikido. I tell people to look at it this way, all your life you've been connected to the ground, first your whole body (before you could crawl), then hands and knees (before you could walk), then just feet (now you're walking), why would you fear something you've always been in contact with and that has supported you all your life?

Seems strange, don't you think?

Regards,
Daniel Pokorny

Chuck Clark
19th June 2000, 16:53
I've had quite a few students over the years who've started in their late 50's or early 60's. They have to understand that there may be some things they can't do. It's up to them to find out what those are (if any) and practice accordingly.

I should add that the major problem I've seen with male students of this age group is that they have emotional problems with wanting to practice like the youngsters and can't. They often make up excuses which have nothing to do with reality and quit. Too bad!

Train smart!


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Chuck Clark
Jiyushinkai Aikibudo
http://www.jiyushinkai.org

[This message has been edited by Chuck Clark (edited 06-19-2000).]