Why do people practice Aikido?

For every member of the dojo, there is a different motivation to train; from fitness to confidence, from self defense to discipline and beyond.  Here is one member’s perspective.

“I didn’t know much about aikido when I started.  Just the usual sorts of things – it’s about using someone else’s momentum to control them. 

And I guess I saw it as a replacement for doing weights and pounding a treadmill.  Something more active and physical than yoga and less boring than just working out or doing a body pump class.

So that’s where the journey began, simple beginnings really, with few expectations.

The first thing I noticed were the physical changes.  My abs reappeared out of hiding and some new muscles appeared on my shoulders one day.  Hooray, no such luck after 3 years of gym and 10 years of yoga!

I also started to feel more coordinated.  For someone who is ridiculously clumsy it came as a pleasant and welcome side benefit.

Then one day I noticed a sort of quiet confidence, a self assurance that I hadn’t had before.  I just felt completely comfortable and unconcerned, strong within myself, unshakable.  At first I wasn't sure where it had come from, or how long it was planning to stay around, after all I might have just been having a good day.  But it seemed to stick.

So Aikido became part of my life.  It had started out on the mats as a physical thing, to help get rid of all my excess energy and keep me fit, and slowly and gently found its way into everything I do.  From the way I stand, to the way I talk, to the way I think, to the way I feel.  Aikido has become an essential part of me and I can’t see it ever leaving.”