I may have a little Aikidoka on my hands

[Xue Sheng]

My daughter has been through Taekwondo and after a year it was fun but she learned little of use, the school not the art. But I have never felt that any striking or kicking art would be for my daughter. She does not want to hit anyone. I was thinking for a while that she would probably do better at Judo but even then I was not so sure. I drive past an Aikido school almost every day on my way to work and I know the Sensei is quite good but I never thought about it for my youngest. Then one day I thought I should check to see if they teach children, and, I found out they do so I took her to a couple of classes and she loves it. She was smiling most of the class and even giggled once or twice (at the appropriate times).

They are teaching basics to her which really impresses me and it is not play time like Taekwondo was and she loves it and wants to go back, she even wants to learn how to do some of the takedowns the sensei showed the class to explain what the basics were working towards, heck she even liked sitting in Seiza and doing the breathing. And better yet (from my perspective) unlike the TKD School, they do not schedule belts nor do they give them away. You need to work for it, understand what you are doing and demonstrate it and I am very ok with that (but then I am an old school MA dinosaur)


So it looks like this longtime CMA guy has a little Aikidoka on his hands... and to tell you the truth I really hope she continues to love it and stick with it.

Besides.... this long time CMA guy started with Japanese Jujutsu so it is all good.

 

[Jenna]

My daughter has been through Taekwondo and after a year it was fun but she learned little of use, the school not the art. But I have never felt that any striking or kicking art would be for my daughter. She does not want to hit anyone. I was thinking for a while that she would probably do better at Judo but even then I was not so sure. I drive past an Aikido school almost every day on my way to work and I know the Sensei is quite good but I never thought about it for my youngest. Then one day I thought I should check to see if they teach children, and, I found out they do so I took her to a couple of classes and she loves it. She was smiling most of the class and even giggled once or twice (at the appropriate times).

They are teaching basics to her which really impresses me and it is not play time like Taekwondo was and she loves it and wants to go back, she even wants to learn how to do some of the takedowns the sensei showed the class to explain what the basics were working towards, heck she even liked sitting in Seiza and doing the breathing. And better yet (from my perspective) unlike the TKD School, they do not schedule belts nor do they give them away. You need to work for it, understand what you are doing and demonstrate it and I am very ok with that (but then I am an old school MA dinosaur)


So it looks like this longtime CMA guy has a little Aikidoka on his hands... and to tell you the truth I really hope she continues to love it and stick with it.

Besides.... this long time CMA guy started with Japanese Jujutsu so it is all good.

Yay!! I am glad she is liking it XS!! If she is encouraged by her successes it will be perfect for her.. what you are describing sounds like proper timed learning..

and just because she does not follow the footsteps of Dad does not imply Dad will ever be anything other than her alltime hero x

 

[oaktree]

So when are you going to take up Aikido?:uhyeah:

 

[Xue Sheng]

So when are you going to take up Aikido?:uhyeah:

When sitting in seiza doesn't hurt my knees....

 

[blindsage]

My sifu.....was a sensei first! He has over 40 years of Aikido under his 'belt', but CMA is what he mostly teaches now. His Aiki, Taiji and Bagua are VERY complementary. Sooooo, you never know.

 

[rickster]

It is nice to be open-minded and allow our children to pursue other things apart from what we do. Afterall, they are becoming their own individuals

 

[Manny]

My daughter has been through Taekwondo and after a year it was fun but she learned little of use, the school not the art. But I have never felt that any striking or kicking art would be for my daughter. She does not want to hit anyone. I was thinking for a while that she would probably do better at Judo but even then I was not so sure. I drive past an Aikido school almost every day on my way to work and I know the Sensei is quite good but I never thought about it for my youngest. Then one day I thought I should check to see if they teach children, and, I found out they do so I took her to a couple of classes and she loves it. She was smiling most of the class and even giggled once or twice (at the appropriate times).

They are teaching basics to her which really impresses me and it is not play time like Taekwondo was and she loves it and wants to go back, she even wants to learn how to do some of the takedowns the sensei showed the class to explain what the basics were working towards, heck she even liked sitting in Seiza and doing the breathing. And better yet (from my perspective) unlike the TKD School, they do not schedule belts nor do they give them away. You need to work for it, understand what you are doing and demonstrate it and I am very ok with that (but then I am an old school MA dinosaur)


So it looks like this longtime CMA guy has a little Aikidoka on his hands... and to tell you the truth I really hope she continues to love it and stick with it.

Besides.... this long time CMA guy started with Japanese Jujutsu so it is all good.

Nice your daugther likes aikido, I want my daughter to go to aikido classes too, it seems to me aikido is one of the best martial arts for girls.......... and for boys too!!!

Iam a striking man, my main martial arts is TKD and oposite to you I think TKD is a very ggod striking martial art, a well placed kick to the gut can end almost any fight, however aikido is super nice and want to learn it.

Manny

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

That is great Xue!!!

 

[Xue Sheng]

She still loving it.

We were on a mini-vacation last week and every time I would tease her, tickle her or just wrestle a bit she would get into the Aikido stance they taught her in class

And I am VERY ok with that and I think it is mighty cool.

And of course she has to deal with am MA dad who will then stop and show her why that is a good stance and how it is used and...etc, etc, etc.

 

[Jenna]

haha.. that is awesome XS.. you paint a lovely picture Hey, long as you are not tainting her pure Aiki with your badass KF!! Jx

 

[Xue Sheng]

haha.. that is awesome XS.. you paint a lovely picture Hey, long as you are not tainting her pure Aiki with your badass KF!! Jx

I'm trying not to but she caught me the other day.

She took her stance and I was showing her something so I took a stance and then based on my stance and I saw her change her stance to mine. That was when I realized I was in a Xingyiquan back stance...so I changed my stance back to what she was shown, told her that was the stance she was supposed to use, not daddy's silly Xingyi stance.

 

[Jenna]

I'm trying not to but she caught me the other day.

She took her stance and I was showing her something so I took a stance and then based on my stance and I saw her change her stance to mine. That was when I realized I was in a Xingyiquan back stance...so I changed my stance back to what she was shown, told her that was the stance she was supposed to use, not daddy's silly Xingyi stance.

That is typical of you Mister XS cross training your Little Princess already!!! Stop that!! Aww I am only joking with you

How do you find your stances differ can I ask?? I am unfamiliar with details of your style XS forgive me

 

[Xue Sheng]

That is typical of you Mister XS cross training your Little Princess already!!! Stop that!! Aww I am only joking with you

I'm trying but it ain't easy You should see us working on shoulder rolls

How do you find your stances differ can I ask?? I am unfamiliar with details of your style XS forgive me

Depending on lineage the stance can be very similar between Aikido and Hebei Xingyiquan particularly in the arms and hands but the big difference is it is back weighted like this

That is the Santi Shi stance and it is the basis for just about everything in Hebei Xingyiquan.

 

[Jenna]

Ah yes I understand back stance.. you are weighted over your back foot.. This is a stance that is easy to move forwards from??

Aikido yes it is usually like triangle shaped from toe of front foot to outside of rear foot and weight in centre

 

[Xue Sheng]

Ah yes I understand back stance.. you are weighted over your back foot.. This is a stance that is easy to move forwards from??

Aikido yes it is usually like triangle shaped from toe of front foot to outside of rear foot and weight in centre

Actually it very easy to move forward from and when done right generates a lot of power and cover a lot of ground quickly, the stance tends to be 70/30 or 60/40. You also find a similar stance in my flavor of Yang style Taijiquan

 

[Xue Sheng]

After her last Aikido class someone left the mat with a HUGE smile on their face

And said she can't wait to come back. Then she got home and had to sow mommy everything she did in class

They are working on back falls, rolls, avoidance, stepping, stance and she loves it

 

[Xue Sheng]

A class got cancelled and I heard later that afternoon and at bedtime was "this was a good day....but it could have been great if I had Aikido"

 

[Xue Sheng]

She still loves Aikido and I have been told we HAVE to work on Aikido when I get home from work; tenkan, rolls and falls.

I also discovered something that I need to work on. Last night I went down to my basement to work on back rolls and shoulder roll again...it has been years.... and I discovered I could do a shoulder roll on my right shoulder but not my left and a back roll was exactly the same, I can roll on my right but not my left....so I am working on rolls again...back down on my knees trying to go over the left shoulder the right way and not do a hot dog roll and sitting down trying to do back rolls and go straight

Might start working on falls again too .... and luckily I have a mat in the basement

 

[ballen0351]

That's funny I have that same exact problem I can roll on my right but not my left.

 

[Brian King]

Just a brief comment to say how cool I think it is that you are so supportive of your daughters choice of martial arts and go out of your way to train with her. The updates are fun and interesting. Have you ever read the book "Strong Fathers Strong Daughters" by Dr. Meg Meeker? A summery PDF is available on line- just google Strong fathers strong daughters. That PDF has the gist and is a good read BUT I strongly support and recommend buying the book. I do not have any kids but have probably given away 15 of these books so far. You are doing a wonderful job. Do you work on all the Japanese terms with her?

Warmest Regards
Brian King