Back on the Mat
I absolutely love the Winter holidays. I’ll take all of ‘em, I’m not picky. The tree, the lights, the darkness, the candles, the food, the staying up late and drinking too much, the days in between one bash and another where I get to just sit around and reflect. My dreams at the end of the year always have that quality of looking at the overall patterns from the year past, and making the adjustments or realignments necessary for the year to come. This year was no exception, and I enter 2007 deep in process with a couple of major shifts going on.
Those weeks of introspection were great, but today it was time to start moving around again. So I went out this evening to Two Rock Aikido to begin training once more, the first time this new year. Two Rock is one of several great dojos I train at; I also train at Wellspring Aikido and Tenchi Aikido.
From the day I first stepped onto the mat at the old Centerfield Aikido in 1995 to the day I earned my black belt there eight years later, I have been absolutely committed to the art. I trained several times a week, and the experience as a whole was probably the most deeply transformative period of my life. Even with my sensitive knees, which prevent me from doing many strenuous sports, I found the movements of aikido to be something that my body intuitively understood. This was a revelation after years of being frustrated by most forms of exercise, and while being careful not to overtax my knees, I pushed myself through the ranks up to black belt with absolute exhilaration.
As a magical practitioner the thing I loved about aikido from the start is that it is a perfect physical expression of so many principles of magic. The way I was taught, in aikido we align ourselves with Heaven and Earth and with the four directions, so that we move always within the center of our own circle. It is a martial art, which means there is precision of movement and intention; it involves interacting with other people, which means there is honest and instant feedback on your efforts. The lessons on working with energy are profound, and from them I have developed workshops on Aikido and Magic which have been well-received. Perhaps if I can revive my regular aikido practice I will offer them again.
After I got my black belt in 2003, I had to take a break for a while. Then I got sick, had surgery, left my marriage, moved. There was one thing after another which prevented me from getting back into a regular practice schedule. Or rather, there still is one thing after another which keeps me away from the dojo when I really want to go. I have been content most of the time with knowing that I practice the principles every day anyway, no matter what. There is a lot to be said for taking aikido off the mat and working with energy and awareness in our daily lives. But there’s also nothing quite like getting back on the mat, just training.
That’s where I am tonight. I’m dreadfully out of shape, my knee hurts a little, but I feel alive and happy. I’d like to say that from this day forward I will be able to train regularly again, but I have been through too much in the past three years to believe it. I will probably train in fits and starts this year, interrupted by major construction projects, the ongoing divorce, my travel schedule, my daughter’s needs. And because right now I feel buoyed by some much-needed Winter rest, because I love the people I get to train with, because I feel happy and content from this evening’s workout, that’s all okay.
January 9th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
Anne, congratulations on getting back on the mat! Years ago, when Casey was five and taking Akido he had an active fantasy life - which he would act out for us all - of Akido Master Casey fighting the Evil Elvis Impersonators. So…I’m imagining right now Akido Master Anne moving thru the coming year, emerging as victorious and elated as Casey did from his bouts with the Evil Elvis Impersonators. Yesterday was Elvis’s birthday, by the way.