I returned to the dojo a few months ago. I'm at that fun stage in my training where things are starting to fall into place, it occasionally feels like I didn't totally screw up the technique, and it is easy to see and feel improvement. Tonight was one of those nights where something that I should have learned 37 years ago, or at least any one of the half dozen times it's been mentioned to, or in front of, me in the past three months fell into place and I started taking one of the big annoying thumps out of my rolls.
On the flip side, I've been ending classes feeling all warmed up and ready to start training. Unfortunately, I haven't had as many chances to practice after class as I'd like. I usually train Monday, Wednesday and Thursday nights, and for the past couple of months one of those nights has been a special brown and black belt class after the general class, and since I've only been told to train for my 2-kyu exam, I'm not invited to play. I should be more assertive about finding people to practice with after the general class, but unfortunately training after class is the exception, rather than the rule.
Over the past 10-12 years I've gone dancing at least once, almost every week, often twice or more, though never more than 7 days in a single week. The classes tend to start at a much easier time for me to get to (8 or 9). Also, the classes are intended to give you materials to work with, but the dancing rather than the class is usually the primary focus of the evening.
In contrast, I find it very frustrating that in aikido the culture seems to be to show up, go through an hour and a half of stretches and choreography, then usually get dressed and go home. When belt tests are imminent, there's a bit more extra training, but I'd much rather the culture was different.
Another difference that I'm really noticing between aikido and dance, is that in "vernacular dance", such as swing (lindy hop) and blues, there may be basic moves, the equivalent to ikkyu, or kotegaeshi, but for the most part choreography is only done in classes, and on the dance floor it is a lot more, if not entirely improvisational.
It seems to me that O sensei showed some small number of basic techniques (maybe a dozen, or so) and a somewhat larger number of blends to get into the techniques, and that was pretty much kept as the definition of aikido. There are a wide variety of principles behind those techniques, and myriads of ways to apply those principles and to express those techniques. But lately, I've been feeling that we've got things backwards, the principles aren't something we should use to help us express the techniques, that those principles really are aikido, and aikido isn't ikkyu, nikyu, sankyu, shionage et. al. but that it should be the goal of every student to apply those principles to each attack and let the technique flow from that, whether it is a blend or throw that has ever been done before, or will ever be done again.
It's very possible that this is something that the black belts get to do, and it's just a quirk of my intermittent training that leaves me at 3rd kyu 37 years after I started aikido that has given me the warped perspective that randori and giuwaza, which come close to my improvisational ideal, really are not the rare exceptions that they seem to be. Even so, I still wish the culture encouraged more open and improvisational practice at all levels.
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