The purpose of this page is to take some of the mystery out of starting Aikido for the first time. Many people become a little apprehensive or nervous when faced with new situations: having a good idea of what to expect can make it a lot easier to come along and enjoy yourself.
Since you're reading this, you must at least be considering Aikido. Why not come along to the next session? The best way to find out what Aikido is all about is to come along and try it out, or at the very least, come and watch. Beginners are always welcome - even if you want to just try it out for one session to see if you like it.
We meet Wednesdays (8pm - 10pm) at the Innox Road Judo Club building (see the contact page for directions). Most people turn up a few minutes before the session starts: on Wednesdays there is a junior Judo club that runs up until 8pm, so it's usually pretty busy with parents picking up children.
Wear something loose, that isn't going to hamper your movement: Something like tracksuit bottoms and a T-Shirt is perfect.
OK, so you've found the dojo (training hall), you're wearing your old jogging bottoms, what happens next? Well, just inside the hall there are what looks like a couple of bookcases, and a changing room on the left. Take off your shoes before wandering around (training is barefoot, so we leave the stones and dirt from the roads outside). Have a look around - anyone else getting changed is probably also doing Aikido, so chat to us - we don't bite.
Stash your shoes, socks, coats and any other bits and pieces either in the changing rooms, or in one of the bookcases outside. Also take off any jewellery and anything else that might get caught in clothing and damaged. Empty your pockets of everything that might fall out, such as wallets, purses and mobile phones (best to switch off if possible).
At this point it's worth meeting Andrew Ratnett, our resident black belt, for a quick chat to introduce yourself and meet some of us.
Follow everyone else onto the mat (it is customary to make a little bow as you come onto the mat) and we all line up facing the teacher (usually Andrew). We kneel down and relax for a few seconds, to leave any worries outside, and to focus on training. We all bow once forward, and once to the teacher. If you get lost at any point, just follow someone next to you. Don't worry! Everyone was a beginner at some point, and we all made mistakes. No-one will laugh, and the teacher will probably show you, or get someone to show you the right movement.
We all spend a couple of minutes loosening up joints - Not stretching, just moving each joint to the maximum range of movement, so that it is nice and loose and easy to move later. Follow the sensei (teacher) or someone next to you as we all wave our arms like windmills and make Elvis-style pelvis motions.
Next up, we normally loosen up the wrists with several specific stretching exercises. Because Aikido techniques often involve wrist and arm locks, we stretch the wrists out beforehand so that when the techniques are applied, we don't cause damage to the wrist. Don't worry, some of these exercises do involve some weird grasps and manipulation of your hands and arms, so you will almost certainly need a bit of help to get them right.
Now for the scary stuff. Now, on some vague commands from the front ("hoe!..a jimmy!... itch! knee! sand! she!") the entire rest of the class perform a complex line dance, and you're left standing there like a lemon - or trying to follow them about four steps behind. Don't worry, it won't be long before the sensei takes pity on you and you get shown the foot movements. The foot movements form the basis of many of the techniques you get to try later, and are also a defence in themselves - they fulfil rule number 1: always move out of the way.
Once you have your feet under control, we get on to the meat of the session. The sensei (teacher) will gather everyone around, and demonstrates a really simple technique - usually a defence to a wrist grab or something similar - against one of the higher grades (coloured belts). Everyone splits up into pairs, and you spend the next two minutes trying to work out which way up your hands are supposed to be before you start, and you realise that the really simple technique is actually really quite hard - the sensei just made it look easy.
After a minute or so, the sensei will come over and show you again how it is done properly - and you just start to get the idea when he calls everyone back to look at the next technique.
After a few more techniques, all seemingly easy but with hidden complexities that mean you end up facing the other way - or holding the wrong arm - you find a technique which you can do! Your 6 foot 4 partner, built like a brick outhouse, collapses onto the floor and whimpers in pain when you grab here, step just there, twist the wrist like so, and apply pressure like that - and this is the point at which you realise that Aikido is actually really cool. This is also usually the point at which the sensei will let you in on a little secret - the fact that your partner is slapping the mat with the one hand he can still move is code for "Ow! That wrist lock really hurts! Please let me up now! Please!".
All too quickly, you all line up again and by looking at the clock, you realise two hours have slipped by - it doesn't seem like it!. After a couple more bows, you make your way off the mat (bowing again to the mat on the way off) and start putting your shoes and socks back on, feeling warm and slightly tired - but feeling like you've really learnt something different, and that you're now part of the group. Andrew does his collection of 'subs' - at £3 a lesson it's less than hiring a video from Blockbuster and far better for you than sitting in front of the telly for the evening.
As you go through the next few days, you'll find yourself practicing the foot movements - stepping aside at doorways, front corner, back corner while waiting for the kettle to boil - just so you can do it that little bit quicker next week... and then you've got it. Aikido is cool.
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