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Unknown
Shodan is the first time that Aikido starts to feel possible, and nidan
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Unknown
is the first time that you realize how much further there is to go and why what got you to Shodan won't get you to nidan. So when I think back to when I got nidan, it was very soon after shodan. I think it was like 8 or 9 months or something like that, and I felt like, oh my gosh, what's what's going on?
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Unknown
I was training a lot at that time and I thought, oh my gosh, shodan, nidan already. Why? What did I do for this? And and I did not feel nidan, but I've never felt any rank that I've gotten really.
00;00;47;26 - 00;01;16;00
Unknown
But that was the most pronounced, one. That was the time when I felt that in the most pronounced way, like, oh my God, I don't deserve this, right? And, so actually that got me into trouble. I started trying to train really seriously, and then my back went out as seriously meant to me, like, hard core slamming into people, which I had already been doing.
00;01;16;00 - 00;01;26;27
Unknown
But I tried to up my game, which I did, but then my back went out anyway, and that was like a 2 or 3 year journey to fix that.
00;01;26;27 - 00;01;50;25
Unknown
So in retrospect and now being a teacher, I think what was happening is that it's hard to see your progress between Shodan and nidan. And what I look for in my students is a little bit of refinement. So shodan they need to, I need to be able to see that they have been practicing their skills, so to speak.
00;01;51;01 - 00;02;04;29
Unknown
They know their skills and arpeggios. So if you're not a music person, scales are done it under no no no no no no no no no no. And arpeggios but it I brought it up I don't know but something like that I can't I'm not a singer.
00;02;04;29 - 00;02;12;15
Unknown
Anyway, so they've got to have some technical foundation that I can see and then nidan.
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Unknown
I want them to be more comfortable with those foundational elements,
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Unknown
and I want to see the refinement starting.
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Unknown
So for those of you who don't know, Shodan translates roughly to beginner level.
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Unknown
So you spend these years 3 to 5 years, I would guess.
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Unknown
Just to finally earn the rank of beginner.
00;02;31;26 - 00;02;39;09
Unknown
And I think that's beautiful. Actually, I love that, that it's written with those kanji, so.
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Unknown
It means that you understand the vocabulary of Aikido, basically the physical vocabulary, of course, the verbal vocabulary, but the physical vocabulary as well.
00;02;51;12 - 00;03;04;13
Unknown
It doesn't, in my opinion, qualify you to go out and start your own dojo, although sometimes, that is a necessity if you move to a new city and there's no dojo there,
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Unknown
Your choices are quit or start your own club or classes.
00;03;10;05 - 00;03;24;03
Unknown
the practitioners who navigate the gap between shodan and nidan the best immediately start asking what they can't yet see in their own practice.
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Unknown
So what is it that I'm not seeing? What is it that I'm not feeling yet? So they're exploring,
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Unknown
you know, looking under every rock and into every crevice.
00;03;33;20 - 00;03;57;16
Unknown
So in a way, Shodan really is about receiving instruction. Well, your teacher says, do this, you do that, and you've got the the self-awareness to make sure that your body can do that and you've got the receptiveness to take your teacher's suggestions, do this, then you do that. Now do this now, after this and this and this.
00;03;57;16 - 00;04;07;15
Unknown
Do that, and you do all that. Right? And so if you're able to execute all of that, then voila, at some point you get shodan.
00;04;07;18 - 00;04;36;08
Unknown
The nidan is the beginning of the journey of being able to tell yourself what you need to do, being able to assess a situation and decide, okay, well, this is a little bit of an exception. They're not punching exactly like this. They're punching a little bit like that. So maybe I should go over here instead of over there.
00;04;36;11 - 00;04;41;07
Unknown
You know, whatever it is, nidan is the beginning of adulthood in a way.
00;04;41;07 - 00;04;51;02
Unknown
babies, their parents say, do this, do that. Oh, the stove is hot. Don't touch it. Right. The stove is hot. Could you turn it off, please? Right. And so
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Unknown
the child grows up taking instruction, but at a certain point the child has to
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Unknown
look around, be aware of things, evaluate and then take the appropriate action.
00;05;01;27 - 00;05;09;05
Unknown
So that's what's going on between shodan a nidan. You're starting to become a grown up and Aikido grown up.
00;05;09;05 - 00;05;22;16
Unknown
By the time you reach Shodan you've built some good habits. So this is what I mean about the scales and arpeggios. You've built some good habits. Of course. You've accumulated some bad habits too. We always want to get rid of the bad habits,
00;05;22;19 - 00;05;26;19
Unknown
but now you're also going to be asked to get rid of the good habits.
00;05;26;20 - 00;05;27;27
Unknown
And this will be,
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Unknown
in my experience, a lifelong pursuit.
00;05;31;08 - 00;05;51;03
Unknown
Because we love habits, we can count on them so many times, but sometimes these habits, good or good and bad, can trip us up. So you've got to be able to have enough training with enough variety that when something unexpected happens
00;05;51;05 - 00;06;03;14
Unknown
different from the choreography that you're used to, an attack that is different from the choreography you're used to, you've got reflexes that can make you go a different way that will be appropriate.
00;06;03;17 - 00;06;07;04
Unknown
So this is what's happening from nidan.
00;06;07;06 - 00;06;22;16
Unknown
To get to nidan, you are required to dissolve these habits, get rid of your bad habits and good habits to start doing it again. It. I think it's harder to get rid of your good habits than your bad habits.
00;06;22;16 - 00;06;28;01
Unknown
And you've got to stop practicing for the sake of performing a technique,
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Unknown
and rather start practicing to relate to your partner.
00;06;33;14 - 00;06;36;15
Unknown
And this will lead you to understanding the technique
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Unknown
here, but more importantly, here and here in your stomach, your intuition.
00;06;41;28 - 00;06;58;07
Unknown
You will have an intuitive understanding of the technique. I know we're getting pretty, pretty deep here. Or pretty advanced. If you'd like more help on advanced topics like this, I do have a weekly training video newsletter.
00;06;58;07 - 00;07;09;25
Unknown
The link is in the description below, but this is why I have that newsletter is so that we can go over more advanced concepts like this. So
00;07;09;25 - 00;07;17;17
Unknown
getting an intuitive understanding of technique is really, really beneficial to you.
00;07;17;17 - 00;07;43;03
Unknown
And a lot of times this happens just accidentally, spontaneously by accident. You'll be training and suddenly you'll be training outside of the normal existing framework that you're used to. So that's okay too. A deliberate version of this, and every class, by identifying one thing that worked and you don't know why,
00;07;43;03 - 00;07;46;03
Unknown
one thing that you don't know why it worked, but it worked.
00;07;46;03 - 00;07;49;26
Unknown
And then the next time you come to the class, bring that question with you
00;07;49;28 - 00;08;08;29
Unknown
or bring it to me at a seminar. Speaking of seminars, I'll be teaching in Pennsylvania next month, November 20th to the 22nd, just outside of Philadelphia. And you can see details, for my seminars in the link below in the description.
00;08;09;01 - 00;08;10;13
Unknown
anyway, the gap,
00;08;10;13 - 00;08;15;02
Unknown
the gap between shodan a nidan isn't in the body.
00;08;15;04 - 00;08;46;27
Unknown
It's in how you train. Specifically, whether you've started training yourself or still waiting for someone else to do it. It's you. It's up to you. Congratulations. You are no longer an Aikido baby. You're no longer even an Aikido child. It's up to you. You're growing up.
00;08;47;00 - 00;09;13;27
Unknown
If you're interested in training with me in person, I'll be taking some tours in 2027. I'll be taking a small group with me to a few different destinations. One group I'll be taking to Kumamoto, Japan in March 2027, will be doing a cherry blossom and training and hot springs tour. Done. That sound good. And then in May I'll be taking another group to Japan.
00;09;13;29 - 00;09;38;18
Unknown
We'll be doing a lot of training and a lot of training and a lot of training, and that will be in the Kamakura, Yokohama and Tokyo area. Kamakura, if you don't know, I lived there for nearly ten years, and, I always love taking students to different temples and different sites in Kamakura. It's kind of the samurai version of Kyoto.
00;09;38;20 - 00;10;00;00
Unknown
And, then in September of 2027, I'll be taking a group with me to the Netherlands and Germany. If you'd like to join me on any of those tours or you want more information, just go to the link in the description below and join the waitlist and you'll get all the information. Thanks so much for joining me. See you again next time.
00;10;00;00 - 00;10;00;15
Unknown
Bye bye.
