Pushing Oranges
I was chatting with a former Aikido student. Hands down, he is the most talented Aikido student I have ever encountered. It was such a pleasure to teach someone like him. He often made me think, "If I had that level of talent, by now, I would be levitating . . . " Unfortunately, he moved away. In his new environment, the Aikido scene is not very satisfying at all. Together with the pressure from his new job and family obligations, after trying for a period of time, he was resigned to the decision of giving up Aikido practice. During our conversation, he shared his observations about some Aikido instructors: When he pairs up with them at seminars, many instructors can throw well, but as ukes , they cannot take ukemi and have very little stamina. I could not argue with him because I share the same observation. "As an instructor, can you explain the phenomenon to me?" he asked. "To begin with, how much someone is willing to apply themselves is really
