Inspiring Quotes- Steven Seagal Shihan

I have been thinking for long about writing one or more posts about Steven Seagal. He is a really important figure in aikido, who cannot be left our from a blog about aikido. I have been watching movies with him since I was a kid. Back then I did not know that he was a martial artist, I was just watching the action movies with my dad who was also a big fan of Seagal's signature pony tale characters.I remember that back then I didn't even know his name, I just called him the guy with the pony tale.

Not long ago I discovered a documentary about Seagal Sensei called The Path Beyond Thought. It is a really interesting movie, filmed in the documentary style. There are several interviews with different aikidokas who were practicing in his dojo. I was really impressed by the equal way he was treating female aikidokas at trainings. On the one hand there was no discrimination on the other hand women had to train just as tough as men and reach the same performances. It is a movie I would recommend to watch also for the randori. That was the 1 Dan black-belt exam Seagal Sensei conducted in his dojo. Most aikidoka would have preferred a real life fighting more than the randori they were supposed to endure during the exam. But if you passed that you were strong enough, you have made it to shodan, you have taken the first step.

My interest has been raised by this movie and I started browsing the web for interviews with Steven Seagal. This is an interesting one I have found, with lots of inspiring ideas. What I love about the ideas in the interview is the fact that Seagal Sensei truly understands the complexity of this martial art. I am hoping to be able one day to practice aikido with all its depth. In the mean time I have chosen an inspiring quote to further think about:

"Trust your doubt. Always fight for your beliefs.

        That is the path beyond thought."

I have been browsing some pictures also, and I found this one really much similar in the easiness and lightness of movement with one of my favorite O'Sensei pictures:

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More goodies:

Steven Seagal Old Film-Techniques
Steven Seagal Official Website
Steven Seagal Unofficial Website (maybe even better than the official one)
Steven Seagal on IMDb
My fave intro:

I love the way he briefly says kimochi, ne! dozo at the end  :o)

A Girl and her Aikido

After the first training, I was in major pain. I had to wear long sleeved shirts in the office for at least two weeks to hide the bloodshot mark I myself caused. Even though I was able to push a training through, afterwards I would find my body almost numb and exhausted. I was in really poor condition at that time and after trainings I would just shower and go to bed. And these were the one hour trainings at the Musubi Dojo. After around three month of training there, I moved to another town and stopped training.

After thorough researches, I started aikido again in March 2010. I enrolled to the Harmony Dojo and started going to the trainings. These would last for an hour and a half, and were much better organised. We were guided step by step how to advance in the techniques. It was there that the mae ukemi (forward roll) was at last explained to me with all the details and what it implied. At the beginning I would get really tired and  a couple of times I also asked to sit down because I was not feeling good. I was still weak but hoping and wanting to get stronger. Most of the time I would feel like not going to the trainings because I felt too weak and too stupid in comparison with the others, but I kept persevering and went training as much as my time permitted. In that spring I has a lot of work as I started a new job at a new company, but whenever I could I was sticking to the 2 trainings/week schedule. What I slowly observed was not only that I was acquiring better condition but also that I was learning a lot about how to coordinate my movements. I am still working on that, but I was amazed at the beginning how hard it was to send some commands from my brain, which understood what had to be done, to my body which should have executed it. That was why for a long time I had trouble with the rolls and with the falling techniques.

At the beginning I would have that funny sensation of what on earth will we be learning this time, will I manage? while going to the trainings. This transformed also as I was getting familiar with the people and with the techniques. But one sensation kept being the same from the beginning to now. That comfort and lightness of body one has only after training in a martial art. Just as if you were a butterfly with no tension in the muscles or joints, just lightness of spirit.