I used to not take constructive criticism very well. I usually ended up in tears, and angry at the person who was trying to help me. In the past few years, with training with different people in new jobs, and in the past year, training with many different people, I've been doing my best at taking constructive criticism better. Whether the person is stern with me, or if they are kind, or whatever emotion comes out at that point, I try to take it as openly as possible.
With this year being the start of my second year in Aikido, I have much to learn. I'm still learning to attack properly, without hurting others, or myself. I'm still trying to get comfortable with ukemi. I want to learn as much as possible, and progress just as much, or even more in this next year. I know this progression never ends, but I will strive to do better in my practice.
There is much that I don't know at this point. I think one of my most used lines is “I have no idea what is going on right now!” in some form or another. Which is good. Because that means I have more to learn, and I'm willing to accept the teachings, and direction. I get frustrated, and annoyed. Some days I just want to throw my hands up in the air, and just walk off the mat and pout like a little child.
But I don't. I take a deep breath and I work through the anger and frustration. I usually end up feeling like a puppet at that point, because I get guided through the movements like a marionette. It's another way to learn. There are multiple ways a person can learn. In my high school, I did a student teaching program. It was very interesting to see how people can learn. We studied the multiple intelligences. There were nine different categories a person could fall into, and the person wasn't just limited to one. We all took this test, and back then, I was a musical learner. I took the assessment again, out of curiosity, and I'm still Musical, but I'm kinesthetic and linguistic as well.
It's funny to hear what is said to get me to my my body correctly. Some are from my instructors, some are from myself. However, these silly sayings make me remember what I'm supposed to be doing, and how I'm supposed to move. They are particularly colorful, and more often than not, inappropriate.
Even in High School, stupid sayings would help me remember something. My Band Director, Mrs. Miller, was working with me after school on a solo for Solo & Ensemble contest, and I remember she wrote the letters “BFB” over-top of a rest I had in one of my pieces. She said “B. F. B. It stands for Big F*cking Breath. You know what it means, now do it!”
One of my favorites from my Sensei is “Ass-punch the opposite way your hands are going.” I'm always coming up with phrases during class to remember things by. Lately, I've just been putting puzzle pieces of warm-up exercises together with the movements we're doing and I can figure it out. Yet... There is still much for me to learn... And for that I am glad.
With this year being the start of my second year in Aikido, I have much to learn. I'm still learning to attack properly, without hurting others, or myself. I'm still trying to get comfortable with ukemi. I want to learn as much as possible, and progress just as much, or even more in this next year. I know this progression never ends, but I will strive to do better in my practice.
There is much that I don't know at this point. I think one of my most used lines is “I have no idea what is going on right now!” in some form or another. Which is good. Because that means I have more to learn, and I'm willing to accept the teachings, and direction. I get frustrated, and annoyed. Some days I just want to throw my hands up in the air, and just walk off the mat and pout like a little child.
But I don't. I take a deep breath and I work through the anger and frustration. I usually end up feeling like a puppet at that point, because I get guided through the movements like a marionette. It's another way to learn. There are multiple ways a person can learn. In my high school, I did a student teaching program. It was very interesting to see how people can learn. We studied the multiple intelligences. There were nine different categories a person could fall into, and the person wasn't just limited to one. We all took this test, and back then, I was a musical learner. I took the assessment again, out of curiosity, and I'm still Musical, but I'm kinesthetic and linguistic as well.
It's funny to hear what is said to get me to my my body correctly. Some are from my instructors, some are from myself. However, these silly sayings make me remember what I'm supposed to be doing, and how I'm supposed to move. They are particularly colorful, and more often than not, inappropriate.
Even in High School, stupid sayings would help me remember something. My Band Director, Mrs. Miller, was working with me after school on a solo for Solo & Ensemble contest, and I remember she wrote the letters “BFB” over-top of a rest I had in one of my pieces. She said “B. F. B. It stands for Big F*cking Breath. You know what it means, now do it!”
One of my favorites from my Sensei is “Ass-punch the opposite way your hands are going.” I'm always coming up with phrases during class to remember things by. Lately, I've just been putting puzzle pieces of warm-up exercises together with the movements we're doing and I can figure it out. Yet... There is still much for me to learn... And for that I am glad.