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Voice of the Fox
The Newsletter of the Martial Arts Training Service

The First Two Years
by Aaron Starr
Spring 1998

There were five uchi deshi when the program first began, with as many reasons for committing to such a program. Though only two of us made it through the first year -- and lasted through the second year as well -- each of us began the program with his own reasons and goals.

Uchi deshi train harder and longer than most of the other members. This is not to say that we're superior practitioners, but the commitment to our arts is given added weight by our status. This is the most obvious purpose served by the program, and the aspect many dojo members chose to view as the principle reason to join. Simply by our wearing hakama, our performance on the mat draws attention. The hakama eliminates our ability to blend into the background, and makes us more aware of our technical proficiency.

The uchi deshi program differs between the two arts. Jujitsu deshi are exposed to a greater range of subjects than they would normally be at their respective levels, and the technical issues studied are those factors that make techniques work. Aikido concentrates not only on smooth and precise execution of techniques, but also on endurance and stamina. During uchi deshi classes, there is no leaving the mat for anything short of injury. To do so means staying off the mat for the rest of the class. I cannot remember this ever happening, no matter how tired or thirsty we might be. The system is relentless, forcing us to call on reserves we may not be aware existed.

But although the training on the mat is grueling, it is the other aspect of the program that presents the greatest difficulty. Taking responsibility for the dojo's day-to-day affairs is a daunting prospect, hindered in my own case by a reluctance to seem officious and superior. The first two years were the hardest. Even with newer additions to the uchi deshi ranks, I hesitated to assert myself, and those joining later didn't benefit much from my experience. It became clear to me that I would have to improve my leadership skills in the future.

In many ways I was dragged clawing and struggling to where I am now. I went to numerous seminars I would have otherwise skipped, attended camps and inter-club workouts I might have decided I could do without. But I would have been wrong to do so. My commitment to aikido has gone beyond what I feel like doing and has become what I've committed to do, a change of focus that exposed me to numerous teachers and techniques I would have been sorry to miss.

But it's a difficult path to walk for two years. To join the program means choosing -- all at once -- to go to every seminar and workout for at least two years. It means scheduling a large portion of your time around the dojo and wedging in other things where you can. But the commitment, if honored to the best of your ability, is worth it. You end up learning as much about yourself as you do about the art you study.

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