Fourteen years. I'm currently a Nidan. I am actually running a dojo now, with the help of some other senior students of my late Sensei (and more experienced practitioners in our association, TAA).
Like you said in your video, those interested in being the most effective in a sport fight don't get it. But those who get it, really get it.
I wrote a little about picking up and moving on after my Sensei's passing here. The post is well past payout so if you like it, don't waste your upvote - just keep in touch!
I'm sorry to hear about your lost. And are you doing tamici aikido?
No, we practice Iwama style. Our association is Takemusu Aikido Association - it's under Hombu dojo, but with a lineage that follows Morohiro Saito Sensei.
Nice, my second guess would have been tenshin but iwama is good two.
Is there anything you think someone should talk about that the public doesn't know about?
Good question. I wish people understood what a practice like Aikido actually provides to the body and the brain. People are constantly trying to regulate their energy, attention, mood, and focus with superficial fixes, trying to train their thoughts or behavior with affirmations, discipline, or therapy. They don't know the three inputs most effective at integrating brain activity are touch, heavy muscle activity, and movement in 3-dimensional space. There aren't many opportunities for adults to get this vital input, and we don't even realize how the lack of activity effects mood, productivity, relationships, and judgement.
Ok I was thinking about doing a comparison between internal and external martial arts so that might be a good way to fill in some of the blanks.
I've been thinking about you last comment and I believe I miss read it the first time and now I'm not so sure of what it is your trying to tell me. What exactly do you mean by integrating brain activity? And what would the perpuse of that be for?
I guess it's a complicated answer. I am interested in neurology and psychology, and my job involves analyzing what conditions people need to learn a new skill.
A common misconception is that the brain and body are separate. They are integral to one another. This is obvious when you think about it, but people forget all the time.
A person who has been static for a while, perhaps looking at text on a screen, has a lot of brain activity in some areas and very little in others. Not integrated. He may be tense in his shoulders and breathing shallow, unaware of his body carrying stress. He is more likely to react defensively in fight, flight, or freeze to any change in his environment. Now imagine him driving home in this state. Imagine he carries this state home to his wife and child. He didn't sleep well, and he goes to work again. He's in a bad mood and can't make his mind focus.
Maybe he tries some music to help him focus. Maybe meditation. Strong coffee. Maybe he goes for a walk. Any of these can be helpful, but they still largely ignore that the brain lives within a body.
We know that moving in three-dimensional space (like rolling/ukemi), challenging core postural muscles, and having physical contact with people produces massive shifts in attention, emotional regulation, and learning. That is brain integration. The smooth transmission of information from sensory neuron to action potential. Most people don't even know it exists, and they don't try to maintain it.
Sounds like the work your doing is in educational research; but the research it's self is in kinesiology. Because moderit to vigorous exercise 3 times a week for 30 min to an hour can definitely improve focus, self-esteem, and a few more things I'm not sure I can list today. But any sport or martial practice could help with that; aikido isn't really special in that case. Unless there's something i don't know that you do?