do happen. They cannot all be prevented. If injured, report it, clean it up, and clean yourself up. Your instructor needs to know if you are injured and can help to determine whether or not you need additional first aid or medical attention. How you react to injuries can affect healing and recovery. Many beginning students want to "tough it out" and train although they are injured. This is not wise training. The sooner an injury receives the proper diagnosis, the sooner you can begin proper treatment, which will help you make a faster recovery. If you accidentally injure your training partner, check on him or her and apologize. If a training partner accidentally injures you, offer your forgiveness and the reassurance that you are okay. Like you, your training partners are learning aikido. Train in peace and harmony.
Don't Train When You Are III, Injured, or Fatigued
It is not a safe practice to train if you are ill, injured, or too fatigued. If you are ill, you will not be able to pay attention to your instruction or training, and you may infect others at the school. This is considered disrespectful. If you train injured, you may complicate your injury and have to postpone training or stop altogether. If you are too fatigued, you will not pay attention and will get sloppy in your practice. Sloppiness causes accidents and injuries.
Warm Up
Always warm up before you train. Warming and stretching the muscles readies the body for a good workout. It is one of the best ways to train more safely and effectively.
Common Sense Is Wisdom
Remember that you are training in a martial art that ultimately can cause great harm. Always use your common sense. Train wisely and train safely.
Safety Requirements for the School
Mats
One of the most important pieces of safety equipment for any aikido school is a good mat. Good mats absorb the impact of a throw and absorb the mistakes you or your training partners make. Mats should be in good condition. Since you practice barefoot, it is possible to get your toe caught or broken in a tear of a mat. Mats used today are softer and absorb more impact than the traditional tatami mats used in years past.
Ventilation
Good ventilation is a good safety precaution. The air you breathe is the fuel that runs your body. Stale air can breed bacteria and spread infection. Good ventilation helps keep the air fresh.
Lighting
At advanced stages, it may be stimulating to train in a darkened school—limiting the sense of sight helps you develop auditory (sound) and kinesthetic (feeling) awareness. However, in the beginning stages of learning aikido, it is very important to see what is being demonstrated for you, what you are doing, and what is being done to you. Good lighting makes for safer training.
Heating and Cooling
Common sense will tell you that it is not wise to train in a place that is too hot or too cold. The facility should have an adequate heating and cooling system. Fans are very useful and appreciated during the hot summer months.
Cleanliness
Cleanliness is a means of safety. Cleanliness prevents diseases and injuries, and provides a positive atmosphere and environment for training. As a beginning student, you may not feel responsible for the cleanliness of the school; you may only participate in the required sweeping of the mat before or after class. Eventually, however, as you progress, you too will take great pride in helping to provide a clean environment in which to train.
Just as the mat area should be clear and clean, so should the surrounding areas. There should be no beams, pillars, or radiators that are exposed and potentially dangerous. Anything on the walls should be well secured.
Restrooms and Changing Rooms
It is important to have bathroom facilities available. They should be clean and fully supplied with a toilet, a sink, hot and cold water, soap, and paper towels. Always wash your hands after leaving the restrooms.
Having changing rooms available also adds to the safety of the student. Most schools have separate changing rooms for males and females.
Water
Because your workout can be exhausting, the ability to rehydrate your body is an important safety feature. Most schools have a water cooler available. Many students bring their own drinks. Please remember to dispose of your paper cups or bottles appropriately.
Keep Equipment in Good Condition
To prevent injuries, all training equipment provided by the school, or by yourself, should be kept in good condition and repair.
Awareness and Vigilance
Awareness and vigilance are among the most important factors in safe training. A competent instructor will always be aware of and vigilant about what is going on. If you forget the basic rule of safety, a good instructor will remind you. Vigilant instructors who see some aspect of the training environment that needs attention or repair will see to it. They watch over you so you can train.
Safety is not just an issue for someone else. Your safety in training in aikido is the responsibility of yourself, your training partners, and your teacher. Take your role seriously. You can prevent injuries to yourself and others by using common sense, paying attention, and following the simple rules presented here.
WHERE DOES ONE START when learning aikido? When you stand and watch an aikido demonstration, it appears graceful and easy, yet its effects are magical and powerful. All artists start by learning the craft. The craft consists of the basic elements that make up the abilities and skills of your aikido repertory.
In the beginning, the techniques of aikido illustrate its underlying principles. In the end, the principles drive the techniques. Every movement will be a natural illustration and application of a natural principle. The techniques appear to work all by themselves.
The basics of aikido begin with knowing how to stand and move. All aikido techniques are based on full-body movement and unique footwork. As you progress in your aikido training you will be confronted with various attacks in the form of strikes and grabs. You will learn how to enter and blend with those attacks, using your footwork, and to redirect them into either throwing techniques or locking and pinning techniques.
THE PRINCIPLES OF AIKIDO apply to your relationship with yourself and your relationship to your training partner. All aikido techniques are behavioral illustrations of these principles. The techniques become ways of seeing the principles in action. Once you have worked on the techniques, you will no longer think of them in terms of movement, but in terms of principles. In the end, you won't even think in terms of the principles, because they will become a part of you.
The relationship between you and your training partner best illustrates these principles. If you are the one practicing the technique, you are called tori. Your training partner, who receives the technique so you can practice, is referred
