About a month ago I joined the New York Aikikai near my work. I've always wanted to try Aikido and with our office moving within a block of one of the more famous schools (at least on this side of the world) was just the motivation I needed. Plus it didn't really work out for me at Frank's school after waiting on his step for a half hour for a class that never happened. I decided I'd rather attend a school that was a school and not some guy's living room.

Aikido is unlike any other martial I've tried and I've tried a few. First, there is very little verbal instruction. We watch the instructor demonstrate a move and we then try to mimic it with our partners. That's the other big difference, everything, the entire class, is done in partners or groups. You are never training on your own, never learning moves on an imaginary opponent. This makes the learning curve pretty steep - not only do you need to learn how to do the move, you also need to understand how to have the move done to you (if you react incorrectly you risk hurting yourself).

Aikido reminds me of a physics class - learning how a simple twist of your oponent's wrist, or adjustment of your stance, can make him mildly uncomfortable to in a lot pain and under your full control. This also steepens the learning curve, it is a very exact art - getting a move half way isn't getting it at all.

They say it takes 5-8 years to attain black belt status in Aikido - compared to 2-3 in Karate or Tae Kwon Do. I now understand why.