Why Your Aikido Feels Worse After a Seminar

Every serious practitioner has had this experience: you come home from a seminar confused, your technique feels worse than when you left, and you can't fully explain what you spent three days doing. I had a student come back and tell me, half joking, that he knew nothing anymore. I told him that was great, now he could relearn and rebuild.

In this episode I get into what a seminar actually does to your nervous system, why feeling confused afterward usually means something actually got in, and why what you're able to verbalize the week after a seminar is almost never what you actually absorbed. I also explain why an Aikido technique is a lot like trying on a shirt, and why body size and three days of exposure aren't enough to fairly judge whether a technique "works."

I also talk about the three mistakes people make after a seminar: trying to apply everything before your body has integrated it, judging too fast, and talking about the material instead of training it. I get into what to actually do instead, why I don't recommend taking a week off to recover, and why the full effect of a good seminar is often invisible for three to six months before it shows up all at once.

Thanks for training with me this week.

🔥 NEW! Germany Tour This September — small-group, in-depth training with off-the-mat discussions and personal mentorship. Heidelberg • Bonn • Düsseldorf • Sehnde. Join the waitlist: https://www.lia-suzuki.com/aikido-tours

🎁 Get a new lesson each week — join my Free Weekly Training Video Newsletter: https://www.lia-suzuki.com/newsletters/2147530761/subscribe

📥 Eliminate inefficient or harmful movement patterns now — grab my free Body Alignment Checklist for Martial Artists: https://www.lia-suzuki.com/body-alignment-checklist

📚 Grab my books — The Teacher: https://lia-suzuki.com/book and Mastering the Shoto, A Comprehensive Guide for Aikido Enthusiasts: https://lia-suzuki.com/shoto-book