I recommend aikido to all graduate students for a several reasons,
- Aikido is fun.
- Aikido kept me sane while I was writing my disseration.
- Graduate study is kind of cerebral; it is easy to lose one's connection between physical and
mental life. Aikido is rich in mind-body coordination or at the very least it will remind you
that you have a body.
- Aikido is social. You'll meet people at OGI who are not in your department. My wife landed a
"good husband" this way. (Incidentally, at least two members of the OGI aikido club met and
subsequently were married. So this does not apply only to Texas aikido.
- You'll learn how to fall. You may never be attacked and may never need to defend yourself, but
I can guarantee that, one day, you will go down.
- Aikido is convenient. You just need to walk out of your lab/cubicle/office and out to the
cafeteria. Walk out, practice, and be back at your terminal in a couple of hours.