In Aikido, "onegaishimasu" means "please" as in, "please let me train with you" or "please teach me" or "I make a request" (spoken when you wish to practice with a fellow student/teacher and when you enter the dojo's mattress).

Aikido is famous because of the unique combat style. Many people said that this martial art is so soft you can even say "hey-it's-not-a-martial-art-it's-a-BALLROOM-DANCE!", and yes, many ladies attracted to this martial art because of that "soft combat-style".
Aikido may seems "too weak" for a martial art, maybe because the main focus is mostly defense, not offense. Aikido uses the enemy's power in order to win the fight. But please, martial art is still a martial art. Don't get tricked by the smooth and beautiful moves of Aikido. It's actually not that soft at all.

First time practice, you have to learn how to fall safely (ukemi). Gampangnya sih, latian salto ke depan dan salto ke belakang. Guling-gulingan lah. Mungkin pertama-tama mual banget, tapi lama-lama biasa juga. For me, the hardest part is ushiro ukemi (salto ke belakang). Especially when I have to use my right shoulder. Ack!! Ukemi is not that easy to master, but it's really essential to understand most of the Aikido's techniques. So yeah, one of my New Year's resolutions is: I have to train ukemi at home every single day. Hahahaha..

Tentunya Aikido ngga cuma belajar guling-gulingan. Kita juga belajar pake pedang yang namanya 'Ken' (a wooden sword, of course) dan belajar pake 'Jo'(tongkat). Kadang-kadang pake pisau kayu juga. Rasanya kalau nontonin film Kung Fu atau film silat kok kayaknya gampang banget gitu yaa bak-bik-buk pake pedang.. pas praktekkin sendiri.. ampun deh. My hand was in the right position, tapi kakinya! Keinjek dikit bisa-bisa udah mati ditusuk.

Terus kita juga belajar teknik-teknik dengan tangan kosong. Macem-macem banget and yes it's pretty complicated if you're a beginner. Tekniknya banyak dan vocabulary Aikido yang harus dikuasai juga bertambah terus tiap latian. Jadi emang harus rajin latian sih.. biar makin lancar.

Mungkin pertama-tamanya bakalan bingung, capek, ngga ngerti sama istilah-istilahnya. Apalagi, surprise nih, Aikido bener-bener ilmu bela diri yang bisa jadi sangat 'keras' alias badan bisa sakit-sakit dibanting sana sini. Kalo didemonstrasiin sama senseinya kayaknya ngga semenyakitkan itu, tapi pas praktekkin sendiri.. wuih! Belom lagi kalo sensei and senpai-nya mulai saling membanting.

I can't compare it with any other martial arts, since I'm not the combat-person type hahaha. Aikido is my first martial art. Tapi di Aikido mungkin latihan fisiknya ngga sampe segila Karate dan Taekwondo. Yang paling penting mungkin pemanasannya.. saya pernah terlambat masuk kelas dan ngga pemanasan bener, akhirnya tangan keceklik selama hampir 1 minggu. Hehehehe. Trus Aikido bisa dibilang unik, karena.. kita memang harus bersikap 'lembut' alias rileks. Kalo justru 'menguatkan' diri malah Aikidonya ngga jalan. So, lawan yang make 'tenaga' harus dibalas dengan teknik yang dilancarkan dengan 'lembut'. It's pretty weird, but hey, it works!
Aikido emang cocok buat orang yang mau belajar bela diri self-defense. Jadi buat cewe juga pas banget.

For me, learning Aikido is really fun. I'm just a beginner, tho. But I think I already fall in love with this martial art. Even though it's pretty difficult and I need time to get used with it, I love the way Aikido moves. So soft, yet very powerful martial art. You don't even have to move more than 3 steps to defeat your enemy. You can even hurt your enemy without moving your feet.

Meskipun awalnya cuma iseng nyobain kayak apa sih yang namanya bela diri itu, akhirnya malah keterusan. Kalau ngga latian rasanya sayang aja gitu. And my dojo is a really good place, with a wonderful sensei and nice friends. Hmm.. even though I still don't have any best friend there *sobs* Well, the dojo's filled with boys! I mean high school and junior high boys. Hahaha. And since I'm just a newbie and joined the dojo all by myself (not with my friends/siblings), it feels kinda lonely. But that's okay, sayang banget if I quit just because of that reason, padahal sebenernya saya suka sama ilmunya. Heh.
Actually, there are two females in my class (including me). But since she's already high-leveled, I rarely had practice with her. We just chat before and after the class. Too bad.

Tapi sekarang inii.. gue udah ngga latian 3 minggu!!! Aaaah! Sedih banget.. Soalnya buat gue, Aikido itu ngangenin sih.. hahaha.