The Real Issue

The problem is that I expect perfection of myself, or at least something
resembling "correctness". This is clearly not a reasonable expectation
after having practiced only 6 months this time around. I compare myself
with sempai who practice twice as often as I do, or more, and who have
been practicing for years and years. Over the years I have been used to
just popping in at a new school and already being among the best
students. Of course, this has been at schools more or less aligned with
my prior training, Korean style Tang Soo Do. With Aikido, I'm still a punk.

Last night I had the good fortune to work with M, who has arguably the
best ukemi in the dojo. He sort of floats down to the mat.