Friday at basingstoke

Hello all. To introduce myself my name is mark greenwood, i train at the basingstoke dojo. I will try to post what is happening at basingstoke. Firstly Sensei Brad, Sensei Mark and Sensei Andy were all given their next dan grades by Sensei Ellis and Sensei Eastman. Sensei Ellis then went through the knife technique he demonstrated at the Crystal Palace seminar.

We then practiced a moving nikkyo from first form, which i dont think i will ever ukemi out of properly. We then practiced third and fourth form shionage, both positive and negative. It was a great session, with the great start setting the theme of the night.

Question, everytime i step on the mat i really feel like a beginner. Everytime i see a technique that i have practiced a few hundred times, i feel like a beginner. Sometimes i feel my shionage is my best technique, then it falls apart. I used to think i was quite good at ukemi, untill friday. Is this part of the learning curve in Aikido, that you must constantly start again?