Poll: How important is the philosophy of aikido during your "on the mat" training?

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AikiWeb Poll for the week of April 3, 2005:

How important is the philosophy of aikido during your "on the mat" training?

I don't do aikido
Critically important
Very important
Somewhat important
Not very important
Not at all important


Here are the current results (http://www.aikiweb.com/polls/results.html?poll_id=266).

[Min]

For a long time I viewed aikido as primarily self-defence or joyful exercise, but rarely as an exercise in philosophy. Now I realize aikido has helped shape who I am and how I interact with those around me. I am much kinder and more willing to diffuse confrontation and foster positive or at least neutral feelings. So, even without knowing it, the philosophy of aikido has been very important to my "on the mat" training. I don't have down completely yet, but the journey to understanding and practicing the philosophy of harmony is both challenging and rewarding.

[Berney Fulcher]

I have to wonder how those responses varied by years in the art. I answered not very important, but am only 4th Kyu. My teachers are working on the philosophy bits, but so far I can't say I am buying :p Right now it's the physical that keeps me in the art while over the long haul it may turn more to the philosophy, we shall see.

[SeiserL]

IMHO, after 10.5 years of training, the philosophy is critically important to me because it contains the attitude, the strategy, the concepts, and the principles that make the physical techniques work.

[tarik]

Critical. The older I get, the more I find all my training, indeed, my entire life and being, is guided by my philosophy. To indulge in any other sort of training is a waste of my time.

Tarik

[Janet Rosen]

I was about to answer, and realized that Tarik said it just as I'd have wanted to. Cheers, my friend!

[Charles Hill]

I used to think that I knew the philosophy of Aikido. I now can`t say for certain what it is. Makes the question hard to answer.

Charles

[PeterR]

I used to think that I knew the philosophy of Aikido. I now can`t say for certain what it is. Makes the question hard to answer.
:D

[xuzen]

I voted not very important. Discussing philosophy is something for 'off the mat'. I guess during mat times, I am too busy catching my breath and atemi'ng my oncoming ukes.

Osu!

Boon.

[Janet Rosen]

I used to think that I knew the philosophy of Aikido. I now can`t say for certain what it is. Makes the question hard to answer.
I didn't reply on the basis of any overarching universal one, just mine.
If I don't know why I train, what I want from my training, then why would I train?

[Lan Powers]

It permeates everything about what we do, and how it is done........
Lan

[Joe Bowen]

I voted not very important. Discussing philosophy is something for 'off the mat'. I guess during mat times, I am too busy catching my breath and atemi'ng my oncoming ukes. Osu! Boon.

Critical. The older I get, the more I find all my training, indeed, my entire life and being, is guided by my philosophy. To indulge in any other sort of training is a waste of my time. Tarik

It permeates everything about what we do, and how it is done........
Lan

In the beginning, I was going to answer along the same lines as Xu, during class, practice, I'm not philosophizing, I'm not thinking deep thoughts, just practicing. But, as I thought about what makes my practice unique unto me, and different from some of the others that practice, is the mindset, attitude, or approach as you will, to the practice. This is definitely influenced by my understanding of Aikido philosophy, by my understanding of Budo. This seems more in line with the latter two quotes. And in fact, they're all right. On the matt is not the time to "philosophize", it is the time to practice, but the practice is influenced by the philosophy. Maybe a better riddle would be which came first, the practice or the philosophy???

[Dazzler]

In the beginning, I was going to answer along the same lines as Xu, during class, practice, I'm not philosophizing, I'm not thinking deep thoughts, just practicing. But, as I thought about what makes my practice unique unto me, and different from some of the others that practice, is the mindset, attitude, or approach as you will, to the practice. This is definitely influenced by my understanding of Aikido philosophy, by my understanding of Budo. This seems more in line with the latter two quotes. And in fact, they're all right. On the matt is not the time to "philosophize", it is the time to practice, but the practice is influenced by the philosophy. Maybe a better riddle would be which came first, the practice or the philosophy???

Maybe its a question of experience initially.

Those that are new are just trying to do...those with experience are doing in order to achieve a goal.

Maybe also what people want from aikido changes as they grow.

In the cases above you can see short term goals and long term goals.

Hopefully the short term goals align with the long term goals eventually.

For me now this is critical....all practice is ultimately geared toward my perception of the 'philosophy of aikido'.

Cheers

D

[bryce_montgomery]

When I began taking aikido classes I was initially just wanting to "see what it was about." Now that I've been training for a year now, I realize that what I want from my training has changed, from seeing what its about, to self-defense, and now to what lies behind aikido itself.

My "on the mat" practice has been greatly influenced by the philosophy of aikido. While this hasn't always been the fact, presently, this concept has helped me to understand why I train and what aikido has done for me.

Bryce

[Joe Bowen]

Maybe its a question of experience initially.
Those that are new are just trying to do...those with experience are doing in order to achieve a goal. Maybe also what people want from aikido changes as they grow. In the cases above you can see short term goals and long term goals. Hopefully the short term goals align with the long term goals eventually. For me now this is critical....all practice is ultimately geared toward my perception of the 'philosophy of aikido'. Cheers D

Well, spoken (er...written), well said (um...typed)!

[Zato Ichi]

I have to agree with Boon on this one... philosophizing is done off the mat. Seriously, if you try and concentrate on philosophy during toshu randori geiko, you'd end up with something like this:

You: Immanuel Kant was a real pissant who was very rarely stable, Heidegger, Heidegger was a boozy beggar who could think you under the table, David Hume could out con-
Opponent: *** SHOMENATE! ***
You: *** UNCONSCIOUS... ***

[tarik]

I have to agree with Boon on this one... philosophizing is done off the mat. Seriously, if you try and concentrate on philosophy during toshu randori geiko, you'd end up with something like this:

You: Immanuel Kant was a real pissant who was very rarely stable, Heidegger, Heidegger was a boozy beggar who could think you under the table, David Hume could out con-
Opponent: *** SHOMENATE! ***
You: *** UNCONSCIOUS... ***

Really?

Well, let's just agree to disagree then, but I do want to point out; the original poll said nothing of discussing philosophy on the mat, it asked how important the philosophy of aikido was to your on the mat training.

I don't know about you, but how I train on the mat is decided based entirely on my and my various instructors' philosophy of aikido and how and what I am studying and practicing. If that isn't critical to what I'm doing with and to my partner on the mat, then I don't know what is.

[Ron Tisdale]

"Nanakorobi yaoki, jinsei wa kore kara da...
translated into English means
To fall seven times,
to rise eight times,
life starts from now..."

helps me with my ukemi...

RT

[Keith R Lee]

Philosophy never enters into my mind while training. I have enough trouble with thinking about technique.

At most 3 things enter my mind:

Shuchu Rokyu

Shugyo

Osu

[Charles Hill]

Hi Keith,

Can you really separate shugyo from philosophy? It seems to me that hard training plus philosophy equals shugyo.

Charles

[Sue Hammerich]

[
You: Immanuel Kant was a real pissant who was very rarely stable, Heidegger, Heidegger was a boozy beggar who could think you under the table, David Hume could out con-
[


WOW!!!!! Philosophy AND a Monty Python quote... I imagine that singing that song (or, perhaps,the Lumberjack song) would more than disarm an opponent before any physical confrontation takes place.
VERY aikido, actually

[Brad Pruitt]

I vote somewhere in between very and critically important. The philosophy keeps me from doing the technique with excessive force. It also keeps me trying to work out my problems with the people I don't enjoy training with. Mostly I think of the philosphy off the mat. Like when driving in traffic or in line at the store.
Brad