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i was thinking of starting out this post by stating my admiration of and loyalty to aikido... but i think it is unnecessary. my actions, past, present and future, will be sufficient.
perhaps every so often, the traveler on a path questions the path they tread.
as i have had posted a few weeks ago, i have begun cross-training in Systema, and so far i have enjoyed the sessions quite a bit.
one thing i have considered prior to starting - or indeed, has led me to begin - was the possibility that Systema is more of what O-Sensei was intending Aikido to look like, than the Aikido that we practice today.
amongst O-Sensei's [paraphrased] quotes that gets bandied every so often are that 'Aikido has no set techniques', and that 'every time you do a technique, it is different'. Another popular one is that 'Aikido is 70-90% (the percentage varies depending to source) atemi'. if i simply use the two training methodologies as the bases for comparison, then i would argue that Systema is more consistent with my understanding of O-Sensei's vision for Aikido - or at least the physical aspects of it.
is it possible that Aikido as we know it today has veered far away from what O-Sensei intended? i am not the first to ask this question, and i'm certainly not the last.
until i find an answer, if ever, i shall just have to continue my shugyo. onegai shimasu.