AikiWeb: The Source for Aikido Information AikiWeb's principal purpose is to serve the Internet community as a repository and dissemination point for aikido information.
Hello and thank you for visiting AikiWeb, the
world's most active online Aikido community! This site is home to
over 22,000 aikido practitioners from around the world and covers a
wide range of aikido topics including techniques, philosophy, history,
humor, beginner issues, the marketplace, and more.
If you wish to join in the discussions or use the other advanced
features available, you will need to register first. Registration is
absolutely free and takes only a few minutes to complete so sign up today!
B: Compared with Judo, there are very few occasions when one grapples with his opponent in Aikido. So not much physical strength is required in Aikido. Besides, you can handle not just one but many opponents at the same time. It is truly ideal as a Budo. In that regard, are there also many hoodlum-types who come to study Aikido?
Kisshomaru Ueshiba: Of course, that sort of individual enrolls, too. But when this type of person studies Aikido with the intention of using it as a tool for fighting, they don't last long. Budo is not like dancing or watching a movie. Rain or shine, you must practice at all times during your daily life in order to progress. In particular, Aikido is like spiritual training practiced using a Budo form. It can never be cultivated as a tool by those who would use it for fighting. Also, individuals inclined towards violence cease to behave in that manner when they learn Aikido.
B: I see . . . through constant training they stop behaving like hoodlums.
O Sensei: Since Aikido is not a Bu (martial method) of violence but rather a martial art of love, you do not behave violently. You convert the violent opponent in a gentle way. They cannot behave like hoodlums any longer.
I've thought a lot about what you said, and came up with a whole series of responses.. from the obvious (that's why I said I needed to practice courtesy) to the more vitriolic. For what its worth, the virtiol wasn't directed at you: you seem to have a very easy going way online, which is nice.
That said, I guess the only REAL response is this.. when or if I ever see the people who post bold claims and knowledge on Aikiweb in practice, or have the chance to learn Aikido from them, I will make the attempt to evaluate this afresh. I've demonstrated this in the past. For example, I really enjoyed learning about Aikido from Ellis Amdur... Perhaps he's not a good example, because he is so diplomatic in terms of what he says and how he backs it up.
However, historically speaking, at least professionally, I've noticed that bold claims are almost always more marketeering than substance. Most people, especially Aikido people, are easily manipulated. Until I actually see any Aikiweb people for a serious amount of time, the only thing that I can learn from them is whatever facts or anecdotes they have to disclose, as well as whatever historical, literary, or visual knowledge they may allude to or cite.
That concrete historical, literary, etc. knowledge I can absorb for myself, as I become aware. The rest of that unverifiable stuff.. I take it with the attitude of "caveat emptor," especially when it contradicts what I've seen in my own practice, is handed out with a la
...More
No one is asking these guys to be in the Diplomatic Corps. I mean, I don't see Mike or Dan as Ambassadors to any place... If someone's ego gets a bit twinged by their delivery, well, suck it up, this is Budo. Look at the content, forget about the delivery and make your Aikido better.
Can someone please explain this phrase to me: Rei ni hajimari, rei ni owaru. Apparently, my ignorance knows no bounds.
How do I say this... there is a reason why even the most non-martial people in Aikido feel that they get something out of the technique and practice that applies outside in their lives. Because its TRUE. You can discount that as being meaningless and non-Aikido all you want, but unless you actually train in, around, or on an Aikido dojo, your opinion is all so worthless.
Even the most powerful human being
Has a limited sphere of strength.
Draw him outside of that sphere
And into your own, and his strength will dissipate.
"One of the biggest problems with forgiveness is you start to lose precision," Josh Bloch from "Josh Bloch on Design: A Conversation with Effective Java Author, Josh Bloch," by Bill Venners.
I've come to a working definition of rank: the level of endorsement provided to your technique by the lineage that the rank is given (presumably a reflection of how much you are a representation of that lineage).
The more I read and the less I train, the more I think and the less I know, the more that I appreciate the value of the cryptic statement. Sometimes it is easier to find that which is deeply hidden rather than that which exists in plain sight. Easier is the wrong word - more lasting.