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R.A. Robertson 08-21-2012 08:26 PM

It Has to be Felt #0
 
1 Attachment(s)
Is what you are doing at this very moment the most worthwhile use of your time?

What is the difference between martial proficiency and thuggery?

In civilian self-defense, which is more important: damaging/apprehending the assailant, or liberating the prey and bystanders?

Are broken bones in the dojo a sign of realistic training, or unrealistic training? With what frequency?

In the hierarchy of rank and dominance, who is fittest for building a better world?

To what extent does your training make you feel invincible, and to what extent has it heightened your awareness of your vulnerabilities?

Do you know how to live? How to die? The difference between right and wrong? Real from unreal?

Is your training a commitment or an obsession? Is it a way of life, a hobby, a contingency, an art, a sport, a philosophy?

What is it that binds you to things you despise?

Is pain and discomfort a measure of seriousness?

What is aikido? What does it mean that the most senior practitioners cannot agree on meaning, purpose, or method?

Is O Sensei still relevant? Was he ever?

When was the last time someone said to you "My life is so much better because of your aikido experience?"

Again and again and again I ask, are you practicing self-defense or selfish defense? And what Self, anyway?

Are you still looking for magical powers? Esoteric knowledge? The world's most excruciating nikyo?

Who among us is heroic enough to break a cycle of abuse, even in a revered tradition?

Can you feel what cannot be felt?

Who are you, and where is your Art, once you've grasped the Void?

2012.08.02
Ross Robertson
Still Point Aikido Systems
Honmatsu Aikido
Austin TX, USA

www.stillpointaikido.com
www.rariora.org/writing/articles
@phospheros

Tom Verhoeven 08-22-2012 08:05 AM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
Seems to me to be all the right questions for anyone who takes his Budo practice serious.
Great column, thanks.
Tom

graham christian 08-23-2012 06:24 AM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
As I commented on the last column I must comment on this. Brilliant title! Very Zen as is the whole column. Thankx.

NekVTAikido 08-23-2012 03:40 PM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
To everyone I've ever trained with: My life is so much better because of your Aikido practice! Please continue!

My answers to any of these questions must vary from instant to instant. Any answer could be the right answer in a given moment, but I'm wrong if I hang onto any answer while the universe moves on. Sometimes (most times) hanging on long enough to put it into words is too long.

piyush.kumar 09-05-2012 09:50 AM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
Thank you for the reminders sensei :)

R.A. Robertson 09-07-2012 10:27 AM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
To anyone who has taken moments of their life-time to read my works, and especially to those who engage in this Great Conversation, my life is so much better because of you. Thank you.

sorokod 09-07-2012 04:35 PM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
> Is what you are doing at this very moment the most worthwhile use of your time?
Its good enough.

> What is the difference between martial proficiency and thuggery?
Same as the difference between a surgeon and a butcher - no normal people confuse the two.

> In civilian self-defense, which is more important: damaging/apprehending the assailant, or liberating the prey and bystanders?
In order of importance: 1.liberating the prey and bystanders 2.apprehending the assailant. Damaging the the assailant - are you serious?

> Are broken bones in the dojo a sign of realistic training, or unrealistic training? With what frequency?
Not necessarily, but they may be a sign of sincerity.

> In the hierarchy of rank and dominance, who is fittest for building a better world?
The best world builder.

> To what extent does your training make you feel invincible, and to what extent has it heightened your awareness of your vulnerabilities?
To some extent.

> Do you know how to live? How to die? The difference between right and wrong? Real from unreal?
Will see about death, generally yes regarding the rest.

> Is your training a commitment or an obsession? Is it a way of life, a hobby, a contingency, an art, a sport, a philosophy?
Let's say that I can answer this question to my satisfaction.

> What is it that binds you to things you despise?
Is this one of those "have you stopped drinking whiskey in the mornings" questions?

> Is pain and discomfort a measure of seriousness?
Not necessarily, but they may be a sign of sincerity.

> What is aikido? What does it mean that the most senior practitioners cannot agree on meaning, purpose, or method?
It's a martial art - A general outline available on Wikipedia, details in training.

> Is O Sensei still relevant? Was he ever?
O Sensei was relevant to his students. I am a student of a student of a student - this is one way in which he is relevant to me.

> When was the last time someone said to you "My life is so much better because of your aikido experience?"
Never happened to me, but people are generally very happy with my miso soup.

> Again and again and again I ask, are you practicing self-defense or selfish defense? And what Self, anyway?
Don't get attached to words too much, its just about extracting yourself unharmed from situations where someone is trying to physically harm you.

> Are you still looking for magical powers? Esoteric knowledge? The world's most excruciating nikyo?
I am trying to improve my Aikido.

> Who among us is heroic enough to break a cycle of abuse, even in a revered tradition?
Who are us? What abuse? Which tradition? Will happy to try and answer if you provide more details.

> Can you feel what cannot be felt?
Only the unmovable mover can do that.

> Who are you, and where is your Art, once you've grasped the Void?
I am David, my Art is in me and void is a reserved word in the C-derived programming languages.

Keith Larman 09-08-2012 08:58 AM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
Quote:

David Soroko wrote: (Post 315624)
> Who are you, and where is your Art, once you've grasped the Void?
I am David, my Art is in me and void is a reserved word in the C-derived programming languages.

Or if you want to start a real discussion among C-derived programmers, get going on the internal representation of NULL pointers. So I try not to grasp the void (grasping what is not there?), instead, I embrace NULL, however it is implemented, and accept the fact that I will never know precisely what it is.

Seems like a good metaphor itself.

Sorry, old-time computer geek couldn't resist. Carry on...

I'll give a +1 to David's post.

sorokod 09-08-2012 11:07 AM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
++post :)

Keith Larman 09-08-2012 12:37 PM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
Should be:

++post;

Can't leave off the semi...

Mark Gibbons 09-08-2012 05:57 PM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
Quote:

Keith Larman wrote: (Post 315636)
Should be:

++post;

Can't leave off the semi...

I'd probably code it post++; , read it before applauding.

SteveTrinkle 09-09-2012 07:21 AM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
ithink ththe above questions are a kind of insinuation and sophistry

SteveTrinkle 09-09-2012 07:34 AM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
iwas told when istarted that aikido is a way of training the self that still resonates and holds true I'm stilltaking ukemi still from a recent stroke and Ican't yet practice my art back on the mats yeyet!

sorokod 09-09-2012 02:10 PM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
If self needs to be trained to make a practical and efficient martial art, then so be it.

Keith Larman 09-10-2012 07:30 AM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
Quote:

Mark Gibbons wrote: (Post 315647)
I'd probably code it post++; , read it before applauding.

I need a golf clap emoticon...

Tim Lee 09-16-2012 05:11 AM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
What is being said here is, are we doing the right things for the right reasons, for the right people which includes ourselves and yes it is Zen. I don't really get the point of someone being somewhat rude in their answers to the open ended questions. Maybe they need to polish the mirror.:do:

Tim Lee 09-16-2012 05:14 AM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
Oh! and Sensei, nice column as always....

Carl Thompson 09-16-2012 06:19 AM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
Quote:

Stephen Trinkle wrote: (Post 315662)
ithink ththe above questions are a kind of insinuation and sophistry

The level of intention behind that is debatable, but it is a shame that these questions have been pitched in connection with a series of Aikiweb columns that are intended to archive people's personal experiences of some important figures in aikido. If there were to be an "It Has to be Felt #0", I'd prefer a contemporary account of how Osensei felt by someone familiar with the current scene.

Diana Frese 09-16-2012 06:57 AM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
I have commitments to some people this morning, but would like to say briefly that I consider AikiWeb as a sort of spectrum of points of view on Aikido. I find Ross' column very valuable though I have only commented maybe once or twice and I will read this month's with the comments again when I return. Please do not take offense, but to the person who felt that using the It Has or Had to Be Felt format other than in its original format and content was inappropriate, then I also am guilty, because in my own blog I described being thrown by Kanai Sensei in a similar title, It Was Not Felt. Oh well, having said that, I do enjoy Ross' columns and the variety of comments they inspire. Thanks, everyone.

Carl Thompson 09-16-2012 08:37 AM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
Quote:

Diana Frese wrote: (Post 315946)
Please do not take offense, but to the person who felt that using the It Has or Had to Be Felt format other than in its original format and content was inappropriate, then I also am guilty, because in my own blog I described being thrown by Kanai Sensei in a similar title, It Was Not Felt.

Presumably I am that person. No offense taken. :)

Just to clarify, I'm not saying it is inappropriate to use the It Has to Be Felt format other than in its original form. In any case, this usage isn't an account of getting thrown by anyone as you described and even a spiritual "It Has To Be Felt" is not a problem here. Osensei did not just bring his hands together in the ceremonial claps to merge HI-dari (aka: fire or "KA" 火) and MI-gi (water 水) making KA-MI (God 神). HI-dari is also the spirit and MI is the body (the MI 身in Han-MI 半身 is 'body'). The wonders of kotodama also make this KA-kureteiru MI or the "hidden body" which cannot be seen, but which can be felt.

But Ross just wrote a list of rhetorical questions such as...

Quote:

Is O Sensei still relevant? Was he ever?
etc

...under a column title that uses a play on the title of another set of columns.

As I said, the level of intention behind any insinuation is debatable.

sorokod 09-16-2012 09:54 AM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
I tried to give an example of a possible way these questions may be answered (modulo questions such as "Can you feel what cannot be felt") by a reasonable person. In that the answers are as open ended as the questions.

Quote:

Timothy Lee wrote: (Post 315943)
Oh! and Sensei, nice column as always....

Please, call me David :-)

R.A. Robertson 09-17-2012 01:17 PM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
Happy International Aiki Peace Week, everyone!

void ()

Programming languages use functions that often return an output. Some functions do important things, but do not return anything. Depending on the language, the syntax might looks something like

void someFunction() { // do really cool stuff here. }

It's a little hard to explain briefly why this matters.

However, it's not all that different in aikido. What we usually think of as techniques are little programs, or at least sub-routines. You put something in (the attack form) and you get something out (throw, pin, etc.).

Then there is a method which I've encountered less commonly. The attacker puts something in, but gets nothing back. There is neither push nor pull. A process is definitely happening, something significant is transpiring with the data input. But there is nothing really in the way of output. The attack may redirect, or not. The attacker may be unbalanced, or not. Whatever happens is not "done" in the regular sense of doing.

Such methods or functions can be said to be "void."

sorokod 09-17-2012 05:48 PM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
Quote:

Ross Robertson wrote: (Post 315980)
Then there is a method which I've encountered less commonly. The attacker puts something in, but gets nothing back. There is neither push nor pull. A process is definitely happening, something significant is transpiring with the data input. But there is nothing really in the way of output. The attack may redirect, or not. The attacker may be unbalanced, or not. Whatever happens is not "done" in the regular sense of doing.

Such methods or functions can be said to be "void."

If there is a punch to your face you can redirect it or not. You can unbalance the attacker or not.

If you redirect/unbalance - you do something and there is no "void" in the sense you suggested where the input - punch, causes an output - redirection/unbalancing.
If you didn't, you simply get a bloody nose.

Chris Knight 09-19-2012 05:43 AM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
Quote:

Then there is a method which I've encountered less commonly. The attacker puts something in, but gets nothing back. There is neither push nor pull. A process is definitely happening, something significant is transpiring with the data input. But there is nothing really in the way of output. The attack may redirect, or not. The attacker may be unbalanced, or not. Whatever happens is not "done" in the regular sense of doing.
Hi Ross, although I agree with much of what David is saying, I also agree with the above statement.

My own personal thoughts on this are that this is the yin/yang methodology - in which the the body is trained to be predominantly "physically" balanced, with opposing forces, thus when a force is "input"against you, there is no resistance, and no force can be applied. This is also reliant on various spirals.

I think the Aiki body has been discussed to death, but this is what we are talking about, in my eyes

sorokod 09-19-2012 07:22 AM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
I am totally for being balanced and if you developed the body mechanics to have this balance maintained under physical pressure - than thats brilliant. To put all this in a box labeled "VOID" looks inappropriate to me.

Chris Knight 09-19-2012 07:47 AM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
me? i cant do any of it - yet, just calling it as I see it

I suppose void could be a word to "describe" how it feels - dependant on how the practitioner "wants" you to feel it

Carsten Möllering 09-19-2012 07:48 AM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
Can someone explain me why this column has got the same title like the series started by Ellis Amdur?
I don't get the connection or the intention of that? I simply was surprised when I opened it and found something completely different under the same title.

Also I can't connect to the questions:
They seem to point to a kind of "political/social" or "conflict-managing" or "peacemaking" Aikido? Is this existing in the US? This would be different from what I know and what I experience over here.

I hope, I don't offend anyone. I just wonder, what this is about.

sorokod 09-19-2012 08:02 AM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
Quote:

Chris Knight wrote: (Post 316051)
me? i cant do any of it - yet, just calling it as I see it

I suppose void could be a word to "describe" how it feels - dependant on how the practitioner "wants" you to feel it

I was using 'you' in the 'y'all' sense.

Carl Thompson 09-21-2012 08:30 AM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
Quote:

Carsten Möllering wrote: (Post 316052)
Can someone explain me why this column has got the same title like the series started by Ellis Amdur?
I don't get the connection or the intention of that? I simply was surprised when I opened it and found something completely different under the same title.

Also I can't connect to the questions:
They seem to point to a kind of "political/social" or "conflict-managing" or "peacemaking" Aikido? Is this existing in the US? This would be different from what I know and what I experience over here.

I hope, I don't offend anyone. I just wonder, what this is about.

So far it appears that no one can explain to you why this column has the same title as the one which was started by Ellis Amdur. The person who wrote this column is the one who should know.

So why did you use the same title Ross?

Regards

Carl

Diana Frese 09-21-2012 09:37 AM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
Maybe I should wait for Ross to answer, but it appears to me as if Ross is mentioning several issues that are important to how different people feel about Aikido, their attitudes so the title of Ellis' column inspired him to a different track of the word "feeling".

R.A. Robertson 09-21-2012 04:13 PM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
It's fair that I should explain myself.

First, I want to be clear: this column is not meant as an attack on Ellis or his columns.

It is, however, a response to a number of things that I've read in them, statements from various authors. Since we are not allowed to have dialogue with the authors in the context of those columns, I've opted to use my own soapbox (graciously provided by Jun) as a vehicle to let some of my feelings out in the form of questions.

Carsten writes:
Quote:

Also I can't connect to the questions:
They seem to point to a kind of "political/social" or "conflict-managing" or "peacemaking" Aikido? Is this existing in the US?
Yes. But it is not unique to the US. Aikido is not aikido if it is stripped of its politcal/social relevance, or its conflict-managing and peacemaking aspect. And, I will add, it is not aikido if it is stripped of its martial aspect.

As to the Void, I will (yet again) quote O Sensei, who reportedly (and in translation) said

Except for blending with the void
There is no way to understand
The Way of Aiki.

and

If you have not linked yourself to true emptiness,
you will never understand The Art of Peace.

I consider these things to be solid, practical recommendations by the Founder. I do not agree (or understand) everything O Sensei said, and I mistrust those who say they do. But in this case, I think there is something worthy of careful consideration.

sorokod 09-21-2012 05:03 PM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
Quote:

Ross Robertson wrote: (Post 316131)
Aikido is not aikido if it is stripped of its politcal/social relevance, or its conflict-managing and peacemaking aspect. And, I will add, it is not aikido if it is stripped of its martial aspect.

I like this example of a "politcal/social relevance" and the "martial aspect" because it shows the considerable freedom one has in applying context

Quote:

"Ueshiba Sensei's techniques are genuine, you know. They can be applied to anything, including financial, political or military matters. For example, the air strike against Pearl Harbor was a method of irimi tenkan. Because the Japanese bombers flew there in front of the American Air Force, the men at Pearl Harbor thought that they were American troops. That was irimi tenkan. I heard that the Japanese headquarters talked about applying this irimi tenkan in their tactics."

-- http://www.aikidojournal.com/article?articleID=394

As to "conflict-managing and peacemaking". I suppose it's there too as long you are OK with living in the greater co-prosperity sphere

R.A. Robertson 09-21-2012 05:25 PM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
Wonderful reference. Thank you, David.

Carl Thompson 09-21-2012 08:44 PM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
Quote:

Ross Robertson wrote: (Post 316131)
It's fair that I should explain myself.

First, I want to be clear: this column is not meant as an attack on Ellis or his columns.

It is, however, a response to a number of things that I've read in them, statements from various authors. Since we are not allowed to have dialogue with the authors in the context of those columns, I've opted to use my own soapbox (graciously provided by Jun) as a vehicle to let some of my feelings out in the form of questions.

Thank you for the clarification.

For my part, I don't necessarily disagree with your feelings, it was more how they were targeted. As I understand it, there is no problem regarding discussing the columns on a separate thread. Perhaps you could quote some of the relevant parts that you have these feelings about?

Regards

Carl

wxyzabc 09-22-2012 12:28 AM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
Hya Ross

A really nice post and a very important one imho...so much said and not said too : )...a difficult subject.

For sure it's very easy to go wrong even when you think you're going in the right direction.....and how will you know until you get there? here's hoping everyone stays in the light...

Carsten Möllering 09-23-2012 05:15 AM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
Thank you Ross for your detailed answer!

Quote:

Ross Robertson wrote: (Post 316131)
Aikido is not aikido if it is stripped of its politcal/social relevance, or its conflict-managing and peacemaking aspect.

And thank you for being this clear!
I was a bit baffled. In all those years I've practiced with a lot of different people. I never heard someone state so firmly that what I learn and teach would not be aikidō. So I was unsure about how and what to reply.
I decided to just take note of your statement. If this is your truth it's fine with me. I myself will simply go on learning, practicing, teaching what I know as aikidō. For me it has got it's worth/merit in itself, no matter you call it.

Ernesto Lemke 09-23-2012 08:57 AM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2jSi...e_gdata_player
:D

Carsten Möllering 09-23-2012 09:08 AM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
Can't see the video in Germany ...
... but can read the title.
:-)

R.A. Robertson 09-28-2012 01:01 PM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
First, I want to observe with real gratitude that people have kept comments and disagreements civil. I knew this column could become contentious, and I'm relieved that is has not. I don't mind being occasionally provocative, but it never serves my aim to muckrake and sow discord.

Aikido is, as a friend of mine once said, a deep well. So deep that none of us limited beings can take it all in. Nevertheless, I am always perplexed by those who take a decidedly limited view of aikido and dismiss or denigrate the rest.

Two common extremes are the hard-assed militant macho types, and the new-age psychobabble types. If ever there was a left hand in need of a right hand (and vice versa), we see it here.

In order for aikido to be socially relevant, in order for it to be meaningful as a transformative way, it has to have hard physical discipline. It has to confront, in the body, life and death. It has to embrace conflict and lessons learned in combat, and find creative and constructive outcomes.

In order for aikido to be valid as a combative art, it has to offer something worth fighting for. It has to bring something new to the equation that does not merely recapitulate millennia of human degradation and environmental pissing. It has to find its heart, and rise to the challenge of O Sensei's realization of budo as love.

Can we do our sincere best to see the grand picture that is aikido, and still say "this is aikido, and this is not?" I think we have to try. We may fail, or miss the mark, but if so it should not be because we refuse to even look at the immensity that is aikido.

I won't cite specific authors or columns in the "It Had to be Felt" series. And to repeat, I do think they are a valuable repository of experiences. But I find it especially troubling when senior aikido instructors, veterans with formidable experience, relate with barely disguised pride in the number of broken bones in the dojo or the number of bar brawls one has engaged in to "test" their mettle.

Doing so conveys a certain kind of toughness. But it's of a limited sort, and one that too easily serves to hide the weakness and fear behind the bravado. Discipline in aikido does require us to be tough, physically and mentally in proportion to our means. But toughness is not the same as brutality.

Without the kind of emotional toughness that impels us toward compassion, aikido is not aikido. A broken bone, deliberately or wantonly inflicted, and well outside of the necessity of medical healing, is not a victory, but a clear loss. It is a loss for the recipient, it is a loss for the community, and it is a special kind of loss for the one who inflicted it and who carries forward the delusion that they've done something special.

Dang. I think I just wrote another article. Thanks again for your patience in hearing my views, and for the respectful points of both agreement and disagreement.

R.A. Robertson 09-28-2012 01:13 PM

Re: It Has to be Felt #0
 
Quote:

Carsten Möllering wrote: (Post 316164)
Thank you Ross for your detailed answer!

And thank you for being this clear!
I was a bit baffled. In all those years I've practiced with a lot of different people. I never heard someone state so firmly that what I learn and teach would not be aikidō. So I was unsure about how and what to reply.
I decided to just take note of your statement. If this is your truth it's fine with me. I myself will simply go on learning, practicing, teaching what I know as aikidō. For me it has got it's worth/merit in itself, no matter you call it.

To be clear, are you stating that your aikido as you know and teach it is by design devoid of social or political relevance? Are all elements of conflict-management and peacemaking absent, or for that matter, forbidden? I want to be sure I'm not misunderstanding you.

How would you describe the basis for the worth/merit of your art in itself? In what way is aikido meaningful to you and your students?


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