Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

it's not so much as inferiority complex. it's more so with confusion. if you noticed the general source of confusion came mostly from men, and some women who are really men in the inside, and animal kingdom that looked like aikidoka. Thus us men know that we are manly and we practice martial arts which is a very manly pursuit, which is different from the WWE pursuit, which is a glorified chip-n-dale club (we want that too but we don't have the body for it nor can we take those sort of ukemi). as a manly pursuit, we feel proud and powerful and dignify and ...well manly. then we put on the funny skirt in aikido which causes various feelings. feelings that rise from the hidden depth within us. feelings that make us giggle, and cuddly and lovey-dopey and want to talk about feelings all the time and ...well feminine. it just brings the little girl out of us. This is countered to the manly side which cause us to question our manhood, for some, womanhood, and animal-hood, and occasionally car-hood. so we defend our position with vigor (in some case, with igor) that we are kick-ass martial artists who are loveable and cuddly and with feelings, in hope that we can pick up hot chicks at the local pubs, which is rarely the case since we tend to giggle, in a manly kind of way.

*ps does anyone know where we can get large supply of Velcro kakama? also where we can get the WWE thong?*

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

aside from the nebulous "philosophy," the physics of unarmed combat/protection are universal, although we have vary array of different names given to focus/specialization...that is either strikes (by contact or with projectiles (bullets) or by extensions (knife, bats, sticks, etc.) or seizes (grapple, take down, throw, etc).

more striking arts/sports: boxing, muay Thai, karate, some kung fu
more seizing arts/sports: wrestling, jiu-jitsu, judo, aikido, jujutsu, some kung fu(?)
more blending arts/sports: hapkido, kajukenbo, MMA, some kungfu

arts work on theory of movement, building effective "structure" or habits, while sports give venue to application and its feedback with prizes.

practicing "arts" with more than three years of continual training in hapkido then in karate has led me to believe that it's possible to blend in good waza from any art, from a sensei/instructor with depth of experience and with an open mind.

the few months of aikido exposure leads me to think that aikido physics are effective (obviously!), but takes more patience and faith to ingrain its habits than does kickboxing..which is complicated by the fact that there maybe many fee paying students who do not appreciate hard training with partners offering appropriate resistance or forceful attacks... perhaps it's this lack of competitive "heat" makes some aikidoka feel wary?

in sporting karate/TKD tournaments and in competitive sparring I have felt the reassuring effectiveness of a fast lead leg heel side kick that stops the other's full speed attack or have felt the crushing pain of a shin round kick to above my knee that took me down. Without these "friendly yet heated debates to sort things out I can see how some aikidoka may not have full confidence on their waza vs. an unpredictable and forceful contact.

Osu

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

I believe that aikido experiences both an inferiority complex within the art and it also carries a stereotype outside of the art. I am not sure I would qualify either issue as "large", but I have heard and seem my share of both.

Aikido is not the only art whose practitioners are insecure in their "martial" feasibility and I do not think it is uncommon to hear other arts express similar issues. Nor do I think we should just settle it in the ring, as sport arts have their own issues with which to contend. As Takahashi sensei implied I think we, as a community, have an obligation to address this issue amongst ourselves and drive each other to improve if we have doubts about our skill.

Second, Aikido is recovering from a period of...err... ineffectiveness in action. Thank you, YouTube. I think many influential leaders recognized some of the larger issues facing the art and are in the process of addressing them. Some of our... extreme... practitioners do not improve our image in the eyes of our sister arts. Stop the ki balls please.

Finally, as a personal observation, I think we sometimes also look down our nose at other arts. I can quote from this forum how we view karate thugs and judo animals, etc. It is awfully difficult to express ethos when the guy you're critiquing could where your heart strings for bootlaces.

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

Definitely something you see both here, and many other places on the web (YouTube, blogs, other forums, etc.).
I actually think it stems from the inferiority complex. You'll see people far over-exaggerating how amazing Aikido is, like it is some kind of Godly invincible force that should be feared by all. Too many times have I read that Aikido isn't used in MMA "because it would instantly kill the opponent" or "because using Aikido for real is just too dangerous" (whereas in the reality, there's many other reasons why Aikido isn't used (such as having trouble with people wearing thick glows, lack of attacks, general lack of fight training in most dojos, problems working in a cage-confined setting, lack of ground game, etc.)).

Just as many times you see someone clearly feeling insecure about Aikido (some outright stating that they practice it, "but know it doesn't work"), you see someone going overboard on the other end of the spectrum.

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

There's a point at which the armchair psychoanalysis of people you don't know and will never meet ceases to be interesting and potentially useful discussion fodder, and becomes pure projection. When you feel yourself settling in for a good hashing-over of someone else's character, it's usually time to take a good hard look at your own.

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

There is so little in Aikido that makes you feel like you are doing well or getting better. When you lose faith in yourself and try to step out of your comfort zone, maybe by sparring with someone who practices something more sparring-oriented, or exposing yourself to a different system, you generally don't find that you were wrong about sucking.

My belief is that spending too much time in a sparring or sport system really gives you false confidence that the ring equates to a live fight, but false confidence is still a kind of confidence.

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

I like the first part of your post. The basic feeling in aikido si more or less: If a technique feels good, you need to work on your awereness. I like it, there´s always something that needs polishing.

About the second part: The sportfighters I´ve met have been much more humble about the difference between their practice and a real fight than many aikido-practitioners that I´ve met.

I think it´s very natural that most aikidoka are unsecure about their abilities, how confident would you be in your swiming abilities in open water if your only experience were practicing the movements on dry land or in a very shallow pool?

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

Sage observation Ms. Mamros.

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

If you ever had a military Drill Instructor screaming in your face and dressing you up one side and then down the other with choice expletives at the tender age of 18 or so, you know how well they can get inside your head - been there, and had it done - how about you?

Greg

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

You know not what you ask.

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

From the peanut gallery, it seemed like a simple yes or no question to me.

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

"If you ever had a military Drill Instructor screaming in your face and dressing you up one side and then down the other with choice expletives at the tender age of 18 or so, you know how well they can get inside your head - been there, and had it done - how about you?"

That is no particular badge of honor.....no need to throw it out there. People can get inside your head in a variety of ways. The point still stands...they only get in your head if you let them.....which all of us are susceptible to.....

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

Never said it was a badge of honor, and I did not throw it out there, I simply responded to someone's comment to someone else that did throw it out there. My point was that people do get inside your head because you have placed yourself in an environment that allows it to happen - you just can't walk away from it or ignore it in a boot camp environment - those that have been there know that, and those that have not, have absolutely no clue what it is like and should not be making assumptions on what their behavior would be if they were there.

When I was in boot camp in 71, we had people crying for their mothers at night in their racks, and even had actual suicides - you just can't imagine the mental stress that environment brings, and you can not ignore it. Of course, this was during a time where harsh and demeaning language was the norm, and actual physical peer hazing was not only tolerated but encouraged - I understand boot camp is not that bad today, but it is still very stressful nonetheless.

Greg

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

What exactly do you mean by that response? You made an authoritative comment about what it is like in boot camp and I disagreed with it and essentially asked for info on your experiences that could support your initial statement - simple as that.

Greg

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

I know this may sound perverse, but occassionally I browse youtube looking at cctv footage of street fights/night club brawls just to give me a real life impression of the kind of danger I may face in a real street fight. The majority of the time the people swing wild haymakers looking to knock out the other person; sometimes they brawl and go to the ground, which usually ends up with the one on top pummelling the other in a sort of ground and pound assault. Never have I watched any video and thought my AJJ training has not prepared me for that. We regularly practise applied techniques for such self-defence situations. The challenge is not whether the techniques of the art are effective but intensity and aggression. It is very hard to simulate real aggression in the dojo. My instructors may say strike as hard as you can, to which we do only for them to give us a dead arm from their soggy blocks. But power is different to aggression. It's intensity not technique.

The irony of the whole MMA thing is that pro fighters wouldn't even be out at bars or clubs while training for a fight because they need to ensure that their bodies are in peak condition for fight night. Their lives are so regimented and strict - they aren't out in the early hours because they need to rest properly. Besides no fighter would risk injury or jeapordising their careers for a street fight. You don't need to do MMA to learn how to effectively defend yourselves.

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

Granted that the response was perhaps unnecessarily cryptic (or perhaps necessarily so), but I think perhaps this tentacle of the discussion is verging on reductionist and perhaps unintentionally confrontational. I understand that the boot camp example was just that, one example...it was, wasn't it, and not some kind of statement that boot camp is the ultimate getting-in-your-head challenge that human beings will ever face? The problem is, in the US we live in a culture that venerates the military sometimes to excess -- by which I mean that our veneration sometimes takes an ugly turn into disparagement of anything else, discrediting of the validity of the views of anyone who has not served in the military, etc. So, I think the use of military experiences as benchmark examples can sometimes backfire a bit.

At the same time, the famous quote "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent" and its many derivatives is in much the same category: true, at least technically, but not always helpful. It has become a platitude. The statement itself encompasses extremes of duress and endurance, but it can, and often is, used in a rather glib fashion by people who have experienced no such extremes and who do not respect the trials of those who have. I confess that my usual reaction on hearing it is, "What the hell do you know?"

The military is an example of what I believe sociologists call a total institution, where a person does not have a normal level of autonomy. Prison is another example, so is a cloistered religious community, so is a cult. One would hope that a martial art is not. In a total institution, while it is theoretically true that no one can make you feel inferior (or anything else) without your consent, you have little ability to change your condition, even to simply get people to leave you in peace. All you can do is try to learn the system so you come out on the top side of the rules. That's got nothing to do with superiority, inferiority, or belief in either.

Rambling on...

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

Yes, the boot camp example is just one example of an environment where people can get into your head; and it is by design. One of the core objectives of boot camp is to break down the individual and build up the team member that follows orders - there is just no time for a democratic discussion in a combat situation.

One of the points of my initial post was objecting to someone making a statement about the boot camp environment as if they had first hand experience with it that was very contrary to the experience of others I know that do have the experience - so, I essentially asked for more detail associated with that person's boot camp experience - that is all. Now if that person has no boot camp experience, then a more appropriate comment from them should have been something like this: "Even though I have no boot camp experience, I do have experiences that I feel are very similar and I think that........" I would have had no issue with that type of comment.

Greg