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-   -   Budo, Bushido (http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9553)

Mato-san 01-16-2006 06:56 AM

Re: Budo, Bushido
 
http://www.aikido-world.com/reflections/reflections.htm
Any idea who wrote this article, put together the pages?.

Ron Tisdale 01-16-2006 09:38 AM

Re: Budo, Bushido
 
from the link on the page:

http://www.aikido-world.com/Contributors/index.html

CONTRIBUTORS


Cheryl Matrasko

Cheryl Matrasko is a Network Analyst for the department of Networking and Communications at a prominent Chicago hospital. Formerly the LAN Administrator for Northwestern University Medical School - Department of OB/GYN, and assistant LAN Administrator to the previous MIS of the School of Law.

She started Aikido in 1965, studying under Isao Takahashi as her first instructor. She enjoyed working out under many well known Aikido instructors during her tenure with Takahashi Sensei, such as Yoshihiko Hirata, 4th Dan, to name only a few and and many more thereafter following his death in 1971. Cheryl has dedicated time with instructors in Northern Shaolin Long-Fist, Seven Stars Praying Mantis, and Daito-Ryu Aikijujitsu to extend her martial arts education and perspectives. Currently, she is instructing Aikido at Northwestern University's Chicago Campus and supporting Aikido World Journal.

Best,
Ron

Mato-san 01-30-2006 04:17 AM

Re: Budo, Bushido
 
This is what I get in my mail box " A Clown" someone sees others taking the oppurtunity to crap on a fellow aikidoist and they think it is a chance to give a little verbal smackdown or wize guy act! Because openly ranked individuals choose to step on someone who displays equality and produces discussion not display.

"You talk of people who disrespect the Japanese culture, yet you do not recognize that you have actually committed one of the most arrogant, ignorant acts in using their language? You have given yourself the title of -san. San is an honourific, and the japanese value modesty to no measurable degree. If you are going to talk about disrespect toward cultures, youd better hop theat noone from that particular culture is listening."

I can`t retrieve my reply but it was something like this.

I Live and train in Japan, I live under the roof of 5 Japanese people, one of which is my wife.
Study the art, the language and culture on a daily basis and to my immediate knowledge, the post fix -san is nothing more than a literal meaning of Mr or Mrs , to refer to myself as -sama would be glorifing my title but to call myself Mr Mat, I think is pretty regular. I give no satisfaction in being glorified or belittled in any shape or form so be mindful when stating your opinions. You know not who I am. You know nothing about me or my topic.

Edwin Neal 01-30-2006 04:43 AM

Re: Budo, Bushido
 
Mato - san... belong to all categories as the spirit moves me... don't be disheartened... some are just the way they are... let them pass... good luck... eat some gyoza for me... i miss japan...

PeterR 01-30-2006 05:01 AM

Re: Budo, Bushido
 
That's mild Mathew - and irrelevant to your Aikido and to your posting here. There is always someone who feels they can be obnoxious from the safety of the keyboard. They also come out like rats when it looks like you've crossed the party line. I've had some ripe ones in the past - best forgotten.

Yup the guy is right - you never introduce yourself with an honorific but you knew that. I got the meaning behind the username, quite apt I thought. It reminds me when I first returned to Canada after several years in Japan and joined a seminar. I ended up being lectured on how Japanese really are/behave by someone who had never been out of Canada and, I am pretty sure, knew exactly where I just came from.

There are solutions of course.
1) stop posting. No reason for that. Quite an enjoyable community and your contribution is welcome.
2) modify what you post. I'll admit to doing a little of that myself. A little bit of aggravation is quite enjoyable - too much. Yuck.
3) post political correct pablum just to hear yourself type. Nah where's the fun in that.

My own rules. Keep all post reasonably short, most very short. Don't over think the philosophy - its the mat that counts.

Peto-san

PeterR 01-30-2006 05:27 AM

Re: Budo, Bushido
 
By the by I train Aikido as Budo - the Bushido ala Hagakure has no relevance for me.

Mato-san 01-31-2006 07:14 AM

Re: Budo, Bushido
 
Edwin, Pete thanks guys, yep irrelevent, brush it off like dust on the gi, I love gyoza!
I will take the advise on being too outspoken and just enjoy the community. And life for that matter!
Post politics nope, I shall never, to many know it alls around, I will keep my political to myself, post opinions and enjoy the community, I need not to make a name for myself here. Whats the merit in that. Again VERY welcome suggestions. I will not discontinue using Mato-san as my title because where I am now that is my name.It is by no means a self glorification.

Luc X Saroufim 01-31-2006 07:39 AM

Re: Budo, Bushido
 
to the original poster:

if you're still interested, I decided to train in Aikido because I found out that it emphasizes the spiritual, as well as physical aspects of marital arts. i'm not much of a fighter, but i am interested in connecting mind, body, and soul, and i think Aikido helps me do that. so you can throw me in whatever category that makes sense to you.

to everybody else that went off-topic: hypocrites exist all over the world and this will never change. what is important is how choose to define Bushido. If Bushido has no meaning to you because it's so-called practitioners are looters and killers, so be it. personally, I will practice "the way" by my own terms and not pay attention to anyone that disrespects it.

Chuck.Gordon 01-31-2006 07:41 AM

Re: Budo, Bushido
 
Matthew,

Welcome. I think some of the initial response was because the budo-vs-bushido thing has been beaten to death here on Aikiweb. As for your categories, I think most folks who do budo fall into one or more different categories at different times.

In comparing the two terms, budo and bushido, I think many folks misinterpret them. Budo is a very generic term for just about any Japanese martial practice (and some would apply it to practices from outside Japan, but that's a different discussion).

Bushido is far more nebulous. Sure, we can parse a translation and a rough definition, but beyond that, the term gets problemmatic.

There was no monolithic 'bushido'. Historically, we can find many interpretations about how a member of the samurai/bushi class should act; and there are some floating around in popular MA circles (i.e. Hagakure) that have about as much to do with most of the history of budo in Japan as a spaghetti western has to do with the life of a cowboy.

It's be nice to point to a convenient set of maxims, something like Takeda Shingen's maybe, to illustrate 'proper' behavior. More correct, I think, is that the morals, mores and values of the warrior class in Japanese history varied widely from era to era, from location to location and from clan to clan. Some we'd be familiar with and comfortable with from our modern budo practice, but others were brutal, ugly and might appear to be senseless according to our modern values.

The 'bushido' preached in the pre-WW II buildup was a perveted construct, designed specifically to bolster the heightened sense of emporer-worship of national Shinto and the predatory aspirations of those who were running the country at the time. It had little or nothing to do with budo, except that the budo arts were tools with which the rulers could inculcate 'bushido' spirit in the populace.

Mato-san 01-31-2006 08:22 AM

Re: Budo, Bushido
 
Without getting to deep Luc Amen!
Chuck, the most most spirited fighters in the world bought an unbeatable hand to hand (sword to sword) combat to a gun battle.
You do the math.
I hate getting into the war topic, I will avoid it at all costs.
Good Job in seperating the terms, and I am sorry if I formed categories.
Like you said it has been done, but my true intension was to bring out the prespectives on it.
Goal achieved.
Thanks again I appreciate it.
It is a deep subject and if we go way deep it will become shallow.


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