inferiority complex in aikido
 

why is it that so many practioners of aikido have such an inferiority complex about being a martial art? now i am not saying this baout all people i know that there are many people that are secure in what they do, but in all the arts i have studied there seems to be more of an issue with aikidoka being uncomfortable with what they do.

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

Perhaps it's because they listen to what some non Aikido people say about the effectivness of it and they foolishly believe it. I don't know any Aikidoka who have an inferiority complex about the art.
I will say that I used to work security as a sceond job. It was in a housing complex in a bad part of town. Having been forced to control a few would be bad guys, I can't see any reason to feel that Aikido is inferior to any other martrial art.
I think it depends on who you train with and how you train.

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

yeah you're probably right, as to hw this complex is reveled. i have had a few conversation with aikido people and other MA people and sometimes it has turned out with the aikido person becoming quite defensive about the practicallity of his art. i have to say at this point that i laso study aiki and don;t see the reson for this but other people for sure seem to constantly want to tell other MA how aikido is a real killer art and much tougher than karate etc.

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

Dear Andrew,
Maybe they are inferior? Joe.

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

I have found many people in many different martial arts suffer from inferiority complexes.

Often the arrogant ones are also accommodating for feeling inferior.

Perhaps that's part of the drive, intent, and opportunity of training in any martial arts.

The secure ones just train.

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

All the arts you've studied? How many arts is that, and what's your experience in them? What's your experience in aikido?

I'm not challenging your training, but I am challenging your generalization. You're claiming that "so many practitioners of aikido" have a certain form of neurosis, and that this doesn't exist to nearly such an extent in other martial arts. I don't have a problem with someone saying, "I trained at a karate dojo for two years and a judo dojo for three years, and now I've trained at this aikido dojo for three years, and I have to say, people at my aikido dojo have this weird thing..." It's when someone makes broad generalizations and asserts large-scale trends as you have done that I want to see the data.

I'm also curious if you've noticed a trend in the demographic of people who have this attitude. Do you observe this across the board, irrespective of age, gender, etc.? Or do you see some patterns?

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

I find the ones that have studied something else before don't, the ones that haven't studied something else question more. If you studied a striking art you can see the theory behind what Aikido is doing. If you have no concept of being hit or what a hit is, the edges can be squishy and ill defined. On the flip side it's hard to do good ukemi if you don't know where you are in danger.

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

One of the reasons I started Aiki-Jujutsu was because I used to do Judo and was taught that Judo meant the 'Gentle Way'. I then learnt that another way of translating and expressing 'Ju' was to yield. I then began to understand alot more what it meant by gentle. The 'art of yielding' is how I interpret Jujutsu and it is training my body and mind to become adept at this science that inspires my imagination and motivates me. When people talk about their old karate days etc. and how much drilling they were put through I don't feel inferior because for me to be 'hard' and fight strength with strength doesn't appeal to me. I have chosen my path and one day I hope to be the best Jujutsuka I can be and hopefully inspire others. I think it's about being honest with what your art does and does not do or teach. If there are Aikidoka who feel so insecure then perhaps they are ill at ease with the philosophy of blending and harmonizing and this is something that needs addressing - how do they want to resolve conflict situations? Which path do they want to take?

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

It's no doubt true and no doubt true in other arts too. I would say it's not necessary to look for patterns etc. but rather to understand that many people in all walks of life are not comfortable with who they are are what they are doing and why.

This alone leads to thinking they need more and more and all different kinds of things and 'other' methods to fill that hole of insecurity and inferiority.

Find your way, be happy. Love your way and you can then also love others ways. Thus there is nothing to feel inferior about.

Peace.G.

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

Eleanor Roosevelt is credited with saying "no one can disrespect you without your permission.". If you indeed have an inferiority complex, it is you that put it there, nurturing it and giving it affirmations on a daily basis. Find the strength within to say to yourself "Stop!", and commit yourself to honest training and reconstructing a healthy self image, and that "complex" will disappear, guaranteed. Go for it.

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

Aikido guy gets defensive ... come on that is funny!

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

Aikido isn't very effective until you've been doing it for quite a while. Other martial arts, like karate, teach techniques that can be very effective with less training time. When you compare a 2-year aikido person to a 2-year karate person, it is easy to come to the conclusion that aikido is not effective.

Compounding this phenomenon is that it is really hard to understand what is going on in higher-level aikido just by watching it, especially if you don't have experience in the art. It's also easy to find examples of aikido where the person demonstrating is still on the journey to mastery (not to say that they "suck") and take it as an example of aikido in general.

I think it is a perception problem, not a problem with aikido itself.

Conrad

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

LOL :D

I think I have to agree with Graham on this one. well put.

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

well said Graham :)

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
Eleanor Rosevelt

Mrs. Roosevelt never attended Boot Camp.

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

Even at Boot Camp...no one can reach inside you and make you feel. Your feelings are in you.

Uke can resist but the resistance that nage feels is nage's feeling.

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

If Mrs. Roosevelt DID attend boot camp, she would've brought the cannolies. Nonetheless, She WAS mired in a loveless marriage. She remains a true heroine.

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

She was certainly a heroine to some. Others, not so much.

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

Two different things, Mary. One is an internal emotion and the other is an actual physical perception. They are unrelated, but a physical perception can trigger an emotion. I can feel and perceive the kiss of a baby on my cheek and then experience the emotion of happiness at the action.

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

Yeah, that whole integration and equal rights thing, that sure stuck in some people's craws. Still does, apparently.

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

Hi folks,

Let's try to keep the topic pertinent to the subject in the original post.

Otherwise, please start new threads for new topics in their appropriate places.

Thanks,

-- Jun

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

hi Mary to answer your question about my experience

i have been involved in the maritial arts for 18 year

I hold black belts in both ITF taekwondo and Aikido
I studied both Taekwondo and aikido in 3 different countries

I have laso studiedchinese internal martial arts and Krav maga in that time

I originally come from a small city in which the was a community of serious martial artists, so no matter what art you studued we would meet and chat about various martial a topics and attend seminars byvisiting masters of other schools.

Where i live now this doesn't happen so much which makes me pine for the old days

anyway, thats for another thread :)

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

opps forgot the second part of your post

demographic this is an excellent question and one i have not thoughtof

i don;t think i can pick one specifically out though, i have see older younger both male and female. i am not sure what the common thing would be, maybe as other people have stated they are just insecure people.

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

Hi Andrew, thanks for responding. At the risk of generalizing, I'd say that sparring styles allow their practitioners to develop a belief that they know how to fight (I've heard of MMA schools that actually call their sparring bouts "fights"), and that that's probably the difference, insofar as there is one.

Re: inferiority complex in aikido
 

interesting point Mary,

I was reading an article by anothr martial artist the other day and he sated that there can be three reason to study martial arts these are

- fighting (including sport fighting)
- self protection
- Martial study

these three items have some overlap but in the main are quite different. maybe if one is studying an art that focuses on something other than your reason for training it could cause a prson some issue. how they deal with that issue is up to them