I wonder how people would react if anyone talked/wrote about any other seventh dan aikikai the way people write/talk about seagal sensei. I have never met the guy, I donīt necessarily agree with the way aikido is displayed in his films, but after all he *is* a seventh dan and deserves respect for that.
I would never ever dare talk about any of the yudansha I know in the way some people talk about seagal on numerous forums etc., not even about a shodan or nidan, let alone anyone beyond that, simply because they are higher graded than me and therefore deserve that I treat them with respect (by which I do not mean to imply that lower ranks do not deserve respect in return, but that is a different issue and doesnīt need to be explored here).
I wonder if the people who criticize seagal would also do that to his face or when one of his students was present.
Donīt mean to upset anyone with this, just my 2 (Euro
) cents.