senshincenter

Hi Roosvelt,

Thanks for the reply. I'm probably missing something you are trying to say but I'll try and clear some things up a bit here. I will be trying to not get too off topic here.

- Of course I wouldn't say that I understand the usage of Ki perfectly. I wouldn't say that about anything I do - ever. I'm here to practice, to train, not to achieve. Moreover, what I was talking about would qualify in my book more accurately under Kokyu and not Ki - but that is just my take on things.

- I did not define Rank Aikido as someone practicing Aikido without Ki (however that might be understood by anyone). Ki has nothing to do with why we freak out when our newbies give us a reality check - for example.

- Additionally, by how I defined "Rank Aikido," Osensei himself was prone to practice this and/or be a part of this larger problem.

- Let's be clear, I was making a distinction between "muscling" and using muscles. For me, Aikido will always necessitate that we use our muscles - but "muscling" is something else used to describe when we are using the wrong muscle groups in isolation from other geometric and timing issues, etc. Until we figure this out, muscling is always one option of many. It might not be THE option or even the best option, but it nevertheless remains something that one might do and/or do the most at certain stages in one's training.

- But... I'll bet you anything that one day she will be amazing - by anyone's standards. Thus, it doesn't matter where she is today, it is only important where she is going and what she is becoming. She is on the Path.