This is Chuck, posting as Emily ...
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Originally posted by Unregistered
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Excuse my abruptness. As I understand it, Aikidoka claim that following Aikido will if not produce invincible fighters, at least make the practitioner a better person/enhance their life.
Well, this is the general purpose of studying budo at all, to enrich life. Somewhere down the line, in a lifelong study of budo, you'll learn things that are applicable in self defense -- in the 'real world' ...
But then, as Emily is fond of pointing out, what actually kills most of us is US. We die of ulcers, cancer, heart and lung disease because we treat our bodies, spirits and minds like crap. We die in car wrecks in DROVES, because we can't control our attention, can't keep from doing stupid things ...
So yes, in many senses, budo will give you tools for self defense, tools usable on many levels.
Will it make you an invincible fighter? Yeah, till the next invincible fighter comes along.
Can you bear witness to this? Are aikidoka better off in their lives than boxers or gunmen?
Depends. Sometimes. I knw some peiple whose lives have bene saved by aikido (talk to Dennis Hooker about it), and not nessecarily in combat. Hell, MY life was definitely made better through budo. I can, indeed, attest to that. I've used my budo training to stay out of bad situations, used it IN bad situations, used it to stay clear and focused when everything went to hell around me, used it to keep my center when my life was otherwise collapsing in shambles around my feet.
And I've known folks for whom budo was no help at all. Like most things in lif,e you get out of it what you put into it.
Has Aikido made you a happier person with your life and the people around you?
Yes.
Or do you just feel better able to fight?
Fight? Nah. I'm a big old fluffy bunny. I don't fight. Any more.
Chuck