Quote:
Jun Akiyama wrote:
Hi folks,
[\]In what ways has your main focus in your aikido training and teaching changed over the past 20+ years?
Do you think some of these focuses went down "the wrong track?" If so, in what ways do you think "going down the wrong track" was necessary or unnecessary?
[\]
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Jun, lately I've been feeling that it's not just my aikido, but very nearly the whole world of aikido that has taken a wrong turn. I think there is much too much emphasis on the successful completion of a given technical form (kata) than on simple, essential aikido. I think aiki really best manifests in
jyu practice, where we can see actual takemusu aiki. These days, as tori I'm working on doing NOTHING to my partner. I like so much what I'm seeing that I wonder why I didn't start this from my very first class.
Have all my previous years been a waste of time? No, and I still find value in the many varieties of kata training. Nor do I intend any disrespect to my teachers, or anyone else's way of practice.
But sometimes a quantum leap can only come from a major paradigm shift. For me, such a shift has occurred, and it's hard to want to keep doing things the same way again. I used to have a reputation for being one of the softest, subtlest aikidoka around. Now, "soft" and "hard" seem irrelevant.
Ross