Dear Marc,

A thousand and one apologies for my clumsy expression and reaction to what I often see as petty discussions regarding the efficacy of Aikido training and its genuine contributions to the discussion on martial arts applicability. It was a general rebuttal that I had in mind, and not in reaction to what you actually wrote.

In no way would I wish to negatively criticize your marvelous mini treatise on how "kata" may be appropriately interpreted in much of what we see as standard Aikido training today. I allowed myself to get carried away from the many years of "defending" the Aikido I am familiar with, and did not give proper credit to your fine explanations. Again, my apologies.

Thank you for reminding me of the incident whereby I brought actual proofs of what Tohei Sensei had actually written and signed. It was my choice of words to describe them as I did, but the artifacts spoke adequately for themselves.

I will attempt to be more sensitive to the impact of my descriptions in the future of what I write of what I believe and have experienced. I need to remind myself that it is better "to be kind, than to always try to be right.". My batting average needs much improvement.

Thanks again for the correction!

I do want to thank Aiki Web for providing this excellent forum for the honest and well thought out examinations of things Aiki. I am enjoying, and learning so much each time I visit the site!

In oneness,

francis y takahashi