Quote:
Demetrio Cereijo wrote:
It seems I should rephrase my question:
Did Ueshiba said "there is no competition in Aikido because there is no way to do it safely"
If so, could you provide the citation (via PM if you feel we shouldn't hijack this thread with pointless historical issues)?. Thanks in advance.
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It's somewhere in Kissomaru Ueshiba's biography of his father... I looked briefly but couldn't locate it quickly. It was after a gentleman had challenged the Founder to a match. The fellow as a swordsman and attacked O-Sensei, not with the 90% intention that would have been the polite way to test the Founder's skill, but with full intention, a killing blow. O-Sensei entered and the guy smashed into O-Sensei so hard that he bounced off, smashed into the wall (dojos were very small), and was very seriously injured. It ended his martial arts career. So the Founder stopped accepting challenges because he felt bad about the possibility of injuring someone.
That didn't mean that he didn't allow people to try to throw him or some such, but a real challenge match, not after that episode. That was in the late 1920's if I remember correctly.