I like reading what you write...and yet, if you'll excuse my picking a nit (or perhaps a bone?), I wonder if one day we will be able to go beyond the dismissive labeling of other styles as "the bashing arts". I find it ironic that you use a term that perpetuates willful ignorance in this post. It's not that there's nothing worthwhile in comparing your prior experiences to what you know now; but it strikes me that the difference is less in the style than in the student, then and now -- the student who could only see "bashing" vs. the student who can see something more. Aikido has enough of a sanctimonious superiority complex already; it doesn't need to be fed.