After following this thread for several days I can come to two conclusions....
1) None of this makes any kind of sense. The OP is unclear as to exactly what Graham is so concerned about or wishing to discuss. Either get to the point and provide examples of what you are talking about or go find something better to do with your time.
2) Mark must be really bored to be wasting his time on a discussion that has no solid topic and is going nowhere.
Sometimes people are just wrong. It is okay to let them be wrong. Sometimes people don't agree. It is okay for people not to agree. It does not have to be threatening for someone else to be enthusiastic about sharing what they are learning even if it is different.
I have an idea. lets talk about aikido or aiki or whatever it is about our training that we really enjoy and are studying and not think that the other guys point of view is some sort of threat to what we ourselves are doing. If we are not open to the ideas being discussed just go read and contribute to another thread that suits your interests.
I've trained with Mark several times. He even drove hours out if his way to help me get to my dojo for a class when my car died. In none of those times has he done or said anything remotely like trying to make me feel like I am missing something or on the wrong track or that what he is doing is better than what we are doing in the dojo I train in. He has generously and enthusiastically shared what he is studying with those who are interested and we have found it to be a useful and interesting addition to our practice but it has hardly caused any of us to decide that we were missing out and had to get what he has. He is no threat to us or to anyone else who is out there doing whatever it is that they do. And as a student is generally a reflection of his teacher I must assume that Dan H operates in a similar fashion. And I do slightly resent any implication that I and others are unable to think and decide for ourselves whether or not to take an interest in other people's thoughts and ideas and decide if we would like to include them in our practice. But it is okay with me if that is what you think. Because I am okay with you being wrong.
