Spun off the "resp to Kokyu Rokyu thread" thread.
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Lee Price wrote:
Those that do understand in Japan say it is very important to have the right mindset...you basically have to feel humble inside. Those that go off thinking about power etc are going to be in big trouble for sure...they can end up like some Stitch thing with all kinds of mental issues and confrontational problems. This kind of training can easily change your personality and not always for the best. Remember even Stitch went looking for a family...lol ^^
Lee
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Quote:
Oisin Bourke wrote:
Pretty good advice in most of that post, but this section deserves highlighting IMO. I always wondered about people who say, spent hours on end on their own in a room practicing sumo stomps
with the intention of becoming unbeatable fighter, like Sagawa Yukiyoshi apparently did. It just can"t be good for your social skills, to say the least! I believe that this is one reason why a lot of solo training was practiced in the forms of calligraphy, dance, painting, tea ceremony etc. You were focussed on creating something beautiful that benefitted others.
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Quote:
Oisin Bourke wrote:
Er, no, I"m not. I'm pointing out that obsessive practice focussed on empowering oneself over others can turn people into monomanical and selfish individuals. If you want to be like Sagawa, then off you go and train like Sagawa, just don"t be surprised if you turn out like him.
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It's a topic all on its own. Like Oisin Bourke noted, it deserves highlighting.
We don't know a lot about Sokaku Takeda, but what we do know is that he could kill. He had the fighting abilities and power to hurt, maim, and kill. The stories handed down highlight some of the these things in Takeda's life. It also seemed that Takeda was obsessive compulsive about training. He was also very stubborn. Yet, in those same stories handed down, we find it rare that Takeda maimed or killed anyone in training.
We don't know a lot about Yukiyoshi Sagawa. The book, Transparent Power, is the most info that appears in one place. What do we know from it? Well, first, he was obsessive compulsive and stubborn about training. He trained more than anyone else that he knew. It was very tough to get into his dojo. Training there is reportedly very hard, but again, reports of Sagawa maiming or killing anyone are rare.
We don't know a lot about Kodo Horikawa. However, if we take the above two as guides, we can pretty much guess that Horikawa was obsessive compulsive about training. He was one of the top three: Horikawa, Sagawa, Ueshiba. And it is rare to hear of anyone being maimed or killed in his dojo.
We get to the famous one: Morihei Ueshiba. Stubborn. Obsessive compulsive. Quested for power and strength. He stated, proudly, that he would be a budo teacher. Chanted for hours. Trained all the time, everywhere.
Each of the aiki greats had a few things in common: obsessive/compulsive, stubborn behavior all directed towards training for strength (martial, not physical) and power.
Yet, all were not known for breaking their students. Not purposefully, anyway. I've heard of more injuries coming from Ueshiba's students than from any of them. Why did those who didn't have aiki like Ueshiba need to cause so much harm and damage to students while the aiki greats had far more power but far less injuries to students? Muscle/jujutsu vs aiki/power where power in this case is far less harmful.
Were they monomaniacs? Yeah, I think all of them were. I think they applied that to their training to become as great as they did. Sagawa told the truth and no one liked hearing it. He *did* train far more than anyone else ... except maybe Ueshiba and Horikawa. Maybe. Who knows. They were all peers and never publicly tested each other.
In these instances, the qualities of monomania, obsessive/compulsive, and stubbornness were applied in a generally healthy manner to allow for progressive, healthy martial growth in each individual. As opposed to, say, some of Ueshiba's students and dojos which were famous for breaking people.