ChrisHein

Well, maybe I can't help but come back, my level of attachment is high! HA!

Saying that the main Idea behind Aikido is "power" is like saying the main idea behind studying Judo is winning randori matches. That is part of the practice yes, so is losing randori, so is learning humility, so is social interaction, so is a great principle of yielding.

Ueshiba, liked power, so do I. I lift heavy weights, train and compete in sport martial arts, own and train with modern weapons. But if anyone said my life, and my practice are about gaining more power, I would say that they are crazy.

I respect power, and I respect humility. To say that one excludes the other is fool hardy. To say that the practice of Aikido is "about power" is no less an oversimplification then saying Aikido is "about siting in seiza". It's a part of the practice yes, maybe even a very big part, but there is so much more to it. Saying "my study of Aikido is about power" might be a little more on track.

I had a really bad reaction to this thread because it was right in my face. I came to Aikido looking for power. I had a bad life, and wanted to stop having one via the ability to physically dominate others. My first Aikido teacher (Patrick Cassidy) saw straight through this, and began to show me another way to live, through Aikido. Aikido helped to take me off of a never ending path of "need power" to a path of learning how to be pleased right where I am at this moment. If you'd like to talk about power, I would say that is it.

This doesn't mean you become a pacifist and let people walk all over you. It simply means that power is far from the goal.