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Chuck Gordon wrote:
George S. Ledyard said:
>Of course gender matters
Sorry George. I disagree (not the first time ... I know). Gender does NOT matter in budo. What maters is the transmission of the art. Period. All else is gravy.
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Actually, "transmission" of the art is only "important" to the Sensei and the small number of people who are going to go the distance and take their training to the highest level.
The rest of the folks, by far the majority, are training for other reasons than to get the "transmission" so to speak. They have no expectation of teaching or running their own dojos. They are training for their own satisfaction and the same issues that effect their lives every day effect their training in the dojo. Aikido would be empty of meaning for most people if it didn't help them deal with the day by day issues that matter to them. Gender issues are HUGE in martial arts training, just as they are in most other areas of our lives. I see these issues play out every day in my dojo. And as Budo men and women we need to make an effort to deal with these things in a conscious, honorable fashion. This is far more important than if someone can crank a great nikkyo on his partner.