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Old 03-27-2009, 07:59 AM   #2
Marc Abrams
Dojo: Aikido Arts of Shin Budo Kai/ Bedford Hills, New York
Location: New York
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 1,302
United_States
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Re: The teacher as a person

Quote:
Gokcen CankayaSen wrote: View Post
If aikido is so much about extending ki, about 'relaxing', not only in terms of muscles and body but also entails your mind and subconscious and attitude and anything and everything about you as a human being.. if it is about ''positioning yourself to another human being'' as Mary Heiny Sensei putsit in a video of hers at youtube.. is it then possible to be the student of a teacher whom you intuitively do not feel close to?

Is it ok to overcome your emotions by rational argumentation such as 'the dojo is close to my home, his technique is good, my son is at the same dojo, he's a good person, he just has other preferences than me, is different than me bla bla..', could this striving to remain on that mat be seen as part of the whole journey of not focusing on 'the other', even if it is the teacher himself, but focusing on yourself and positioning yourself? Or should you respect your intuition and feelings and look for another teacher whom you feel closer to?
Gokcen:

Look at this situation as an unusual opportunity. If somebody were to try an assault you in the street, would you want to "connect" with that person? Yet, it is the very capacity to connect with that person that enables one's Aikido to truly be effective (at least in my own opinion). If there are other dojos around, try classes there. It certainly helps to like your teacher, but that is not the beginning and end of the decision-making as who one seeks to train with.

I personally, have sought to work with sempai with whom there were "issues" with so as to force me to address those issues and more importantly, to learn to connect with them so that my techniques worked with them.

Marc Abrams
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