Quote:
Mike Haft wrote:
I understand your point of view. I would like to ask why people outside of aikido are the ones to redeem aikido? Why not inside? What makes outside so much better than inside?
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Maybe these "outsiders" can provide an informed perspective that people inside the art can't have, being too "enmired" in the milieu. Keep in mind that these "outsiders" were once "inside" -- trained in aikido. Maybe as former-insiders, and now having found something that once was part of and crucial to aikido, they have a perspective that aikidoka do not.
I have worked as a communications professional, writer and editor for many years. One thing I've learned, is that you can read your own manuscript a dozen times and still miss typographical errors each time. But hand the 'script to another editor for peer review, and they immediately find the typos.
When we are too immersed in our own "thing," we lose the ability to see objectively. That's when these outsiders can be a help. Not just because they are a fresh set of eyes, but because they also were in your art, and know its history and function. I believe they bear listening to, even if you choose not to take their advice.