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Old 06-29-2013, 07:51 PM   #74
graham christian
Dojo: golden center aikido-highgate
Location: london
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 2,697
England
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Re: No Competition in Aikido(excluding Tomiki)

Quote:
Corky Quakenbush wrote: View Post
com·pe·ti·tion n
1. the activity of doing something with the goal of outperforming others or winning something
2. an activity in which people try to do something better than others or win something

Encarta® World English Dictionary © 1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.


I can find only truth in the statement if non resistance is real then competition is actually impossible.

The statement though illustrates the same property in this statement: if resistance is real, then competition is possible.

If the person wants to throw you on the ground (win) and you go along with him, no competition! If he wants to throw you on the ground and you resist (so you win), there is competition!

How do those ideas fit in with your aikido practice?
I don't think the dictionary has a word for continuous state of winning.

The second statement I would substitute possible with inevitable.

If the person wants to throw me on the ground his win is ego so he has already lost. I go along with him not his ego. Thus we both win.

If I resist I have already lost and if this prevents him doing so (putting me down) then so has he. That is competition and it's called a draw or from my Aikido perspective..a waste of time.

For me there is NO resistance in Aikido and there cannot be. The way of non resistance is the way and without that there cannot be ki flow and so cannot be Aikido.

No resistance in my Aikido is literal, no excuses or extenuating circumstances.

So the whole 'illusion' of wanting to throw someone on the ground is seen as that...misplaced illusion. When dealing with someone who does I am thus dealing with two things. 1) Their misplaced illusion. 2) The truth beyond that. So always connect to the truth and not be taken or drawn into the illusion.

So those two ideas have no place in my Aikido.

Peace.G.
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