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Old 10-06-2002, 10:38 PM   #5
batemanb
 
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Dojo: Seibukan Aikido UK
Location: body in UK, heart still in Japan
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 1,031
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Not much help I`m afraid, but I saw a documentary on cable a few years back following two Japanese Kendoka atempting to get Hachidan. One was a police officer and former All Japan Kendo champion, the other was an elderly gentlemen about 80 who had tried every year for the past 8 or 9 years but failed every time. It was a fantastic documentary that highlighted (to me) that whilst in general the kendoka needed a competitive mind, to get to 7th dan they needed to drop this completely, they needed more of an Aiki mind to take the next step. Enough of that, why am I posting? Well the elderly gentleman whose name incidentally was Miyamoto (if I remember correctly), had to fight a number of bouts for his 8th dan exam. In one of the bouts, he had to fight someone who used two swords and apparently trained in Musashi`s art. Sadly, he failed again.

One of the amazing things for me, aside from Miyamoto`s attitude, was the speed with which these guys attacked and defended. More often than not, I couldn`t see the strikes until the replay was played in slo mo, how the judges spotted them is beyond me.

A difficult problem is easily solved by asking yourself the question, "Just how would the Lone Ranger handle this?"
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