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Old 01-04-2009, 11:42 AM   #81
Joe McParland
 
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Dojo: Sword Mountain Aikido & Zen
Location: Baltimore, MD
Join Date: Jul 2007
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Re: Effectiveness of Aikido in a combat situation

Quote:
William Hazen wrote: View Post
I used to see that poster of the hands grasping wrists with the Quote "A way to change the world" in some Aikido Dojos and think to myself "How fracking arrogent is that!"

To expect Aikido to be the end all be all and to change the world is folly...What we really need to do is use it to change ourselves.
Quote:
Joe McParland wrote: View Post
Maybe before aikido (or surfing, or jumping out of planes, or zazen, or ...), changing the world and changing yourself are different...
Quote:
William Hazen wrote: View Post
How so?
It's a matter of perception, of course

Changing yourself is changing the world, on at least two levels:
  1. You're part of the world, so, if you change, ...
  2. With a little shift in thinking / perception, your view of the entire world can change in an instant. Aikido---and the other activities---can help to create that shift.

The first one is not terribly exciting on the immediate gratification meter, but the second one is large scale with instantaneous results!

But that bit aside, I do think I got the gist of your point. I'm personally leery of the Evangelical Applied Aikidoists---the "I'm right, you're wrong, and peace and harmony will be restored once I bring you to my point of view" folks. I believe the way to change the world is to fix me. If I ever get past that step, I'll see what I can do about anyone else who still needs fixing