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Old 04-21-2011, 11:53 AM   #48
Keith Larman
Dojo: AIA, Los Angeles, CA
Location: California
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,604
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Re: Is Aikiweb an open Aikido Forum ? Or is it a

I'll also comment that there are always folk on the very extremes. Yeah, I look sideways at things I see as silly and weird. Mostly I just don't comment because I honestly couldn't possibly care any less. I think the point here is to realize that, for better or worse, Aikido did morph into a very large and diverse thing. Not all Aikido is the same, it hasn't been for a very long time. There are many pursuing what I personally think of as Aikido as seen through the lens of "new age" spiritualism. That's just not for me. That said I wish the best to those who pursue that end. So I shrug and move on.

Some on the other extreme see Aikido as basically a very hard jujutsu and (in my view) seem to miss out on a lot of the subtle stuff that gave O-sensei and even the founders of these styles a lot of their power. Some seem to focus on the omote of what they saw but miss the ura (again, IMO). That's also not for me. But again, more power to those who do see it as a good thing. So I shrug

I guess I shrug a lot...