Thread: The Way of Aiki
View Single Post
Old 10-02-2013, 04:25 PM   #71
Chris Li
 
Chris Li's Avatar
Dojo: Aikido Sangenkai
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Join Date: Dec 2000
Posts: 3,313
United_States
Offline
Re: The Way of Aiki

Quote:
Cliff Judge wrote: View Post
Here's what I think is a problem with a general re-engineering of Aikido to have more This Stuff in it. How are you going to get people to sign the registration forms and put their checks in the box every month? We can't even define what we are talking about here; it is complicated and difficult to train it, it is just as hard to describe what it is. People are still talking around the actual training methodologies on this forum. If you want to change Aikido to have This Stuff there needs to be writing about it, pictures, videos, all of that.
Dan's posted some very succinct and informative definitions right here on Aikiweb. Anyone who comes and trains with us welcome to as much detail as they can handle, but a conversation on an internet forum isn't really the right medium for it. For that matter, there's not much in the way of detailed description of training methodologies even for conventional Aikido on the forums - and nobody seems to feel the lack.

If the money is an issue for you then that's fine, but around here we don't worry about checks every month - commercial viability just isn't an issue for us. Neither is "trying to change Aikido", I'm just worried enough about my own training and the folks who train with us - there is no secret movement afoot to change what anybody and everybody else is doing.

Quote:
Cliff Judge wrote: View Post
Aikido doesn't need all that hassle - people hear about how it has a great philosophy, it has a meditative aspect to it, it is about resolving conflict constructively, and that's what attracts people. People come and watch class and they see people performing these circular movements, being centered, leading and connecting, and they go, that's great!
And that's fine. But there's a place for deeper training as well.

Just because people like Tiger Woods exist doesn't mean that people can't go off and just hang out with their buddies and whack a couple of balls once a month.

Best,

Chris

Last edited by Chris Li : 10-02-2013 at 04:30 PM.

  Reply With Quote