Thread: Super O'Sensei
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Old 06-11-2003, 04:26 PM   #10
Erik
Location: Bay Area
Join Date: Jun 2000
Posts: 1,200
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Quote:
Did O'Sensei dodge bullets?
I think this thread illustrates, quite well in fact, why I find the word ki so distasteful. Nothing in Shioda's description, at least the one I read, talks about dodging bullets. It would be more accurate, perhaps, to say.

1. The soldiers lined up and readied their weapons.

2. Morihei Ueshiba, recognizing their intent to fire, moved towards them at a rapid speed.

3. The soliers fired.

4. Morihei Ueshiba was not hit.

5. Morihei Ueshiba threw one of the soldiers.

There are a lot of reasons the soldiers may have missed. Possibly, they didn't want to kill someone, least of all a respected martial arts instructor, or, it's just plain hard to hit a moving target. To say that he dodged bullets is putting hyperbole before the facts, of which we have precious little in this case.

Lastly, I don't know why we should take Gozo Shioda's word as gospel. Everyone that I've ever known has a blind spot in certain areas and it's not rare that it's an area in which they have a certain level of expertise. I doubt Gozo Shioda was anymore immune to this than anyone else. In short, he was human just like all the rest of us.
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