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Old 05-10-2004, 01:59 PM   #12
Magma
Join Date: Aug 2000
Posts: 168
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Re: Good Hakama Gone Bad

steff -

"Who cares?"? The standard to which one holds oneself with regard to respecting one's training gear is indicative of one's standard of training on the mats, IMO. So what if they take longer preparing and leaving the floor than they do actually training? If they train for two hours and spend two more preparing before they take the mat, who are you to tell them to hurry?

I can see the value in doing something quickly, especially for days when you *have* to do it quickly for whatever reason (late for class or the seminar for example). But what about breathing or meditation exercises? Should those be rushed, too? Maybe dressing is more than simply dressing for these people; perhaps it is as much a ritual for preparing their mind as their training on the mats prepares their body.

There *are* ways to make this sort of mindful-attentiveness apply to and help with one's physical aikido practice, if one is willing to slow down and appreciate the metaphor.

See the "I have a funny question" thread if you want more discussion of this. A couple of us have tried to defend this sort of thinking there for some time.

Tim
It's a sad irony: In U's satori, he forgot every technique he ever knew; since then, generations of doka have spent their whole careers trying to remember.
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