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Old 02-05-2009, 07:02 AM   #54
Keith Larman
Dojo: AIA, Los Angeles, CA
Location: California
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,604
United_States
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Re: Who Sez O'Sensei Was Wise!

I remember a saying that the only way to know if someone else is a spiritual person or a fanatic depends on whether you agree with them.

I have deep respect for Aikido. I think the art is full of all sorts of wonderful puzzles for us to work out. I also think some of O-Sensei's words give some insights into life, living, training and direction. But I also try not to forget that those words are and were delivered to us English speakers via not always reliable translations not to mention the assertion that those who knew him personally, fluent Japanese, often didn't understand him either. Or had greatly different interpretations of "his aikido" and meaning. So like with many philosophers and sages *our* interpretations of their words are often more revealing of our own beliefs and needs. Sometimes I'm reminded of Socrates asking questions but taking forever to get to what he really thought himself. Is it so much what he said or is it our process of struggling to understand that make the real difference?

So I don't idolize him. He was a human being. By most accounts a tremendous martial artist. But by some accounts mean, by others wise, by others still all-too-human. But I certainly respect what he did. And I read and struggle to understand. But I'm also very careful not to casually accept or flippantly toss away what I take from that study.

It reminds me of a class I taught to my advanced kids just last week. The hardest part for that teaching kids becoming teenagers is helping them transition from doing being kids that sit quietly in class, listen, then practice to being active students striving to "figure it out" for themselves. In the beginning we need them to sit quietly and learn self-control. But once they have that self control you don't necessarily want them completely subjugating themselves to what they're being taught. Shu-ha-ri. And unlike many who misinterpret that sort of thing it doesn't mean eventually doing their own thing" or "tossing out what doesn't work". What it means is challenging themselves -- struggling with the art, struggling to see deeper, struggling to find higher levels of understanding. You don't progress if you're comfortable with where you are -- you need to find the limitations and be willing to break "things that work" sometimes in order to rise up to a higher level. To me it is kind of like solving just one face of a rubik's cube -- great, but to do the entire cube means being willing to tear that progress apart. It just never ends with Aikido. And aint' that just the coolest thing?

Was he wise? Well, he had some cool things to say that make you think. And his art has influenced a lot of people. Some of those people have really taken the lessons to heart and continuously use the framework to constantly grow and expand and do so well beyond the constraints of the original framework. But keep in mind that many, many more use the very same framework as a place to hide at a comfort level of conformity and externally delivered purpose. They find the parts of the words that fits with what they want/need to believe and proceed to ignore everything else. And it becomes much like a crutch.

I'd rather use it to help me discover the path that is right under my own feet for myself.

So given the art he gave birth to, yes, I think very highly of him. But the issue of the worth of the man can only be answered in context. And there are so many contexts to look at that I think it foolhardy to idolize anyone blindly.

So I think it is a gross oversimplification to assert he was wise, not wise, or anything else really. The hard part is being willing to struggle with what you think you know and understand. And he wasn't exactly the easiest guy to figure out in the first place, was he...

Sorry, not sure of the point but that's my rambling response.
Too early in the morning for deep thoughts.

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