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Old 09-18-2000, 02:51 PM   #18
chillzATL
Location: ATL
Join Date: Jul 2000
Posts: 847
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Re: Self-Defence.....

[quote]Cas Long wrote:
[b]Hi Drew,

It seems strange to me that this thread keeps surfacing in one form or another: the use of Aikido in "street" conflict.

I do not think that street-effectiveness is the aim of Aikido, but a by-product of it.

No offence to you at all, but I would be very surprised if after only 1 year of training, that one could consider oneself as competent in all the many aspects of self-defence using Aikido- but again this is my view & everybody is entitled to their own. If you do feel confident, all the better.

Self-defence, I agree, could be possible after 1 year, but not using Aikido techniques & principles, which require considerable time to learn, absorb, & more importantly execute with confidence & precision.


To be competant in all the aspects of any art, in less than a lifetime, is foolish to think of. Aikido is not the only art that focuses and uses somewhat obscure principles. but if we were talking about a karateka, nobody would doubt that they could readily defend themselves after a year of good study. You don't need to understand all the obscure, "mystical" aspects of aikido to be able to defend yourself with it. All those aspects were not taught by O'sensei. They are by-products of the way he lived his life. He did not teach ki, or instruct about ki. He talked about it because it was a living part of his life, but he did not instruct his students in Ki. aikido is martial art, first and foremost. O'sensei wanted it to be a recognized form of defense just like karate, judo or jujitsu. The key word is defense, not attack, not brawling. The belief system that he put into "HIS" aikido is what seperated it from all the rest. One doesn't need to embrace all those somewhat mystical aspects to be greatly effective with it or enrich ones life through it.
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