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Old 08-26-2013, 09:50 AM   #79
Chris Li
 
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Dojo: Aikido Sangenkai
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
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Re: Is is it still Aikido if you take away the Japanese clothes, etiquette and other things?

Quote:
Christian Mikkelson wrote: View Post
Yes, I am aware of the history of keikogi from Inoue's article in Mirror of Modernity, as I suspect are you. However, I think you miss the point of this article as it relates to modern Japan. Kano did not create special "budo" clothes, there was simply no training-wear at the time. If the Japanese thought of the keikogi as simply training clothes, they would have replaced it, just as they have replaced kimonos with tuxs and white wedding dresses as the "uniforms" for weddings. No, the Japanese connect the keikogi with budo because of its Japanese-ness, not because it is simply the right uniform when you go to aikido.
I haven't read the article, and I wasn't referencing it. There are plenty of Japanese things that haven't been replaced by western counterparts. That doesn't mean that they have a special "Japanese" aura. You haven't done anything here except reassert your initial argument (which I still disagree with).

Quote:
Christian Mikkelson wrote: View Post
As I said previously, if you think aikido is either (A) a purely physical and results-oriented self-defense system or (B) a spiritual pursuit connected with universal truths, there is no reason to see aikido as culturally nested. However, by almost any other definition of what aikido is, or any other goal of an aikido practitioner, aikido is at least partially a cultural pursuit.
You're defining it that way certainly - but there are also many people who don't. None of the standard definitions of Aikido that I've seen included a cultural dimension.

Best,

Chris

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