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Old 02-06-2007, 11:38 AM   #88
jonreading
 
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Dojo: Aikido South
Location: Johnson City, TN
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,209
United_States
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Re: Women and Everybody Else in Aikido

First, women are different than men. Nothing will (hopefully) ever make men and women the same. We can treat men differently than women, but that is a different argument then saying men and women are the same.

Second, the standards of an skilled endeavor will separate those who participate in that endeavor. A good martial artist will always better than a bad martial artist, no matter what color belt you hang around his waist or how many trophies to put in the dojo window.

Don't confuse budo with fighting. There is overlap between budo and fighting, but they should not be used synonymously. Women and men should be treated equally in their endeavor of budo and they are not. I wholly believe one can be an excellent budoka and a poor fighter, and I also believe one can be an excellent fighter and a poor budoka. Fighters are a different story and will always be; the effort, training, skill, conditioning, and other factors of a superior fighter excludes most ordinary humans, without regard to gender.
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