Quote:
Graham Christian wrote:
I'm a bit mystified, but getting a bit clearer, as to what the overall scene in Aikido is. It's taken over a year of reading these posts to get a clearer picture.
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Hello Graham
Personally, I have found Aikiweb to be a great resource to which I feel a lot of gratitude. Even just lurking is informative and that just got better once I stuck my neck out and went interactive. Better still, I have actually been able to meet and train with some of the people who have posted here in person as well as a few teachers they have posted about. Carsten mentioned Endo Shihan for example. My own chance to take ukemi from Endo came about indirectly through actually meeting and training with an Aikiweb member. I'd read descriptions like Carsten's and came up with an idea of what it
might feel like, but actually grabbing Endo Shihan gave me a better, more personal picture of what it feels like
to me.
Quote:
Graham Christian wrote:
Now, in a slight change I hear 'you have to feel it'.
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I think your original post seems to admit to the validity of the acronym "IHTBF" (It Has To Be Felt - which has actually been around for quite a while) and yet it asks for yet more
written description.
Also when you say this...
Quote:
Graham Christian wrote:
Statements like 'on touch a person feels different to normal' is standard in my Aikido. Taught from day one.
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...how can you know if you haven't actually felt the person making the statement? For example:
Quote:
Dan Harden wrote:
Go lay hands on someone.
If they don't feel different than normal people?
They don't know what Ueshiba was talking about
They don't know what they are talking about when it comes to aiki.
Everything else is judo or jujutsu.
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As I understand it, Dan Harden made you a friendly offer to train directly with him. It seems to me that asking for more
written description while apparently claiming that what he describes is standard to your aikido goes against a major premise in the thread:
If you don't actually have to feel to know, why are you asking?
I'm not saying you are wrong about your claim. That's the whole point. How can I know? I haven't trained with either of you.
Maybe Dan Harden needs to lay his hands on you too? Who knows, maybe he will eat his words? You could be doing us all a favour.
Btw:
Quote:
Graham Christian wrote:
This would take perceptions other than the five senses, hence feeling.
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"Feeling" (by touching) is one of the five senses.