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Old 07-25-2006, 08:34 AM   #71
Jorge Garcia
Dojo: Shudokan School of Aikido
Location: Houston
Join Date: Jun 2001
Posts: 608
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Re: Aikido on the ground, questions.

Quote:
Chuck Gordon wrote:
Mainly, IMHO, because there are a LOT of folks out there who would paint all of aikido with a broad 'un-effective' brush. Truth is, there are aikido lineages that are pretty rock-n-roll, and others that are absolutely hoopty-frooty.

However, some folks are far to fast to dismiss aikido (I don't DO aikido, BTW, but study it as an adjunct to my primary art) as completely useless, and in recent years, there have been lots of incursions into Aikiweb by folks who start out with the 'how does aikido do on the ground' question, when they've already made up their minds and simply want to troll.
Chuck, here, you have said it all. I have been thinking this since the first day these guys started up with this BJJ triumphalism. I am just one of a lot of people that thought it was a sane thing to go to an Aikido forum and website to discuss and learn about Aikido. OK, once in a while, we can veer off and now and then, it's ok if a troll wanders through but this is a new phenomenon going on here. What we have is a vein of personality invade Aikiweb that has a need for some kind of "completeness". It is a psychological need of sorts. They want to believe that with Aikido, BJJ, and maybe some other stuff, they can train for some kind of martial arts completeness. O Sensei was a man who addressed that after going through a lifetime of Daito ryu and some other arts as well. He understood that even the greatest fighter will be defeated someday and all that training would be in vain.

These new "Every martial arts needs BJJ'ers" are really feeding their own egos. I don't say that because we have a difference of opinion. I say that because they feel a need to come over to an Aikido forum to tell us all that! I don't have a psychological need to go to the BJJ forum or a Judo forum and tell them why they need Aikido. This is an Aikido forum. In the end, a normal person, following the Funakoshi rule of self defense will be fine and the help you get from Aikido will be way beyond self defense if you understand where the Founder was coming from. Mike, your 13 years in Aikido didn't do you much good if you didn't get that part from Aikido. It's time for a reread of your Art of Peace.

I am a physical person by nature and I have always liked to rumble. In my Aikido, I enjoy hard strikes, good resistance and the uke countering me if he wants to. He can take me to the ground, trip me, try to hit me where the sun doesn't shine, etc. We're not teaching dance lessons around here. Having said that, Aikido is a Japanese budo and that's where Aikido makes it's greatest contribution. It's about dealing with a fighting and triumphalistic spirit. We're all on the path so I am not claiming a superiority to anyone else. I just wish the "you must have ground fighting" crowd and the BJJ group would find those forums and then have a blast saying anything you want to say. If I want to hear that, I'll tune to that channel and I promise not to start trolling your group with thread after thread about the exact same thing.
Best wishes,

Last edited by Jorge Garcia : 07-25-2006 at 08:44 AM.

"It is the philosophy that gives meaning to the method of training."
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