Hi Rudy,
Sorry, what you said was clear...I'm not sure how that follows from my idea that there might be authentic cultural factors relating to why instruction wasn't always as freely given as we'd like...which was all I was trying to address. You seemed to be saying, "yes, there might be cultural aspects that prevented information from being given very freely, but the people criticising Dan's communication and methods aren't Japanese." As usual I'm probably missing some piece of context. I tend to misunderstand what people are saying a lot because of it...I tend to be a little myopic in my reading.

I may be mistaken, but my understanding is that there is a big difference between being an "inside" student and other kinds of students. My understanding of Japanese culture (limited though I know it is) is that there are always some progression of boundaries to be dealt with before one gains access to the inner-most teachings. I'm sure this varies, but it seems relevant to what Chris was joking about when he described the Japanese being "out to get you."
I also was trying to take this idea a bit further by suggesting this happens in all cultures (i.e. is an effect of biology/psychology, not just culture). I meant for this to reinforce the idea that it's reasonable to suggest teachings haven't always been as up front as we might like. I'm not addressing any person or group within Aikido as I have very limited exposure, but it does seem like a reasonable thing to suggest.
What do you think?
Take care,
Matt