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Old 06-23-2006, 05:31 PM   #14
Patrick Crane
Dojo: Dojo Chattanooga
Location: Cleveland, TN
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 43
United_States
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Re: Poll: How often do you find yourself having to suppress your own natural responses as uke during aikido practice?

Thanks Joseph for looking closer at the word "counterintuitive."
I think it's great to really look at words and think about what they mean and what people tend to mean by them.
I guess by "counterintuitive" I sort of just meant "feels weird"....to attack someone in a way that I know will leave me off balance and vulnerable...knowing nage fully intends to exploit that.

But then, maybe the fact that attacking in such a way feels weird to me now represents a baby step of development in aikido learning.
Maybe by studying aikido I've been learning by negative (reverse) example how to be a smarter attacker by practicing how NOT to attack.

(Kinda like that book "Websites That Suck" where you learn good web design by looking at examples of really crappy web sites.)

If I were in a "situation" today...where I actually had to attack someone in the real world, from studying aikido I would know:
1. Try to disguise the true nature of my attack for as long as possible (NOT clear, NOT committed).
2. Do not sacrifice my own balance.
3. Do not try to grab...lapel, shoulder, wrist, etc.

Thanks again
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