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Old 01-16-2014, 07:02 AM   #60
Carl Thompson
 
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Location: Kasama
Join Date: Nov 2006
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Re: Aikikai Kagami Biraki Promotions

Happy New Year Chris (or even "Ake Ome")

Quote:
Christopher Li wrote: View Post
I don't particularly see what an organization has to do with respect, and respecting a genetic lineage went out with Kings and thrones (except on HBO).
My home country, the one I'm living in and plenty others all seem to get by with symbolic monarchs.

Quote:
Christopher Li wrote: View Post
Respect ought to be earned on one's own, not based on some distant ancestral connection.
I'm afraid I totally disagree with this. Respect should be a default position. Showing respect is something one should try to do all the time without any "earning" needing to be done in advance from the recipients, be they family members, strangers, hereditary symbolic leaders, religions, cultures, organisations, the environment or whatever. They can lose that respect through their actions, but you give them all an equal chance on contact and even when they lose it, the "showing respect" part isn't just for them, but for everyone else too. The innocent bystander does not deserve to be dragged into one's disrespect for someone who transgressed. It's all a delicate balance between oneself, other people and the rest of the world.

Quote:
Christopher Li wrote: View Post
There's nothing wrong with running things as a business of course - but remember that businesses serve customers and provide value or they don't stay in business long.
I can't agree with this either. The Aikikai are better off sticking to their status as a legal foundation for propagating the art.

It's simply not true that you can't stay in business for long if you don't provide good service or value. You can and plenty do! Okay, we all have different ideas of what might be "good", but business is competition with winners and losers. Winning doesn't mean you did the best job. It might mean your virtual slave workforce is based in an "economic processing zone" making an ordinary product for a pittance that you mark up to ridiculous levels because your main outlay is on advertising and getting celebs to model it to impressionable youths. It might mean you run a Mcdojo that... well, you get the picture.

Quote:
Christopher Li wrote: View Post
That being said, I'm not anti-Aikikai, but I think that it will have to make some significant changes in order to survive.
I agree that it has to change with the times. There are some complicated issues. Liking or disliking different cultural practices (including Iemoto) is one, but I don't think it is the main one. In many countries it's not that unusual to have a hereditary symbolic figure, even for organisations as big as national governments. Having it for martial arts, the tea ceremony etc in Japan culture isn't such a big deal.

You talked about Osensei's "massive lack" of interest in organisations, even though his actions clearly show someone who took an active role in them. From village councilman to head of the martial arts groups such as the Budo Senyokai, throughout his life the founder was a supportive member of numerous organisations. Throughout his life he also gave and accepted accreditation in the form of teaching licenses and dan ranks, including from the hereditary head of a whole country (the Japanese Emperor). What would the founder have wanted?

Regards

Carl
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