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Old 04-02-2007, 11:52 PM   #42
CNYMike
Dojo: Aikido of Central New York
Location: Cortland, NY
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,005
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Re: Ueshiba on the future of Aikido

Quote:
Joshua Reyer wrote: View Post
Wow, that's a really limited conception of MMA. I think it's obvious that Dan Harden was talking about the mindset of mixed martial arts, not the outward appearance.

The MMA mindset is simply, "I will train and acquire whatever skills I need to in order to improve myself and my ability to handle whatever (martial) situation I may find myself in." These days, that means one needs to work on striking skills and defenses, kicking skills and defences, and grappling skills and defences, and using a combination of kata and live practice to improve those skills. And for those outside of the competitive sphere (because just because you're in competition doesn't mean you're into MMA, nor does being into MMA mean you are into competition), working on weapons is also part of the process.
Ah. I see.

Then it's not MMA you want to look into but FMA -- Filipino Martial Arts. They already have the variety of weapons and study many emtpy hand areas. Aikido need not be mangled; you can keep doing that and cross-train in Kali. Done.
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