View Single Post
Old 03-25-2013, 04:35 PM   #16
Dan Richards
Dojo: Latham Eclectic
Location: NY
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 452
United_States
Offline
Re: The transmission of aikido

Quote:
Phi Truong wrote: View Post
so what you are saying here is that we should get our shoes wet, walk down to the local KFC, and get a bucket of chicken the original recipe, instead of extra crispy. what about sides, cole slaw and mashed potato?
Ha! Well, there's a problem with that. First would be that what we can get at KFC today is not the quality that was there during its formative years. Another funny thing is that those "11 Herbs & Spices" were later tested, and found to really only be salt, pepper, and MSG. But that's by the time it was "tested." I imagine that, originally, the Colonel probably did have some secret spices; by after the operation expanded to the point that accountants were designing the products, things changed.

Look at Aikikai these days. Even Yamada's calling them "clerks," and saying there's no spirit anymore.

What's "spirit?" Well, one thing it is, is love. And I'm sure the Colonel put a lot of love into what he was doing. You can taste love in cooking - it's the most important ingredient. Compare any basic tomato in a store - that was designed by accountants, and compare it with an heirloom tomato. Night and day difference. Good wholesome food empowers people. Poor-quality, mass-produced food weakens them.

If this topic is looking to explore the transmission of aikido, we probably ought to be looking at those who have had access to heirloom seeds - and more importantly, who took them, and sowed them. We also might be surprised at who has some of those seeds. And we might be surprised at the form in which parts of the vine are growing, because it could be right in front of our eyes; but unless we're perceptive, we're not going to see it.

Like Yamada said, "In my opinion, the time of spreading aikido to the world is finished; now we have to focus on quality."

So, the important question we all can ask is, "Who's "we?"

Each one of us can decide if they want to be a Colonel or a KFC. And in the words of Howard Rheingold; "What it is ---> is up to us."
  Reply With Quote