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Old 02-09-2005, 03:34 PM   #3
Casey Martinson
Dojo: Meishinkan Dojo/Lehigh Acres
Location: Florida
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 30
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Re: Training and Learning

Paul, with regards to the training being up to the practitioner, I think what Beau is saying is that there is only so much time in class, and a lot of it is taken up with instruction (lecture, demonstration, etc.). In order to progress, you have to take responsibility for your training outside of class--hence, his argument that a dedicated tai chi chuan artist will have better combat skill than a recreational krav maga student. I don't know what the outcome of such a match would be. I think tai chi as it is taught almost universally in the West, and probably more than not in the East, does not live up to it's title of "grand ultimate boxing." But it does have a history as a combat art, and I think there probably were some practitioners who were quite formidable. Are there any today? Who knows. You would probably have to look pretty hard.

Also, while you could debate aikido's combat effectiveness till hell freezes over, I think that it's self-defense effectiveness is second to none. When the emphasis is "resolving conflict" rather than "defeating enemy", your odds of growing old increase dramatically. Last night my sensei told the story in class of one aikidoka's encounter with a drunk on the subway. Apparently, this is a well known story but it was new to me so I will sum it up for anyone who hasn't heard it. Keep in mind that I'm paraphrasing all the dialog.

The aikidoka was sitting at the back of the subway car when an drunk man boarded and started to get very belligerent with the other passengers. As this man made his way back toward the aikidoka, the aikidoka mentally prepared himself to apply some devastating technique on the trouble maker. Just as the drunk came within reach of the aikidoka, a voice called, "Hey you!" The drunk turned, "Are you talking to me?" (or something like that). A thin old man sat at the other end of the car. "How are you?" the old man asked. "What do you care?" The old man then offered the drunk a seat next to him, and the drunk gruffly accepted. Then, gradually, the old man began talking with this character, as if they were friends. Through the course of that conversation, the drunk revealed that his wife had died two years ago and he'd just lost his job. The old man said, "So your friends must have taken you out for a drink to console you." The drunk replied, "I don't have any friends."
"What? Your wife died, you lost your job, and you have no friends? That is the worst thing I've ever heard. I'm so sorry." He paused for a moment. "Why don't you let me be your friend."
By the end of the ride, the drunk had fallen asleep on the old man's shoulder. At the station, the old man helped him up and took him home. And as it turns out, the old man was Gozo Shioda Sensei.
Undoubtedly, the aikidoka at the back of the train could have put a real hurt on this drunk, but Shioda Sensei pacified him without lifting a finger.

How true this story is or whether my telling is accurate I don't know. What certainly is true that aikido gives us tools that go beyond combat. Hopefully, all martial arts will instill self control and the wisdom that combat is always the least preferred way of resolving conflict. But from my experience, no art aims to instill those lessons more than aikido.

What are your chances of being attacked by somebody who really wants to inflict serious harm or death? Probably not great unless you frequent bad parts of town, war zones, or outlaw biker bars. And in those settings, attackers are likely to use weapons and tactics that are hard to survive unless you really are some kind of action hero. Any hand to hand combat situation the average citizen is likely to face can probably be well survived by the an aikidoka--or any other martial artist--with a year or two of real training.

There is one situation that most of us face every day that truly can be dangerous, and that's driving the car. I live in Fort Myers, and not a week goes by when I don't pass by at least one or two good wrecks. At least one of the wrecks I've seen in the last few months was fatal. Aikido teaches awareness of ones surroundings, timing and distance, and an ability to go with the flow. All these things equal great self defense on the road.

Last edited by Casey Martinson : 02-09-2005 at 03:39 PM.
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