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Old 11-10-2012, 10:58 AM   #69
Tom Verhoeven
Dojo: Aikido Auvergne Kumano dojo
Location: Auvergne
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 295
France
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Re: The Fear of Power

Quote:
David Orange wrote: View Post
Not exactly, Tom. Those words are in the first paragraph, but are not posited as the purpose of aikido. I state "It's portrayed as a devastating martial art that requires no strength, yet the founder was absolutely powerful, almost beyond human limits, we would think. So people sign on with this, yet they have to deny that they're seeking "power"--especially "power over others." But....you fling people around like rag dolls. Or...you pretend to?"

What I refer to here is not the purpose, but the popular image of aikido. People see Ueshiba's power and are drawn to the art, but they then have to deny that they're seeking power, especially "power over others." But at base, they have to deny that they're seeing power when most, at heart, are really seeking power over others. Aikido is no more about having power over others than the whale seeks power over others: it doesn't have to seek what it has. Aikido has power. Training in aikido is to develop one's own personal power. It's a natural pursuit, inherent in the human heart.

I hope that makes it clearer.

David
But those words are part of your premise, which basically consists of circular reasoning.

Besides that I do not think that people are drawn to Aikido because of Ueshiba's power. Most people that start with Aikido have never seen demonstrations of O Sensei - it is usually the more experienced aikidoka that know a bit more about him or have seen him on film. Recent polls have shown that Ueshiba is not even among the most welknown Aikido teachers - people are more familiar with names as Tissier or Seagall. People have various reasons to practice Aikido - "seeking power over others" is not one that I have ever heard of. Throwing people and being thrown is just part of the art of Aikido. From this you cannot conclude that people are looking for power.

Tom
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