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Old 11-06-2003, 02:01 PM   #2
Nafis Zahir
 
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Dojo: Bucks County Aikido
Location: Pennsylvania
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 425
United_States
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This is another sad day for Aikido. I studied the Iwama Style for 7 years. I enjoyed it very much. It gives you a very strong base and a good foundation. I've sinced moved on to the Aikikai. Every dojo is different. The Techniques are just the same as they are different. And even though alot of techniques are different in their applications, there are pros & cons to both styles. I was at a seminar where Chiba Sensei was instructing, and one thing he said was, "never get stuck doing technique the same way, always look for a better way." Of course a better way for me might be different than a better way for you. People must also realize, that O'Sensei developed his art in Iwama, but that's not how he taught at Hombu. Someone said on another post that a Shihan said that alot of the uchi deschi didn't understand O'Sensei's teachings. I'm working on Ni Dan and neither do I. But after 30 to 40 years, I believe that their understanding is now at an apex. The one thing I always disliked about the Iwama dojo, is that we were constantly being told that there was only one true aikido and only one way to do things and that everyone else was wrong and how those techniques didn't work. If you went to the Hombu dojo and not Iwama, you would do whatever O'Sensei showed you. Tohei Sensei was at Iwama. He received 10th dan from O'Sensei and he doesn't do Iwama style! To end this thread, I must say that I'm in transition now between the two styles. I love what I'm learning at the Aikikai. Now I have 2 systems to work with. And just like all of the Shihans who trained with O'Sensei and came out with different philosphies and applications and styles, so will most of us. I'm not going to look exactly like my old instructor or my new one, just as he doesn't look like Chiba or Yamada Shihans, with whom he trained. Iwama and Aikikai - different, yet the same. All Aikido. Let us all learn from each other. The problem with organizations is that they tend not to accept your rank if you come from somewhere else.

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