Hi All
Peter: I hope training is fun as usual. Not sure about getting to the festival in Osaka on my side though.
Bill: I agree with you on the point of avoiding conflict and not maiming your attacker. It is something I always stress in my classes and also do in practice. But the situation I described above is not the norm for me, not something I advertise and generally only occurs when one of the parties are intoxicated or incoherent in some form, i.e not thinking rationally. And I totally agree on the point about intruders running away as soon as you stand up to them.
CA: As Aikidoka, it is generally assumed (at least by me) that we would always try to avoid conflict in a harmonious manner. That concept is pivotal to all Aikido training, hence I tend not to stress on it as it is supposed to be "understood". That is not to say that conflict is avoidable all the time, and that is why Aikido has physical techniques. If we all thought rationally all the time there would be no need for physical defence techniques. The sad part is that in the REAL world people don't always sue for peace and harmony (as we saw this week in NY)
. Even some of the most peaceful people in history(Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr, Jesus Christ) had to face personal destruction from someone who decided that they did not like them or their ideals for some reason. Physical techniques exist for the 1% chance when someone decides to go against human nature and try to damage someone else. I am totally for avoidance of conflict, but we must be aware that sometimes when you walk away you can get stabbed in the back.
Hence I believe that we must ALWAYS aim to resolve conflict peacefully without EVER having to resort to physical violence. However, to be realistic, we must also be fully aware of how to deal with those who do not adhere to our view of life and harmonious existence.
Takemusu Aiki is what we seek, but in the real world people don't always "go" with our technique. (Hey that rhymes
)
L.C.
