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Old 08-25-2011, 10:13 PM   #103
mathewjgano
 
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Dojo: Tsubaki Kannagara Jinja Aikidojo; Himeji Shodokan Dojo
Location: Renton
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Re: philosophical or practical martial art?

Quote:
Are we so terribly dualistic in our thinking that we cannot conceive that Aikido is BOTH a spiritual practice and martially effective?
Quote:
Mark Murray wrote: View Post
Are we so historically inaccurate that we do not realize that the founder of aikido was dualistic?
Would you elaborate, Mark? This strikes me as a bit odd. So Anita basically says, "why must people suggest we can only be either philosophical or martially effective?" You seem to reply that O Sensei suggested it's either you're philosophical or you're martially effective; or that he completely seperated his philosophy/spirituality and budo practice.

Quote:
It was Kisshomaru Ueshiba who ushered in the new, modern aikido that removed the dualistic nature of his father to create one martial system comprised of an ideal of peace, harmony, and techniques that was acceptable to a world wide audience.
Except that it was O Sensei who also
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spoke in archaic, spiritual terms that no one could understand.
...as part of his budo class.
Couldn't it be that he simply had different notions of what constituted harmony, than what most people today think?
How do you reconcile the times he spoke of the homonym "love" as being relevant to Aikido practice? You seem to be saying on one hand that no one was interested in his spiritual philosophy so O Sensei didn't connect his budo with his philosophy. Then on the other hand you seem to say Nidai Doshu tweaked the philosophy, so O Sensei didn't include philosophy in his budo. So I'm left still wondering why it's unreasonable to consider the practice of Aikido as being both.
I also wonder why anyone who doesn't practice the exact philosophy of O Sensei can't be described as doing both authentically. And while I know O Sensei was a close member of Omotokyo, that still doesn't tell me what his exact views were. I've known many spiritual people who adhered closely to some philosophy/sect or another, but who also had and allowed for differences of opinion here and there. Did O Sensei not look to learning from other spiritual practices? Wouldn't that be one example of how we might hit a pit-fall if we assume Omotokyo represents the entirety of his personal spiritual views?
Concordance with nature seems to be a part of O Sensei's philosphy, at the very least. As it relates to what I've learned of Jinja Shinto, Harmony and Peace are important works and not to be confused with "hippie-talk" (for lack of a better description). We harmonize with nature to attain peace...which includes a state of being consisting of restless and infinite movements...rather like a hurricane that can generate its own "eye."
...which I just included because it's not what most "hippies" (lack of a better description) consider harmony-induced, or peaceful, but I do.

Last edited by mathewjgano : 08-25-2011 at 10:24 PM.

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