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Old 06-01-2010, 01:23 PM   #36
Anjisan
Dojo: Aikido of Madison
Location: Madison, Wisconsin
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 189
United_States
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Ai symbol Re: Is Aikido misunderstood in the Martial Art world?

"The martial aspect is important o me. Making every movement martially effective is important. Not for self defense though. I don't care if I ever use Aikido on the street, I'd be blessed if I never have to in fact. But it is an endless challenge to take these techniques and make them work frankly.
It is about pushing yourself, and accomplishing things your own prejudice normally wouldn't allow you to achieve. It's not about refining art techniques, but it is about refining a person's character through the refinement of those techniques. I refine my nikkyo endlessly, not just so I have a killer nikkyo, but because it is an endless challenge."

I believe that developing one's character, self-defence (and defence of others), and personal challenge are all very valid reasons to train. It is just that I never understood why some (particularly in the AIkido community) choose to separate them out. Why not incorporate all three into one's training? Without moral and character development one risks being no more than a trained thug and on the other end of the spectrum, one risks being a self-righteous prude who is largely helpless to help others in a physical situation despite having trained in a martial art.

I certainly cannot understand why someone would want to have a self-defence situation just so they had a "opportunity" to use their stuff per say, but it seems wise to be ready in case and if the "opportunity" never comes its OK. I mean, one is still a better person for training, conquering their demons and others (even if they didn't realize it, they will have been safer when you were around).
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