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Old 05-21-2010, 08:41 AM   #16
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Re: The purpose of Aikido?

Quote:
Mary Malmros wrote: View Post
It's very common for people to start in the study of aikido (or medicine, or law, or music, or anything else you might name), and, once they're into it, find that it isn't like the preconception that they had before they started their study. At this point, they have several choices.

1. They can discard their preconceptions, open their mind, and see if there is something of worth. If they find it, they can stay and study; if they don't find it, they can accept that the cause of their disappointment is their own preconceptions and expectations, and not the fault of reality for failing to live up to them, and move on, having learned a valuable lesson.

2. They can declare that their subject of study is fraudulent because it isn't living up to their preconceptions, and demand that all practitioners join their movement to "reform" it.
What do we tell students who look to history and reality and see that Takeda created several good students, that Kodo created several good students, that Sagawa created at least one when he really started teaching, and that Morihei Ueshiba created several good pre-war students in 10 years or less?

Why do we cling to 40 years of training to be capable when history shows us that quite a few students did so in 10?

Why does history give us expectations such as Ueshiba, Shioda, Tomiki, Tohei, Shirata while reality is that modern aikido has failed to recreate historical reality?

Even going so far as to take into account all previous martial training of the aikido greats before they started studying with Ueshiba, why is it that someone with a background in judo, BJJ, or MMA can still *not* train long enough in modern aikido to surpass any of the aikido greats? Why are we lowering our preconceptions and expectations because no one in modern aikido has recreated historical reality?

Quote:
Mary Malmros wrote: View Post
If someone led you to believe that the study of aikido would make you the baddest mutha at your local watering hole, I'm sorry you were misled (and I say that because I don't know what other reasonable definition of "martial" there is, in the context of a modern society that's regulated by laws).
Why did many people "test" Takeda, Ueshiba, Shioda, etc? Did they get tested because they were the most enlightened beings? Or did they get tested because they were supposedly one of the "baddest mutha" around? How does history answer those questions? What does history tell us about all those "testing" encounters? Did people submit questions based upon spiritual principles or did people use physical, martial means? How did Ohba show his version of "testing" at Ueshiba's Manchurian demonstration?

Doesn't history show us that those "tests" that Ueshiba accepted were martial more than spiritual? And how did Ueshiba fare? Was it his spirituality that helped him through ... or his martial ability?

So in both essence and reality, who is being "misled" in modern aikido training?

Quote:
Mary Malmros wrote: View Post
However your expectations developed, your story sounds like that of a great many people I see who come into aikido or other martial arts: burning with enthusiasm at first, eager to eat drink and sleep aikido, the kind who say they're "training" as they ride the bus or pour their morning coffee or whatever. Honestly, this kind of sets you up for disappointment. It's great to have enthusiasm for something, but enthusiasms that burn this hot usually also burn themselves out in fairly short order. Why? I don't know, but I'd venture to guess that anyone who is that eager and that devoted to something on short acquaintance is probably telling themselves some stories about what they're doing that may be based more on wishful thinking than on fact...know what I mean?
Why? How about modern aikido training is misleading students? Let me revisit your first para and your first sentence of your point #1.

Quote:
Mary Malmros wrote: View Post
It's very common for people to start in the study of aikido (or medicine, or law, or music, or anything else you might name), and, once they're into it, find that it isn't like the preconception that they had before they started their study. At this point, they have several choices.
1. They can discard their preconceptions, open their mind, and see if there is something of worth.
You are right. Students must discard their preconceptions and open their mind. But, IMO, it's current students already training that should do this. Look to history and start questioning why there is such a significant and fundamental difference between then and now.

The same kind of people in BJJ, MMA, Judo, and karate right now in the modern world tested Ueshiba, Takeda, Shioda, etc back then in their world. What were Takeda, Ueshiba, Shioda, etc doing back then? Were they using their training to fight? Wouldn't it be interesting to find out that answer? What do you do if the answer is yes?

Isn't it time to "discard their preconceptions, open their mind, and see if there is something of worth"?
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