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Old 08-01-2010, 03:29 PM   #52
Kevin Leavitt
 
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Dojo: Team Combat USA
Location: Olympia, Washington
Join Date: Jul 2002
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Re: Aikido: more than a martial art?

"Finishing" strikes, IMO, are not necessarily illegal. It depends on the situation. I believe they could be justified say after you take him down, especially in a multiple opponent situation where it is vital and necessary to ensure that he stays down while you move to the next guy.

Using words like "assumes", "shouldn't" are words that should not really be in a martial artist vocabulary. You should not assume that a throw or takedown will disable, kill, or imoblize your opponent, and it just might be necessary to do something else.

Why limit yourself and your training based on what you envision as the ethical or ideal outcome you desire? Why not practice the full spectrum so you understand the implications, pitfalls, trigger points..etc that may come into play in reality?

We can talk theoretically all day about what we'd like to aspire to and how we'd like to resolve a situation with as high as skill as possible...and I am not saying we should settle for less in our practice or default in all cases to a finishing blow/technique as the optimal/efficient solution...that is definitely a "Low Skill" practice when we look at what we are trying to practice in Aikido. I agree!

But, lets not rule it out either because we have an ethical issue or feel that it is illegal ALWAYS. That mode of thinking can get you hurt or killed.

Just saying...that we need to consider everything in our practice and how things might play out if we are really concerned about such things in reality.

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