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Old 11-24-2011, 03:28 AM   #10
Kevin Leavitt
 
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Re: Is AIKI a regular occurance in professional fights?

Mark, after training with you guys, Mike S, Ark, Toby, and Ushiro, and arguing all those years about who gets it, who doesn't, and what is really going on...as you have always stated getting hands on is the only way to understand. I came to the conclusion that much of the argument was about what was aiki and what was not was pointless. However, what I clued in on was that everyone uses structure etc, some better than others and that arguing about what Aiki is and isn't and who has it and who don't was a very kindergarten level argument and focus.

What I clued in on was that some people out there knew how to develop and improve it than others and that is what I try and focus on now. Really all the arguments become moot, which is why you rarely see me discussing the issue any longer. Once you get to experience someone that understand it, and can isolate the skill set...yeah you get it and you move on.

So, I think trying to discuss or judge if someone is using aiki or not is a pointless debate that ends back up to the whole emotional debate that gets us no where. Not saying that you are trying to get there by any means!

I think alot of people see aiki training is some sort of holy grail "system" of internal training that will make them an ultimate warrior. There is much, much going on in fighting and resistance that requires as we have dicussed, positioning, timing, leverage, proprioception, muscles, fascia etc. Trying to isolate out like a mass spectrometer what is purely aiki and what is not, IMO is pointless. That is, unless you are trying to isolate out aiki training in order to better train it and enhance those skills. Hence the methods that Ark, Ushiro, Dan, and Mike tend to use.

I just think people need to focus on the bigger picture. No one fights in a purely aiki/internal way. I agree that you see in professional athletes at the highest level a better command of the body than amateurs. It by default must include many of the same functions/form that we see in the asthetics that practice internal strength training and skills. If you get with a high level wrestler they have tricks using fascia to reduce proprioception and increase the "what is going on" factor. Same with pro lineman. However, put them in an aiki class and sure...you'd say, "they know very little about aiki". They simply cannot reproduce it in the lab under the same conditions.

The good news for us is we need to recognize this and use this as validation that our time spent in some fashion developing these things is worth our time.

I am reading some Feldenkrais stuff right now. while he had a different agenda physically in improving his patients and clients, certainly you see a degree of understanding of the same principles.

Anyway, I think the discussion should center around "where do you see it", and "how are they using it"...and not "they are not using it' and "what is aiki anyway".

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