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Old 05-05-2007, 12:08 PM   #64
Paul Sanderson-Cimino
Dojo: Yoshokai; looking into judo
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 434
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Re: "Aikido is for wusses": a response?

Quote:
Jennifer Smith wrote: View Post
About the above quote.....This is the crux of Jitsu (sp?) and Do.

Is it really their 'art' that they are evaluating or their combat ability.
(Aside: Jitsu is a perfectly legit spelling, though the standard romanization is jutsu.) I think it's absolutely on-topic to mention this. Do I take more (for myself and to give to others) from the jutsu or the do of aikido? Well, while being a costumed superhero beating up muggers would be fun, I don't think it's going to be my contribution in life. Rather, it's all the things you mention above: being strong in hard times, supporting others, being a good person. People more eloquent than myself have expounded on this theme countless times.

However, I'm also reminded of something the late Kensho Furuya said in his book "Kodo": jutsu is a part of do. You don't do one or the other. A do contains a jutsu, a skillset at the core of the study. Someone who wants to study chado needs to know the jutsu of how to serve the tea, how to bring it to the right temperature, how to greet the guest and make them feel welcome. Learning to do those things is not why they study their art, but rather they pursue their do in part by polishing these jutsu to the fullest.

For this reason, I believe that aikidoka must develop clean, effective, and internalized aikijutsu. I'm not referring to the separate art (Daito-ryu), but rather to the literal term: "aiki techniques", which are a critical part of the "aiki way." I'll turn to Mike Haftel's anecdote for an example.

Quote:
Mike Haftel wrote: View Post
One day, at practice, a 2nd dan Aikidoka came to train with us. [...] For the life of him, he couldn't do a single joint lock on me.
Sometimes I see BS.Netters who have this crazy idea that they're studying "for the street". This is an absurd reason to study martial arts for most people nowadays. However, a budoka who cannot fight is like a chajin who makes bad tea or agitates the guest.

Quote:
Mike Haftel wrote: View Post
Yes, I agree. I should have been more specific. The IDEAL curriculum of Aikido is fine. It's how it is practiced that is the issue.
Which brings me back to the original topic. The reason why some people think that both Hapkido and Aikido are "for wusses lol" is I think given a more intelligent expression in the following video:

Matt Thornton on "Aliveness" in Martial Arts
http://youtube.com/watch?v=AWfK6aqWiNU

Some people (perhaps understandably) find his evangelizing tone silly. I sure found it goofy when he claimed that kata were "oppressive", like "the Catholic church". But I think he's got a good basic point.

Do I think we should throw out kata? No; I think he's being pretty myopic there. But it's a useful perspective to consider.

Last edited by Paul Sanderson-Cimino : 05-05-2007 at 12:11 PM.
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