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Mark Uttech wrote:
[b]I think the old man, OSensei, was a bit of a stiff (conservative), but his son Kisshomaru, threw wide the floodgates. Now Aikido has a real chance to become something.
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Y'think? I mean, the best guestimate is that there are only a trifling 1.5 million Aikidoka worldwide. Think it's got a chance to spread?
In contrast, the Indonesian art of Pentjak Silat Serak was kept totally secret until relatively recently; Maha Guru Victor de Thouars had to break with members of his own family to teach it publicly, and AFAIK, those wounds have never healed. And even with all he's done since 1994 to promote Serak, with his web site, books, DVDs, distance learning programs, web cam classes, seminars, and nurturing groups like the one I'm in, the number of individual who have the whole system can be counted without running out of fingers (plus a toe or two), and they're all old men in their 60s or 70s. Pembantu Andy Astle, whom Pak Vic has allowed to teach Serak, once called it a "dying art."
Aikido has 1.5 million adherants worldwide.
Gee, y' think Aikido can finally become something!?
Ugh.