Thread: The Way of Aiki
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Old 10-01-2013, 10:55 AM   #39
jonreading
 
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Dojo: Aikido South
Location: Johnson City, TN
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Re: The Way of Aiki

Quote:
Benjamin Edelen wrote: View Post
Although this is a very nice echo chamber you guys have going, I'm not sure that the false dichotomy of the original post is something that will catalyze a real discussion on the topic. It is somewhat dishonest to inquire, "have you had the same experiences as me OR are you just training and hoping one day it will happen"?

Do you really want to have a discussion about the different groups out there developing usable skills through Aikido, Daito Ryu, and other esoteric jujutsu, or do you just want to circlejerk for a while longer about how you have already got an exclusive lock on the bona fide goods and everyone else is just grinding their gears?
Ummm..The internal people do a lot of weird exercises - I am not sure if that is one of them...

I still have yet to hear a serious instructor working with IP/AIKI exclude anyone from their training. I think there are fair criticisms about internal training, I think the argument of exclusion is not one of them. You can choose not to participate, but that is different from being excluded.

Some of this stuff boils down to preference. In another thread, I had a dialogue with Cliff about the preference of translations. I think aiki is a large topic and some aikido people have a smaller perspective with which they are content to accept as the entirety of their perspective. That does not mean their perspective is wrong, but it implies their preference is not the limit of the topic.

I enjoy math. I am quite content to limit my exposure to math in my daily. I am sure quadranomials are nice - but I have no desire to make them part of my life. My preference is neither a criticism of my enjoyment for math, nor my opinion of quadranomials. It is simply a limit of my experience.

Matthew touched on this... Not everyone training shares the same preferences or expectations of success. I think we can respect those differences as long as we honestly assess the scope of those differences. I have no doubt there are many people practicing aikido who honestly could care less about aiki. I think there are many people who could care less about kata. I think their are many people who could care less about ranking. I think the thread is more about sharing our preference and exploring the scope that preference establishes.

I think you have a VoE expressing his preference in training and soliciting others to express theirs. I think he would be quite open to listening to your training experience and reasoning behind your preferences.

I have been shot in the ass lucky. ASU is a great organization to explore internal training. We have support from our shihan and leading instructors, several of whom are exploring this stuff with great success. We happen to be close to Sensei in Florida, we have some great instructors down here that are willing to share/beat up us. We have great relationships with others who are working on this stuff. All of these factors shaped my preference to explore IP/Aiki. None of that is a criticism against aikido here in Atlanta, predominantly USAF. It is simply an expression of mine/our dojo's preference to give this stuff a shot. I reserve the right to judge after a period of evaluation.

Jon Reading
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