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Old 08-28-2013, 01:27 PM   #132
Mary Eastland
 
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Dojo: Berkshire Hills Aikido
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,476
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Re: Is it still Aikido if you take away the Japanese clothes, etiquette and other things?

I say, yes, it is still Aikido.

2 situations happened this week. I wasn't wearing a gi and or a hakama for either yet I like to think I was practicing Aikido during each one.

1. Drunky guy came up on my 2 grandsons, my daughter and I while we waiting for the balloon clown to make a red balloon dog for Tony at Summerfest. Drunky guy slurs..."Hi Mary. How are ya?.. and moves in for a hug. I extended my arm and said "NO Hugs."...with a smile. He bounced back before touching my extended hand..."NO Hugs?" he mumbled looking astonished. I said firmly, "No hugging." while still smiling...he said, " I will be in to pay soon". I said, "Okay, nice to see you." and he shambled away. My daughter said," Who was that?" I said, "Storage customer." and she said, "Wow, you handled that well.

2. Angry storage customer starts swearing and cursing at me because his unit is over-locked. I turned on my heel and started to walk away. He yelled "What I am going to @#$#@ do? I said that it was not okay to cuss at me or yell at me and that I would help him when he stopped. He cussed and yelled some more and I continued walking away. He came towards me. I stopped and turned to face him and said I would check his account and get back to him. He followed me. I told him he could not come in my office if he continue to cuss and yell. He chose to stay outside. I told him his balance. He handed me a credit card outside. I ran his card and handed it back to him. I then removed his lock and thanked him. When he cussed again and said, "Why are you thanking me?"...I walked away. His anger and problems didn't hurt me.

To me...both of these incidents were Aikido. No hakama, no etiquette...just Aikido.

Mary Eastland

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