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Old 07-07-2006, 09:35 AM   #103
Mark Freeman
Dojo: Dartington
Location: Devon
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,220
United Kingdom
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Re: Brawling with a friend

Quote:
Don Magee wrote:
In a nutshell the I-Method is:

* Introduce: Demonstrate and explain the material being taught, let them drill it to get a basic understanding and put it static reps.
* Isolate: Work on the material in isolation, usually with drills or restricted sparring with progressively increasing resistance/difficulty.
* Integrate: Have the students incorporate the material into their whole game, usually in free rolling/sparring.

There are a few good articles on the web about this:
http://www.bullshido.net/forums/showthread.php?t=36273
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquiry_Method
http://www.bullshido.net/forums/showthread.php?t=36280
http://aliveness101.blogspot.com/200...-sbgi-way.html

A goggle search on the I-method (inquiry method or inquiry education) will show that it is successfully in math, science, and any other area that requires critical thinking and a deeper understanding than memorization. It works in kids and adults equally well.

To explore further, is what tohei did still aikido? Is what tomiki did still aikido? They broke from the general consensus of the aikiki they broke from the standard training methods. Is it no longer aikido? It's not the founders aikido.
Thanks Don,

I now know that I am already doing the 'I method' but with the addition of coaching the students on a one to one basis at all the stages, which seems to help the process along.

Of course what Tohei did is still aikido, he just formulated exercises to help people 'get' what he saw was a fundamental part/aspect of aikido that was 'lacking' in the teaching method of the art. The aikiki may not have liked what he did, but it didn't stop him from continuing on his path.

For aikido to flourish in the modern world it has to adapt to the modern world, if this means keeping up with developments in learning how to learn, then this is what should happen.

Anyone over a certain age, watching the current World Cup competition will see football/soccer being played differently to the way it was 40 years ago. The coaching/training methods are not the same, they have changed and evolved. No one is thinking that it should still be done the way it was 'back in the old days'.

Football and Cricket and Rugby came from the UK, but we can't claim these sports to be ours, they belong to everyone, and everyone regularly beats us at our own game, just to prove it!
The Japanese can lay claim to being the birthplace of aikido, but they do not own the rights to aikido, and if the global community takes it and translates it into their own language, and puts their own spin on it, 'great' I say. Old school Japanese teaching methods worked for them and their culture back then. There is no reason that this should be the way that we all do it today. And no reason for that to be seen as a watering down either, for as long as the principles of the art are being passed on, then the art will not only survive, but also flourish. I know there maybe some old die-hards that disagree, but along with the dinosaurs their time will eventually come.

regards,

Mark

Success is having what you want. Happiness is wanting what you have.
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