Quote:
Peter Rehse (PeterR) wrote:
...And really, although Ignacio's response was a bit reactionary, who is going to judge?
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I've got to make that judgement. You've got to make that judgement. This is a subjective thing that may be a process that some may have to go through. Not because it will give some objective standard that can be used, but because it could help redefine a personal definition of Aikido.
One of the things I use forums like this for, is to organize and express my own thoughts. This is a controversial topic and responses like Ignacio's are to be expected. Not everyone can or needs to go through a process of subjective redefinition.
I'm not looking for an objective truth like Ottoniel and Brian mentioned. I'm only feeling out the limits of a personal reality.
Quote:
Peter Rehse (PeterR) wrote:
...In Japan most Aikikai groups use the term Kaiso (founder) which makes more sense and makes Ted's point irrelevent as it does not imply superior anything.
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There are so many titles, I have a hard time keeping track of them. May be you can explain this - (For those of you who are unfamiliar with this term, most students here refer to Tohei-sensei as "Soshu") What is a [color="red"]Soshu[/color]? Nothing bad I hope.
It is one thing for a person to be held in high regard and given a title like O Sensei. It is quite another thing to use that title to give an attitude that the founder is a divine being. Once you put someone in a divine or demi-god position, you lose that person's humanity and make their life and teachings harder to relate to.
two observations
- Irimin Nage (figure 8 throw) This flowing koku-nage was developed from a bone breaking/neck snapping Aiki-jitsu technique. It's also known as the "twenty year throw" because it took that long for the founder to develop it. What kind of persistence does that take?
- At Iwama the founder and another instructor were quietly walking down a dirt road. Suddenly the founder turned and said, "You know, I finally understand what this Aikido thing is all about." This was someone who had to learn everything from less than zero. How much work was that?