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Old 03-31-2007, 01:23 PM   #58
Ecosamurai
 
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Dojo: Takagashira Dojo
Join Date: Jun 2002
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Re: Internal Power in your Aikido

Quote:
George S. Ledyard wrote: View Post
We need to get past the "doubting Thomas" stuff and get to the who's got these skills, can they teach them, and how do I get access? stage of the discussion.
I don't doubt. But I have to disagree with you in some respects. My opinion has always been that this stuff is present in a lot more aikido than many naysayers give credit. Including yourself.

Ki Society has them they are aikido. Ki Society Internationale (split off from Ki Soc in Europe), Ki federation of Great Britain led by Ken Williams, the longest serving aikido teacher in the UK. Aikido Yuishinkai under Koretoshi Maruyama Sensei (was the heir apparent to Tohei Sensei until he resigned in the early 90s). In addition to these there are a number of other independent ki soc derived organisations based in the US I forget the names of.

There are also people in the aikikai who were formerly students of Koichi Tohei (he was the chief instructor after all). Not to mention Yoshinkan. In the book Angry White Pyjamas IIRC Twigger descibes a senior Yoshinkan instructor who had 'mastered the secrets of aiki' and could be held by two ukes who were unable to lift him from the ground. This description was of what I would think of as a low-ish level weight underside ki test, i know it's lowish level because I can do it and I'm not a great master by a long stretch.

Also, there are people who post around here like Dan Harden and Mike Sigman who know what they're talking about, I'm sure there are many others on the fringes of aikido as well as within the art itself.

My previous question for Dan (in the previous post) was important because it relates to the various levels of 'ki tests' that exist in Koichi Tohei derived teaching. I asked him those questions because they will explain what it is he does (and others have witnessed him doing so I quite happily believe them and him), I'm guessing from his descriptions and those of others that it sounds like he's doing stuff at the equivalent level of shoden or maybe chuden in ki development (maybe higher it's not possible to say without meeting him), but that he applies it in different ways than are typically done in ki society circles (i.e. aikido waza, whereas Dan probably does Vale Tudo type stuff), and is probably in a lot better physical shape than many aikidoka (physical fitness and strength makes a difference, but not like you're likely to think it would IMHO).

Think I might have made it onto Dan's ignore list though

Regards

Mike

"Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men."
-Martin Luther King Jr
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