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Old 04-23-2009, 05:01 PM   #18
Kevin Leavitt
 
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Dojo: Team Combat USA
Location: Olympia, Washington
Join Date: Jul 2002
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Re: Integrating aikido with other martial arts.

Quote:
Lyle Laizure wrote: View Post
I think what everyone is missing is that it isn't the art that is good or bad. All martial arts have merit and are efective. All martial arts have changed over the years simply because combat is no longer what it used to be. Whether a martial art is effective or not comes down to the individual.
Sorry to be contrary, but I disagree. There are many folks out there that are doing alot of stuff that they simply have no clue about what they are doing. They are doing alot of stuff wrong. They apply the wrong training methods, and honestly believe they are teaching folks something of value when they have no real idea or qualification about what they are doing.

They could be actually teaching methods that even appear to be good on the surface, but they comprehensively have no conceptual idea about how to synthesize it properly.

It's like having a headache and giving someone an aspriin and it works one time and then declaring yourself an doctor or an expert in medicine. Sure giving an aspirin or even a massage to a person might alleviate an headache...sometimes, but that doesn't make you an comprehensive expert in solving headaches! it simply worked that time.

Unfortunately, I think we approach martial arts many times this way. We have folks that train in something that works sometimes, or appears to work and then they do it for a while, then hang out a shingle and call themselves "Sensei".

I am sorry, but "martial artist" , martial arts and "fighting" are big words that have a bunch of meaning and varioius folks have various criteria upon which to judge "effecitveness" or "endstates" off of. However, in reality, the criteria for measuring the effectiveness or endstates is defined in "emotional" and "conceptual" terms...and not in really quantitative terms.

What we have alot of are snake oil salesman calling themselves Sensei unfortunately.

hope this makes some sense...It is late, and I am jet lagged still!

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