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Old 02-01-2009, 08:48 PM   #19
Kristina Morris
Dojo: Kannagara Jinja
Location: Granite Falls, WA.
Join Date: Jun 2000
Posts: 29
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Re: Who Sez O'Sensei Was Wise!

HI All,
Interesting thread. May I suggest a different way of approaching O'Sensei's teachings and 'wisdom'? When I first started training in Aikido I didn't understand anything - not Ki, kotodama, O'Sensei's teachings - nada, zip.
So I decided to approach the 'words of wisdom' of O'Sensei from a cultural anthropology point-of-view. I figured if I understood more about O'Sensei's spiritual beliefs, it would help me grasp Aikido and how O'Sensei arrived at his form of martial art. It would help me understand O'Sensei, the man. I was under the impression that O'Sensei's Aikido developed from his spirtitual beliefs.

So I studied Shinto for neigh on 10 years, made trips to Japan, performed misogi every week for three years and practiced kotodama.
It helped me appreciate my training more because I had another viewpoint to draw from.

So if someone is questioning the wisdom of O'Sensei, I'd tell them that O'Sensei's wisdom is what he believed and arrived at after a lifetime of experiences, and that he was just passing on what he thought important in his life. And maybe, some of what he passed on could help others in their training. If you take your training off the mat and practice conflict resolution or a non-violent approach in your personal life, then you are pretty much practicing O'Sensei's beliefs.

He is the Founder of Aikido. If you just want to study the physical martial arts, that works for most students. If you want to study more about the man, then study his spiritual beliefs. Mind you, I said 'study'. I didn't say 'convert'.

Kristina
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