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Old 01-25-2011, 08:50 AM   #79
Budd
 
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Dojo: Taikyoku Budo & Kiko - NY, PA, MD
Location: Greater Philadelphia Area
Join Date: Aug 2003
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Re: Aikido training - Why are you searching for internal strength?

Quote:
Dan Harden wrote: View Post
I'm not trying to sell it...you really can't, they have to do the work. It is after all just more hard work!!. But, it sells itself because many martial artists see the practical and pragmatic use in whatever their work is.
I think this is pretty key. It's the people searching and chasing and obsessing in "this stuff" that are going to get somewhere with it. Dan, or others, you may have different experiences - but I see it as such a deep subject requiring vast mental and physical commitment that the casual customer may not really be suited to this study?

Asking others at this point - especially those trying to teach this in their schools. Is it an additional series of exercises as an add on? Has it foundationally changed how you're looking at aikido?

I actually liked very much George Ledyard's post about how he would do things - spending the time to do the foundational work before worrying about waza - is anyone else trying this? I think that's going to be something of the breaking point for mainstream aikido to get to a place where "this stuff" is truly integrated - because I can also see it being a commercial axe. If dojo membership is already declining, or you aren't relying on income generated from the joint - you may have more wiggle room.

Some close peeps that are also into this stuff and I have a similar mindset in how we'd do it - in that there would be the general "this is fun we grab each other and fall down" activity to keep the lights on in a school. Then the "by invite only" goup that does the "work" part to really build the necessary foundational stuffs - moves onto hard sparring (and light sparring to re-work fundamental applications), crosstrains other arts, etc.

Anyhoo, please continue.
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