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Old 08-25-2007, 08:14 AM   #1587
Mike Sigman
Location: Durango, CO
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 4,123
United_States
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Re: Baseline skillset

Quote:
Erick Mead wrote: View Post
I am used to following my own perception of the traditional framework. It has been fruitful for me, so why would I abandon it? In part I see things differently in many areas owing to either my nature, experience or both. Other paths, and where people fall ahead or behind on any path do not really concern me, as long as we can at least try to help one another. No one's help should be refused with a demeaning opinion given about the value of the offer, even if it is refused for that reason. I try to live by that rule. It is simply rude, and therefore per se poor budo. Giving offense without cause or provocation is simply bad strategy, among its many other faults.
See, this is where my experience says that there is not really any "help" involved in the discussion. It's more of a cry for "face".... "gimme face, even if I don't quite know this stuff, because a lot of my life is invested in 'being somebody'". That's more the way I read it. Because "help" has already been given with discussion, facts, diagrams, and so forth. Help in relation to issues that are easily reconciled with traditional training in both Japan and China and the terminology and functional deeds that they do. That's help. A number of people with disparate experience recognize both the discussion and help and are able to communicate. You cannot.... but you want sort of an "equal" if not "superior" recognition and you revert to techno-speak. And there is no reason to cater your whim, as far as I can see.

From the beginning, this has been an interesting dialogue on AikiWeb. I'm fully aware that anything I say can and will be examined in the future for basic mistakes, so I'm very careful when I suggest something that it's not open to coming back and biting me in the butt in the future. It's very basic stuff. If it's gets the least bit more complicated, I'm careful to caveat "if's" and "maybe's". And none of it is stuff that can't be shown to be the same as traditional ki/kokyu stuff.... much of it is explained in darned close to the same explications found in more-focused literature from Japan and China. That's the functional "help" I've tried to provide. What deliberate help have I gotten in return from you, Erick? Or people like Justin or Ricky Wood or etc.?

What it all boils down to is that this is a difficult time for a lot of people in Aikido. I've been through the same things and had to go back to scratch about 3 times.... thank god I wasn't a "teacher" and didn't have any status/position I felt I had to safeguard; I probably would have had a far worse time.

Now, I'm not going to suggest anyone in particular, because everyone seems to have a different facet of the overall knowledge and a different approach to teaching it, but I'd suggest that rather than getting stuck in this "we're all equals in this knowledge and we must 'help each other'" stuff, you simply get out there and enlarge your data-base. The gods help those that help themselves.

Regards,

Mike Sigman
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