Thread: golden bridge?
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Old 10-31-2002, 12:25 PM   #6
johnkeya
Dojo: AAA/Tenshinkan Dojo, Chicago
Location: Chicago
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 13
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hi all. As I was about to reply to this post I noticed that over the last few days it has been the issue of morality and the moral code behind aikido that has really grabbed my attention (sorry if you feel like I am hounding you Jeff. It must be that you have been the most vocal and adamant in your views, which are pretty much diametrically opposed to mine. Obviously this is something that we both feel very strongly about ). Anyway, I personally think that any moral values taught in the dojo should be passed on to the students through the techniques themselves, not explicitly by lecturing etc. Just by reading the posts it is obvious that many of us have very very different moral values and very different views on what kind of morality is implied by aikido. If an instructor tried to explain the morality behind aikido in the terms Jeff uses in his post I would want to walk out of the dojo. I love discussing morality with my peers, but I don't believe that the dojo is a place for lectures on morality. I guess I see aikido as more of a tool that fits into my already established moral code. This code will surely grow and develop, and aikido will play a large role in this, but aikido is not, in my opinion, a philosophy in and of itself. If someone were to try to teach moral values in the dojo, I think it would end up being their own moral values that they would be teaching, not aikido.

Last edited by johnkeya : 10-31-2002 at 12:35 PM.

I do whatever the Rice Krispies
tell me to do....
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