Thread: Aikido and Budo
View Single Post
Old 07-24-2012, 07:35 AM   #4
tlk52
Dojo: Aikido of Park Slope/NY Aikikai
Location: NYC
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 112
United_States
Offline
Re: Aikido and Budo

I'm someone who is interested in Budo, likes hard martial practice, is interested in DH and MS and the other people here talking about IP/IS........ BUT, it does seem to me that many of the people focusing on budo/martial effectiveness/IP/IS are not comfortable (or uninterested) dealing with the underlying questions of "what is the purpose of Aikido"? what brings the most societal benefits?

the previous poster says "Watering down Aikido into something soft certainly makes it appeal to many more people than real training, which attracts only a small number of unique and dedicated individuals.",
-but is that a wholly a bad thing? is acquiring power a worthy goal? does it help make the world a better place? etc...

ie: the issue seems to me to be the question of who is aikido for? what is it's purpose in the world? is it for the general public? or do serious martial artists have some kind of priority? who does Aikido belong to? who does your dojo belong to? (Yamada sensei has said that some people come to the dojo to learn to fight, some for exercise, some from an interest in the Japanese culture and the philosophy, or to get out of the house and make new friends, or to lose weight etc.... and that the dojo belongs equally to all of the members)

ie if Aikido is to be inclusive of middle age 1X a week beginners/people with physical disabilities/people who's primary interest is the philosophy/health etc... (and this is the vast majority of practitioners...like tai chi also) then they have the same rights as the "serious" people. and what do you do?

what's the alternative? ...cut them out and we can reduce the # of people practicing by a huge percentage. is that desirable?

maybe it will evolve like Tai Chi, where a majority practice a not so martial form for health and centering benefits etc... but where a minority keep the martial side growing

PS I like the ideas about rank (which Yamada Sensei has been saying for a long time)

Last edited by tlk52 : 07-24-2012 at 07:48 AM.
  Reply With Quote