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Old 04-04-2013, 03:29 AM   #61
Ecosamurai
 
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Dojo: Takagashira Dojo
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 570
United Kingdom
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Re: The Empty Body

Quote:
Mert Gambito wrote: View Post
So, a subset of a set does not equal the set; but yes, the subset can be profound in its own right, and apparently was/is in Tohei's case. Dan recently reiterated at a workshop in Hawaii, "Do not take Tohei lightly. The man was powerful."
The idea that Tohei's approach was a subset of the set strikes me as a rather self-serving position and one that would, to my mind, only be said by someone whose vested interest is in portraying it as less than what they do. I prefer to think of them as both having something to offer. In Tohei Sensei's own words "The mountain does not laugh at the river because it is lowly, the river does not laugh at the mountain because it cannot move about". The sentiment he expresses in that quote is one he directly attributed to the founder as being a part of the nature of aikido that it doesn't seek to criticise other arts. I do not believe anything Mike or Dan has to offer is something other than worthwhile and a good addition to most people's training. Nor am I deluded as to think I do everything they do, I do not. But having met and practised with a number of people who have practised with one or both of them, I'm very sure that what I do is broadly similar and totally compatible. Probably missing a few things but I'm in it for the journey more than the destination, so that's fine by me.

It seems I've returned to the same old aikiweb, and I thought for a minute there I'd missed it.

"Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men."
-Martin Luther King Jr
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