ChrisHein

David,

It seems to me like there is a tone of exclusivity to having power, that's why I asked "do you mean the main idea behind Aikido training is to get more power?". I didn't ask is having power a part of Aikido, or do some people who like Aikido like power. So you believe that the main motivation behind training in Aikido, for the vast majority of people who train in Aikido, is to gain more power?

I could make that same argument, and say that the main reason people train in Aikido is so that they can better sit in seiza.

Aikido is one of the few martial arts, and perhaps the only widely available martial art that does a lot of work from the seiza position. Everyone denies that this is why they are really training in Aikido, but why else train in this art that is all about seiza, it's because they want to sit more properly in seiza. They can see how well Ueshiba sat in seiza, Ueshiba was always talking about how important suwari waza is, and he looked so good sitting there. People pretend that this isn't the reason they train in Aikido, but otherwise why would they train in Aikido, the most seiza filled martial art. If they would simply supplement their Aikido training with some tea ceremony, they could get what they really want. Which is the reason they train in Aikido in the first place. Because Aikido is all about seiza.

That argument hits most of the main points you hit in your power argument. So is seiza the main reason people train in Aikido?

If people really want power, why train in Aikido at all? People who train in MMA, firearms and survival have much more civilian power, in terms of physical ability than any Aikido person who is not training in those things. Doctors, Lawyers, and politicians have much more social power than any Aikidoka who isn't one of those things. Members of the military have more military power than any Aikido person who is not in the military. Aikido is really pretty low on the list of things to give one power, if power is what you are seeking. It's really a much better way to learn how to sit more properly in seiza.