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Old 07-02-2013, 01:34 PM   #28
Aikibu
Dojo: West Wind Dojo Santa Monica California
Location: Malibu, California
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,295
United_States
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Re: Aikido's Attacks -- Reality and Effectiveness

Well without all the detail Aikido (at least with our Aikido as expressed by Shoji Nishio and a few others) must be effective against other Martial Arts/Artists/Fighters in order to be considered a Martial Art.

My teachers have always taken this approach and so have I, but it is still just a tool... like for example... a pistol.

Folks mostly buy pistols for protection but very few know how to handle a pistol under duress and still hit what they are aiming at. Some take pistol shooting a bit more seriously.

You can find a school that will teach you basic gun safety and how to shoot and thats how far you'll take it. And a some will venture further. Perhaps join a Combat Pistol Team, Go to Matches and Compete, Learn how to fire under duress and practice advanced techniques for hours on their own dime/time.

The more advanced the shooter the easier to control the escalation of conflict within yourself and remain in control.

Martial Arts including Aikido are no different. And with any of those skills Professor Murphy will still have a say in any potential "real world" outcome no matter how highly skilled you've become..

I find folks who trip over this Art/Technique or that one are only halfway down the road to understanding "why" they do "what" they do. They are easy to spot on the Mat.

The folks who have trudged a fair piece further down the road just show it, and you can feel in any encounter with them.

My key to understanding this path is allow folks to approach Aikido and obtain any level they wish...without judgement.

I only give a frack about my practice which due to time constraints and life events... sucks right now quite frankly. But that will pass and the rare few times I get to work with folks My intentions must be serious and my Ukemi and techniques done with full focus.

The most important thing Shoji Nishio tried to impart on his students with Aikido is that must be practiced sincerely with an "austere heart" in order for it to be considered Budo. Otherwise you might just as well do something else if you're trying to walk the path of "Martial Awareness."

Practice Hard.

William Hazen

Last edited by Aikibu : 07-02-2013 at 01:39 PM.
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