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John Brockington wrote:
Please forgive me if I misunderstand the point, or points, but Kevin are you saying that in order to gain some understanding or enlightenment in conflict resolution (with others, self, the world) that one must confront one's deficits or allow them to be challenged and even better to actually engage in conflict as a process of examining one's self? Sort of a moment of epiphany in a garden by a persimmon tree, perhaps? And if this is so, then do the specific details of the conflict or challenge matter as much as the confrontation of self? If this is what we are trying to really achieve, it seems to me that the only possible judge of what needs to be addressed and whether or not it is adequately addressed is the individual in question, as long as they are brutally honest with themselves. On the other hand, I'm sure there are as many reasons for budo and martial training as there are individuals, and not everyone has this sort of goal in mind and not everyone wants to be brutally honest with themselves.
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John, I probably answered your question in my other two lengthy post so appologize if it is somewhat redundant.
I believe I am simply saying that from O'sensei's point of view, it appears he developed aikido as a methodology or practice using conflict as the basis of acheiving enlightment. I am not saying anything other than that.
I believe that he thought that we can understand the basis or root causes of conflict, and that we can develop a personal practice through aikido to abate conflict and acheive happiness/peace/or enlightment.
I don't think the specific details of the conflict are all that important. What is important and Key (KI) to aikido is that we are overwhelmed in our lives with conflict to the point of not being able to correctly or properly respond or cope with it. By developing a controlled conflict scenario in the dojo students can slowly and methodically develop coping skills under the tutelage and guidance of a qualified instructor.
I think that this gets lost and confused from time to time. Many of us, myself included, get caught up in the whole "reality" of the art, or the "does it work in real life" thing being important, when it really isn't or wasn't meant to be the focus.
Yes, I agree, it comes down to the individual being honest with themselves. However, I find that sometimes that is not enough, because the individual may be deluded, confused, or misinterpreting his/her reasons for doing certain things. The responsiblity of instructors of the art is to gently guide people on the path in the right way.
Although we shouldn't lie to them, or be politically correct and try and make aikido something that it is not. At some point and in some way we must be very clear about the intent of aikido.
no your right, there are many people that simply want to be deluded and not honest with themselves. Actually all of us really are that way, it is easy, fun, and ignorance can be bliss! Eventually though, those that tend to focus on the "warm and fuzzy" part of life tend to grow bored eventually with things like aikido, after all you can master the rote techniques in a few years!
I also think though that a dojo needs these types of individuals as a dojo should also be a reflection of life. It is as important to surround yourself with people that want to work hard and train serious as those that simply want to "just do it". How would we ever learn to cope with the many situations we will deal with in life if we don't have the challenges in the dojo?