Thread: sound familiar?
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Old 08-29-2003, 09:49 AM   #6
pointy
Dojo: aikido of park slope
Location: brooklyn, ny USA
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 62
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i think the dojo i practice at is extremely laid back in regard to this sort of thing. even still, i can recognize so many things in our methods that are similar to what is described in the article. things that students are very subtley pressured into doing that are described in the article. acting a certain way during practice, bowing, repetition of words or slogans, etc.

not to mention the hunger part (i usually avoid lunch cuz it'll make me wanna barf if i eat, then go roll around a padded room at 5:30 haha)

it's just was a little shocking when i read the article. i realized that we do the a lot of the same things. i think the classification of malignant or benevolent is beside the point in a way. if im looking at it objectively then that stuff doesnt come into play. there's just the similarities, and i do find them alarming.

then again, i honestly do feel that the training ive received from my teacher(s), done at least with a little bit of similarly to the methods described in the article, have benefitted me greatly. i am defintiely a different person than i was 4 years ago before starting aikdio, both physically and mentally. and yes i do think it's all for the better.

i guess it's good to have the ideas presented the way they are in the link. if for no other reason than to help myself or others realize that there is something of a subscribed method to all the bowing and "onegaishimasu's" we do every day in our training. the method can easily be warped into something that isnt very pretty. maybe it's a reality check?

peace

evan
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