Quote:
Joe Curran wrote:
Before you can be benevolent and spare people from pain /punishment/retribution you have to be in a position whereby you have the power to exercise your authority to inflict punishment in the first place.
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The idea expressed by the above quote is often accepted as axiomatic when any discussion comparing soft vs hard Aikido is undertaken. So the purpose of this thread is to question and examine the underlying assumption, namely that the ability to express benevolence must necessarily be predicated upon the ability to inflict pain and punishment, as it relates to Aikido.
Ron