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Old 12-12-2005, 05:12 PM   #7
bratzo_barrena
Dojo: Aikido Goshin Dojo
Location: Doral
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 97
United_States
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Re: Quoting O'Sensei

Mary,
agree 100%
translating from japanese to english, without context can be very unreliable, and people do it anyway to make their point valid. That's the reason of the thread.
As there's no way to ask O'sensei what he meant, so we just can interpret him, but the problem of that is that any conclusion would be "valid", but necessarlly correct. (I'm not saying mine are correct, I'm talking in general terms)
I think the only tangible we have are his Aikido techniques. And from studiying them it is logical to come to the conclusion that they were created for self-defense. That's why I can't understand that a lot of Aikidokas deny the self-defense aspect of aikido, and JUST advocate its phylosophical/spiritual aspects (I'm not refering to you especifically) based on O'sensei's sayings (as when he refered to LOVE, ARMONY, PEACE) and make of Aikido something more like a religion or cult than what it is, a martial art that goes beyond self-defense (but do not excludes it) with it's philosophical concepts, and I'm not taliking about personal reasons for studiying Aikido, I'm talking about people that consider that self-defense is not a fundamental part of Aikido in general.

Bratzo Barrena
Instructor Sikido Goshin Dojo
Doral FL
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