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Re: What is power?
I am not sure how to read this, so I will just throw out a few comments that came to mind...
I am not sure how the alphabet soup of every positive trait was ascribed to aikido. Nor am I aware of some omnipotence who assigned a value to these traits by which to qualify one over the other. Finally, I am pretty certain those of us who train aikido are not inherently imbued with those desirable traits, anyhow. Myopathy, indeed.
To the question of the thread, What is power?... I am reminded of a kids say the darnedest things that goes something like this:
Q: What is a pacifist?
A: That's what you call yourself when someone takes your things.
Humorous and innocent, yet surprisingly astute. Without the power to stop someone from taking your things, how can you make a choice to let them? Power, in any form we choose to motivate our bodies, is a fundamental precondition of most [any] physical pursuit. Ignoring its importance is poor training at best.
So why is internal power training in a competitive marketplace with philosophy? Spirituality? How are the two not inclusive of each other, if not [actually] supportive? Why is your [external] power not in conflict with your spirituality?
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