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Michael Varin wrote:
Interesting perspective; I will have to ponder it a bit more.
But at this point I think it's off the mark.
There are a number of things stated in that story that point to something that is a pre-contact, "mental" skill, one of relationship. And really nothing that indicated any concerns for structure, connections in the body, generating power, etc. The way in which he mentions the use of guns and artillery could lead one to believe that the use of the body itself is not even an element of this skill.
Obviously nothing in the story can be said to be a "how to," but more of a "what is."
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So you have a mental skill - how do you get there? Ueshiba came to it through the body and intent - he said as much in Takemusu Aiki, where it's both defined classically and linked to various mental dimensions.
Are there effects that can be used without the body? Sure, but I could say the same for weightlifting. That doesn't mean that the process that creates those effects doesn't work through the body.
Best,
Chris