Ernesto Lemke

Great points gentlemen.

What prompted me to ask this question is that I like my aikido practice and lineage but I can see both the benefit and risk of abandoning this path (momentarily?) in favour of focusing solely on IT. I asked Mark Murray something similar on another thread and he currently only does IT. Dan Harden ventured out of the TMA restrictions to focus solely on IT (or Aiki as I guess he calls it but I don't want this to turn into a "=IT=Aiki?" debate. Plus he's trying out aiki applications in martial contexts).

These are indeed exciting times with IT now being publicly and explicitly taught, but IT has such an allure for it's incredible outcome, the path of IT could become a path in itself. At least I can see that potentially happening. Having only secondary exposure to the Aunkai teachings, for instance, from what I gather, Aunkai doesn't teach one what to do with the accumulated IS/IP from IT. IOW it's not a martial art but an IP foundation building practice for training a martial body. (Please Rob or anyone, correct me if I'm wrong here.) What I'm trying to say is that IT as a sole focus of practice is fine as it is, but to me, and I guess to most, IT is a way towards a different end. Not a goal in itself.

One reason why IT has such an allure, I think, is that it promises to make ones aikido work for ‘real' (differentiation of IT from fighting abilities aside). But if IT requires a methodology in itself, how does one connect ones accumulated IS/IP with ones martial methodology? Provided that is ones goal of course.
To take Aunkai as an example again, there are a couple of youtube vids where I see both Ark and Rob applying IP in a martial training setting. Still, I'm stuck with how to functionally apply and then measure IP within aikido practice and especially aikido kata. I can see that my students don't seem able to bridge the gap from IT to aikido.

Long story short, maybe I'm merely impatient. I'm sure I am. I'll stick with it though.
Best,

Ernesto Lemke