Quote:
Cliff Judge wrote:
I find I am with Matt on this...to satisfy me that a martial art is Aikido, I need to see people get onto the mat in gi and hakama, face a picture of the old man, clap twice, etc. And train predominantly on throws and joint locks etc. For the ultimate goal of turning conflict into harmony.
In Japanese, the term "aikido" can be used more loosely and descriptively based on context but in English we tend to think of words like aikido, kendo, judo, etc to be definitive terms that relate to a particular martial art.
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The bold bit is the crux of the current issue here isn't it; whether or not it's ok to use the word "aikido" descriptively to indicate similarity or whether it ought remain a discrete (and per my limited reading of this conversation, a more or less incomplete) definition? If it's ok to do so in Japanese, why not English? Simply because of localized conventions? What about when some of those Japanese conventions find themselves transplanted in an English-speaking area? Might there not be some acceptible cross-over?
After rereading the OP I think it's clear Dan's not saying that literally "the" complete practice of Aikido (whatever that might be) is everywhere in MMA. He's saying some essential aspects of Aikido are used by many high level MMA players and insofar as this is true, "Aikido" can be seen in MMA. It seems clear to me the OP is using Aikido as a descriptive term to relate similar aspects of different training systems and practices.