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Old 05-13-2003, 06:05 AM   #4
ian
 
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Dojo: University of Ulster, Coleriane
Location: Northern Ireland
Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,654
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I was also attacked by someone with a knife many years ago. The thing with aikido, is that you train your body to react instinctively. Luckily for me I survived it with only two very shallow cuts (more like scratches) - making a choice of what to do was impossible, it was just complete reaction. Maybe being held up with a knife is different since you have more time to think and are able to do different responses.

I think this illustrates what I have said in previous posts about the difference between reality and training. In reality your subconcious has to weigh up a complex situation very quickly and assess comparitive ability, risk (and possibly ethical viewpoint). In the dojo we just look at the attack.

Personally I don't think there is a right or wrong way to react in a hypothetical situation - real situations require on the spot judgement which can only be aided, but not specified, by forethought.

---understanding aikido is understanding the training method---
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