Quote:
Ellis Amdur wrote:
Everybody's got their reasons, and everybody's got their life. And I fully believe that Abe sensei is all that he's said to be, by Shaun and by another friend who has felt what he can do.
But I don't like art demeaned.
But I do not get participating in a television show that is, in it's nature, japing, loud, disrespectful, and stupid - and doing there techniques that lend themselves to further japing.
|
I can't agree more, however when I see this kind of techniques not in TV humor shows but in "official" events like the Watanabe S. clip mentioned before or this one of
Takeda Yoshinobu S., I can't figure what the reasons for high ranked Aikikai Hombu instructors to demonstrate these kind of err... pavlovian aikido skills in these kind of events.
Well, maybe developing pavlovian skills is what high level aikido is about, not about "power" or "connection" or "harmony" but old school "headology".
OTOH, about Abe Sensei. Someone pointed O Sensei as a possible source of Abe Sensei skills, however I think the influence of Kawatsura Bonji via Kenzo Futaki's Misogi no Renseikai has some relevance here.
PS.
This discussion about "no touch throws" reminded me the following story told by Adam Alexander in his Iwama Monogatari:
We had someone from Tokyo come one Saturday to train with us over the weekend. This guy was very big, and I think he was a professional wrestler. Saito-sensei was off traveling somewhere and Hirosawa-sensei taught the Saturday night class.
I was in Tokyo on business and missed the class, but I came back later and heard about what happened. It seems that the visitor acted inappropriately toward Hirosawa-sensei during the class, and then went off to go to sleep.
The word about this spread surprisingly fast. Inagaki-sensei came by and was very angry. He showed his disapproval by smashing a steel bucket into a small ball with his fists. He also appointed himself to teach the Sunday morning class.
For the only time during the ten years I was in Iwama, the dojo was packed with spectators for the Sunday morning class. There were mothers with their little children, my wife was there, everyone wanted to see what would happen when Inagaki-sensei got the visitor on the mat.
The visitor woke up, looked at the spectacle in the dojo, apparently got the message, and quietly took off for the train station. We were all disappointed that the show we anticipated did not take place.
That was probably the smartest thing the visitor ever did.
Moral of the story: Context is everything.
Regards.