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Old 12-30-2012, 11:25 AM   #38
AikiTao
Location: North Carolina
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 25
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Re: Atemi and Aikido

Quote:
Rupert Atkinson wrote: View Post
If you want to be able to do what those guys in the vids are doing then go and do that. I did Judo and Jujutsu for years and have no problem with that way of training at all but I have stuck with Aikido because it led me to something different - aiki. I do Aikido for aiki. So, when I see people doing that stuff and calling it Aikido I just laugh. To me, no one in their right mind does Aikido mainly for self-defence. It 'can' work - but for most people it does not and never will, no matter how much they tell themselves that it does. Why? Because they are just barking up the wrong tree (go do Jujutsu or something). It took me quite a few years to figure it out for myself. And as to what aiki is - well, that should be your first question. And the next should be how do I get more of it. And then, just get on with it.
I can think of a few people who would disagree with that.

How are those videos not Aikido? Because the strikes aren't traditional? Because it's 'live' and more resistance is introduced? Real violence very rarely ends like how you train it in the dojo so just because it doesn't look as fluid as we may train it, doesn't mean it's not real Aikido.

I don't know why people are so quick to say something isn't Aikido because they take a different route. To me, Aikido is a very open art and as long as it's practiced with all principles in mind and still keeps to the core foundations of Aikido, then I still believe it to be aikido. No doubt that there's some who have strayed far from the path of Aiki but I rather enjoy watching those who have geared their style more towards combat.

I enjoy those styles because they at least try something different and train effectively. I know of many Aikidoka who would get killed because of a huge misconception that they have of violence and how to react to it.

Quote:
Philip Zeplin-Frederiksen wrote: View Post
For the first part of my post, here you go (sadly, there are almost no free videos or demonstrations online, as it's not very widely practised).
http://www.masamune-store.com/sakura...DV_SAK_U03.cfm

In Gozo Shioda's book, Aikido Shugyo, Aikido is in many ways described considerably more harsh than we hear it these days, with a lot more resistance, more "alive training", and a lot more pain.
When he tells stories of various fights, atemi features in all of them. And not merely "distraction" atemi, but often using punches (as it is described anyway) to finish a fight.
For my opinion (and purely, my opinion), I would say the core principle of Aikido is more of how to use body mechanics, how to use your opponents force against them, and how to blend with their movements, rather than a set core of grabbling techniques. This, again, is bound a bit in what Gozo Shioda says, when he (not a direct quote) said that Aikido techniques were more there for teaching you the Aikido principles, not to be used exactly as they are taught..
I can appreciate that. I'll have to try and get one of his books. I think that outlook is much more practical for self-defense but so many Aikidoka think that's 'too aggressive', most which who have never been in a violent situation.
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