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Old 07-28-2009, 05:46 AM   #67
DH
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,394
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Re: Aiki-Ken vs reality

Quote:
Chris Hein wrote: View Post
Yes. Martial artists study physical conflict, or fighting. But they are not necessarily fighters. In fact in the case of Aikido, the vast majority are not fighters.

Historians are not pirates or cowboys or knights, they simply study them.
Then fix it!
While it is true that the only way to learn how to fight is to fight-there are also too many out there re-inventing the wheel, and or repeating mistakes and arriving at false conclusions based on their own inadequacies. Further, that they are trying to introduce things into their art that do not belong-in a misguided attempt to fix what is broken- without ever really understanding just "what" was broken to begin with.

When does a modern fella "messing around" with a weapon he clearly knows little about using-in which his every move offers openings you could drive a truck through ever going to arrive at a conclusion on how to defend against someone who would leave little to no openings? How would a year of the training with the former stack up with one day of training with the later?
All the modern fella messing around will really do is feel good about his research until the day someone comes along who knows the weapon inside and out and hands him his head. The more things change-the more they stay the same.

Time is a precious thing. I would suggest finding people who really know what they are doing with a weapon in their hand and asking if you can try your stuff on them, ask to experiment. You might find that one day of work, with some seriously capable people might be worth 5 years of weekly training...in the wrong direction.
I will only say I know a whole bunch of Aikidoka who tried various versions of what is being discussed here, who went on to meet men who train with classical weapons and freestyle experiment with those principles who will say "Amen" to that.

False conclusions abound. Case in point the video with two judo guys using shinai to prove they could get inside a sword strike. Let’s introduce an electrical stun gun charge to the monouchi of the shinai and place it in the hands of someone really capable and see how well the Judo guy gets "inside" of that.
I have no words for someone being stupid enough to take the presence of a three foot razor blade so lightly that he can charge into one-so lets give him a "charge" back .
Then again watching the fella wielding it -I wouldn't take him seriously either. But all that does is point back to the thrust of my post; inadaquete players questioning the veracity of methods they know litte about and arriving at false conclusions and reinventing a wheel that won't hold up to scrutiny from capable men.

I applaud the idea of experimentation, I just question the parameters. I think many of us are capable of coming up with solutions- but few are really thinking it through and seriously doing the work. There are better solutions to this question than what is being presented here.
It starts with "the who" in who is wielding the weapon.
Then you can begin with some really challenging training and experimentation. Anything else is a waste of time.
Cheers
Dan

Last edited by DH : 07-28-2009 at 05:57 AM.
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