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Old 03-23-2013, 02:13 AM   #47
Aikibu
Dojo: West Wind Dojo Santa Monica California
Location: Malibu, California
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,295
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Re: Aikido Predator Mindset

Quote:
Mary Malmros wrote: View Post
I believe your reading is incorrect. I, at least, find nothing negative in the term "predator"; it's the common usage of the term that I find objectionable. People romanticize the predators of the animal world (frequently mis-identifying them - sharks, for example, are arguably much more scavengers than predators), and then apply the term "predator" to humans given to aggression whose methods and motives are entirely different. That's the problem.
Yup ...and lets be clear and call a spade a spade here. Most predators in Nature attack the weak, sick, injured and vulnerable. They use Ambush tactics and try to overwhelm their prey. For them it's not only about life and death...it's about their next meal. There is absolutely no nobility to it that I can see.

Martial Awareness and the spirit of Budo as expressed in Aikido and other Martial Arts is a higher ethical bar which only uses killing as an absolute last resort.

As related in the story above; It was this Martial Awareness that kept our friend out of trouble and his attackers who used the "predator mindset". Like all predators in nature when confronted with something other than easy prey they moved on, even though they had superior numbers, and appeared to have a size and strength advantage.

This is the great gift of any Budo/Martial practice. To be able see respond and neutralize any "attack" as soon as the predator makes their intentions known, without any escalation into conflict. I can't tell you how many times this gift has worked for me. It can be as simple as seeing an aggressive driver in your rear view mirror and letting them cut into the lane in front of you, or seeing the fear behind the anger in a man, connecting with him, and restoring harmony.

I can only hope that through your own practice you come to discover this gift for yourself.

William Hazen
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