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Old 12-06-2012, 06:37 AM   #3
Peter Goldsbury
 
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Dojo: Hiroshima Kokusai Dojo
Location: Hiroshima, Japan
Join Date: Jul 2001
Posts: 2,308
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Re: aiki, aikido, tomato, tomahto

To Mary Eastland,

Hello,

I have kept out of all the public discussions, but I would like to respond to your post.

Quote:
Mary Eastland wrote: View Post
Ok, here are my real thoughts about the herd thing. It often comes sideways so I will just say it here and be done with it.

Ron and I teach Aikido. (I will speak for myself here)...The philosophy is very real to me, along with the waza and Ki development.
PAG. I also teach aikido and I believe that the things that are very real to you are also very real to me, though I would probably not express this in the same way.

Quote:
Mary Eastland wrote: View Post
Ron and I went to a seminar that George taught at Marc's to see what this aiki stuff was all about as George was presenting it. It was ok. We had fun. We like our way better. We invited both Marc and George to come and visit us. We were told they are both too busy. Fair enough.

Stan B. came to our dojo to a seminar not long ago.

He could see we are strong and our students are strong. Dora and Stan had an encounter and Dora was fine. Stan seemed fine.

Our ideas about Ki development are changing and growing. Reading here and other places stretches us and makes us think and do different things. All good.

We have invited Dan here several times. He lets the invites wither. I feel it is because it is an invite to explore together and not have him be the expert. Yet, I could be wrong.

I am not interested in going to his place and this is the real reason, so listen carefully. I am not interested in the culture that I see around the posts on AikiWeb from most of the people that train in IP that post on here.

In my dojo I know how what to expect. I see a lot of old guy network in the posts around IP. I am not interested in putting myself in a place where I am uncomfortable.
PAG. All this really goes over my head, or under my feet. I do not live in the US and I am pretty unlikely to train with any of the people you have mentioned. So I regard the discussions on AikiWeb as exercises in rhetoric, with all the problems that this entails.

Quote:
Mary Eastland wrote: View Post
When Bill Gleason's name comes I feel defensive because of some students that told us that they were not to train with us because we were not the real thing (Aikikai Aikido). Now Bill seems to be going outside Aikido to find Ki. You can do aiki in Aikido.You don't have to buy in to the Western philosophy of besting another.

Before you get defensive or sarcastic ...try reading this again. I am not saying anyone is doing anything wrong. I am just talking about what I see and feel.
PAG. I have never met Mr Gleason and cannot speak for him, but what I have read on Aikiweb suggests to me that he goes and trains with Mr Harden because of his previous training with Yamaguchi Seigo Shihan and that Mr Harden is helping him to explore and develop what he learned from Yamaguchi Shihan. I also studied with Yamaguchi Sensei and if I lived in the USA and was able to, I would almost certainly do the same. Now, I have to look hard at my present situation and balance what I would like to do with what I can actually do. I do encourage students however, to get out as much as they can and in Europe this includes training with Mr Akuzawa and Mr Harden if possible.

I understand your defensiveness in relation to the Aikikai, for I have first hand experience of this organization. However, like you I am relatively free in what I am able to do, but there is also an issue of commitment here. Nevertheless, I remember two memorable training sessions in Himeji, with participation from Aikikai (myself), Yoshinkan (Michael Stuempel) and Shodokan (Peter Rehse with Japanese colleagues from Shodokan Hombu). In Japan there are still dojos scattered around the country where what I would call old-style aikido is still practised. They never advertise and have to be searched for.

Quote:
Mary Eastland wrote: View Post
The philosophy of self-defense without hurting another, without humiliating someone...to truly take care of oneself at the expense of no one is really at core to me. It is what makes Aikido a practice of deep determination and commitment. One can find strong inner strength through this practice.

If you are interested come see us. We would love to train with you.
PAG. Yes, my sentiments, also.

Best wishes,

P A Goldsbury

P A Goldsbury
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Kokusai Dojo,
Hiroshima,
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