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Old 10-23-2012, 02:14 PM   #260
ChrisMoses
Dojo: TNBBC (Icho Ryu Aiki Budo), Shinto Ryu IaiBattojutsu
Location: Seattle, WA
Join Date: Jun 2006
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Re: VoE: AWASE - The Principle of AIKI

Quote:
Cliff Judge wrote: View Post
Dan, this is not a proposition that can be refuted or proven physically. It is more an issue of truth in advertising. So I go to push you, can't move you, then I find myself flung across the room, big deal. Doesn't make it Aikido. The fact that it is pretty cool, and you've attracted some higher-level Aikido people to train with you, and they say it has opened doors for them, revived their practice, doesn't make it Aikido. Doesn't mean it has anything to do with Ueshiba.
One of the really really really freeing aspects of not DOING Aikido anymore, is not needing to worry about whether or not what I'm doing is Aikido. I can just train and enjoy getting better. Someone can tell me, "you're not doing Aikido!" and I can say, "Yes! You're right! Gold stars and cupcakes all around! It's pretty cool though, wanna play?"

PERSONALLY (and this is NOT from Dan, so don't claim he's saying it on or off-line) I don't think there's actually that much of OSensei in Aikido™, but agree with Stan Pranin that it's largely the legacy of Tohei and Kisshomaru. But since I no longer DO Aikido regularly, I don't need to convince anyone else of that. Aikido uses the word AIKI differently than I do, so while it may sound like we're talking about the same thing, we're not.

Chris Moses
TNBBC, "Putting the ME in MEdiocre!"
Budo Tanren at Seattle School of Aikido
Shinto Ryu Iai-Battojutsu
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