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Old 09-03-2011, 08:59 AM   #5
robin_jet_alt
Join Date: Jun 2011
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Australia
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Re: Aikido injuires, by Stan Pranin

Quote:
Eric DesMarais wrote: View Post
I think this is an interesting discussion. My first experience was in a dojo that would be considered a "hard" style. Effectiveness and the "martial" part of the art were stressed. There was not a lot of big flowy movements, and there was a quite a bit of discomfort/pain in the techniques. However, we were taught to apply techniques slowly and with control, allowing time for uke to tap out when they had reached their limit. It was almost as if the techniques were applied as partnered stretches. For most people, there were very few injuries once they got through the initial few months of conditioning.

Another dojo I had some experience with stressed the personal health/wellness approach, really soft pins, take care of uke, cause no pain, etc. They had injuries almost every week. I still haven't figured out why that was. One theory I have, though, is that there was a lot of focus on teaching uke how to behave as opposed to teaching nages the fundamentals of how to do a technique with precision and control. I also think the "we practice safe, healthful, soft aikido" attitude can give folks a false confidence in their ability to safely apply a technique that is in actuality quite dangerous.

As a metaphor, even though knife juggling isn't about killing people, you would still need to focus on the fact that knives are dangerous.
I have had exactly the same experience. I once trained at quite a 'hard' dojo and a friend trained at a dojo that placed a greater emphasis on personal wellbeing. Over a 4 year period, there were no serious injuries at my dojo, but there were several at the other dojo, including a hand with multiple spiral fractures and a dislocated collarbone.

I agree with your assessment of why that might be, but I would like to add one other element. At my dojo at least, my sensei would take me through a techniques slowly and teach me how to respond as uke when they were done hard. He would slowly ramp up the intensity so that I was always prepared to respond appropriately. Without that training as uke, if something goes wrong with a technique you are in a lot of trouble. With that training, you are more likely to be able to look after yourself.

Clearly this kind of 'hard' training is not what Stanley was referring to when he talked about crunchers.
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