Re: Why do some people hate Aikido?
Good job Grant,
I think you did an excellent summary of the dislike or "hate " that people have for Aikido. To me, the ignorance factor is the biggest one. That is called sometimes "unconscious incompetence". That means you don't know what you're talking about and you don't know that you don't know. Every human on earth makes private judgments immediately on things they know absolutely nothing about. The thing is that we are so limited in our knowledge but we judge things we have no right to judge. Aikido as an art has been so watered down (and that includes it's spirituality as well), that people are judging a version of a version rather than what it really is. I think it would be shocking for most people to learn that even some of the trusted sources that we judge Aikido by aren't good sources to judge by.
The bottom line is that we can have opinions but we shouldn't have such hard and fast ones, for or against, because as time goes by, we all come into new light and new information that sometimes can cancel out other things we thought we knew. O Sensei said," Do not concern yourself with the right and wrong of others. Do not be calculating or act unnaturally. Keep your mind set on the Art of Peace, and do not criticize other teachers or other traditions." and "Do not criticize other teachers or traditions. Aikido embraces all."
It's OK to evaluate things but to pass a hard and fast judgment is a mistake.
The last thing I would say as to why people hate Aikido is the very fact that Aikido is based on an opposite premise from that which attracts 99 percent of the people that are interested in martial arts. An art of peace and non confrontation, and art opposed to fighting, and art that subdues the ego, and art with no tournaments or competition - these premises aren't what drives people to martial arts. Really, honestly, most people are driven by the allure of becoming invincible, of having power over others and many out of fear and a desire for self protection not understanding there is no such thing. Nothing can give you that unless you are God Himself.
Whether Aikido is true or even possible, the fact remains that what it stands for is in opposition to what almost every person wants in a martial art. That's why they ignore it's teachings. I just finished reading the Spirit of Aikido for the umpteenth time. I came away with this thought. Kisshomaru Ueshiba is opposed to fighting and if you did get attacked,.Kisshomaru Ueshiba would also be opposed to to your wanting to win that fight!
If that summary is in fact true, ( please overlook the ultra simplification of the saying) then that statement would drive millions of inquirers away from Aikido. The techniques of Aikido were created and chosen to reflect an ethic and the training to forge the spirit. To believe that Aikido can be used for something else is a mistake. That's why people are trying to combine it's techniques with other arts in order to achieve their real goal rather than to understand that their idea runs counter to the reason, structure and purpose of the art. If Aikido can't do what they want it to do, maybe they don't know what it is. Of course, that takes us back to point one!
Last edited by Jorge Garcia : 10-08-2006 at 09:39 AM.
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