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Old 10-08-2006, 11:58 PM   #15
CNYMike
Dojo: Aikido of Central New York
Location: Cortland, NY
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,005
United_States
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Re: Why do some people hate Aikido?

Quote:
Grant Wagar wrote:
Why do people hate Aikido?



I've wondered this since joining various Internet martial arts message forums. I think the biggest (only in fact) Aikido-related disappointment I've had is seeing how a considerable number of the MA community react to Aikido.
One thing to consider is how much do these arguments happen in real life? Yeah if an Aikidoist has a buddy who does Karate or TKD or some other system, they may "discuss" it and/or spar a bit. But people who don't think Aikido is to their liking will vote with their feet and not do it. Same as true for anything.

And just because someone doesn't do Aikido doesn't mean they "hate" it. My Kali instructor isn't interested in formally jumping into Aikido at this time -- he has a lot of irons in the fire with the other things he teaches -- but he doesn't think ill of it at all. When I told him I wanted to do it again, he thought it was great -- and even badgered me into taking it! I've quipped that if he'd been free the first class I went to, he would have dragged me there by my ankles. He's never contradicted that statement. He's laughed at it, but never denied he'd do it.

Now, I admit I like a good rubarb probably more than I should, so yeah, I have mixed it up in a few threads here, too. But I also think it is good to step back and realize you will probably have more such discussions online than in real life, where the martial arts world seems to have broadened into a marketplace of ideas where people can go for the things they want and avoid the things they don't.
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