View Single Post
Old 12-06-2007, 09:16 PM   #61
ChrisMoses
Dojo: TNBBC (Icho Ryu Aiki Budo), Shinto Ryu IaiBattojutsu
Location: Seattle, WA
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 927
United_States
Offline
Re: Partial sucess with Aikido on "the street"

Quote:
Vincent Nikopol wrote: View Post
Older definitions? Aiki in Japanese means one thing: joining + energy, and is rendered in English quite well by the expression blending. Atemi is not aiki. .
Well unless you asked OSensei, and then he is quoted on several occasions that it is at least 90% of Aikido. By older definitions, I'm talking about how the term aiki was used in kenjutsu and other weapon based ryuha where aiki was a term that implied something a bit more specific from a strategic standpoint than "becoming one with the energy of the universe."

Quote:
Vincent Nikopol wrote: View Post
Force upon force is the antithesis of aiki, crashing into problems rather than successfully moving around them.
I never said or implied force on force.

Quote:
Vincent Nikopol wrote: View Post
Why in the world would you need to apply a kotegaeshi on someone who can not touch you?
So why have people attack you at all in an Aikido class? Why not sit around in a big circle singing songs and feeling one with the universe? That's not a rhetorical question by the way.

Quote:
Vincent Nikopol wrote: View Post
Those of us who think we are in the dojo so that we can apply nikkyo to hoodlums in the streets are missing quite a bit.
That also is not something that I said or implied. Even in my sword art, we realize that we don't go to the dojo to learn mad killin' skillz. We go there to polish ourselves and become better human beings. Rocks however are not polished in the air, they need water and other abrasive materials to bring out their luster. What happened to:

"Not a weakness anywhere-
brighten up the world
and make the Path of the Sword
manifest in the bodies and souls
of all people."

or

"Warriors!
Rally around and brandish the
Universal Sword.
Shine brightly and
reveal it to the world."

or

"The appearance of an "enemy" should be though of as an opportunity to test the sincerity of one's mental and physical training, to see if one is actually responding according to divine will. When facing the realm of life and death in the form of an enemy's sword, one must be firmly settled in mind and body, and not at all intimidated; without providing your opponent the slightest opening, control his mind in a flash and move where you will- straight, diagonally or in any other appropriate direction. Enter deeply, mentally as well as physically, transform your entire body into a true sword, and vanquish your foe." (emphasis mine, Budou, p. 30-31)

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