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Old 12-03-2011, 08:47 AM   #40
graham christian
Dojo: golden center aikido-highgate
Location: london
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 2,697
England
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Re: The Founder's Teaching Ability

Quote:
Carl Thompson wrote: View Post
Hello Graham

Thanks for these points:

and

"...it's the way he learned" caught my attention in particular. I'd add that courses usually have assessments in which those who didn't get the goods from the lecturers tend to be weeded out. The experience in academia can vary greatly depending on the subject regarding how hands-on the "senior instructors" need to get to ensure their knowledge is passed on.

It doesn't appear that anyone will argue against the traditional model of "stealing". I mentioned the kuden (oral transmissions) as evidence that Osensei did explain technique sometimes but it seems for the most part that students had to pinch it. I pointed out what I thought the positives were earlier (regulation and active learning) but what if he habitually overdid it? Furthermore, if he overdid it and produced a generation of instructors underneath him whom he observed teaching and they clearly didn't have the goods, what was he thinking?

This affects everyone in the art, not to mention Daito Ryu if this is the same kind of pedagogy Osensei learned from Takeda.

Carl
Hi Carl.
Shuhari. I don't believe many really understand this. Stealing the technique does not mean stealing as in a car or whatever.

So many I hear talking about stealing techniques as if it means something untoward and also with that they look upon it as keeping secrets, withholding things, keeping things away from, etc. The people who look at it this way to my mind are too paranoid basically. In fact the true meaning of stealing techniques was considered an intellectual ability.

It doesn't mean stealing as they are used to using the word. Secondly they are thrown by the word 'technique'.

Once again I find people outside of Aikido understand what it means better than those in it.

So I don't believe O'Sensei overdid or 'underdid' anything for it is not many who have the ability to study properly in the way he did. Not many, be they Japanese or western. He merely expected others to study as he did.

When you say the traditional model of 'stealing' and students had to pinch it I feel there may still be a misunderstanding of what 'stealing' really means.

What do you think it means? As it doesn't mean pinching anything.

Regards.G.
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