View Single Post
Old 08-21-2002, 06:14 AM   #9
DaveO
Dojo: Great Wave Aikido
Location: Alberta, Canada
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 543
Canada
Offline
Quote:
Kevin Wilbanks wrote:
It may be admirable to hold to non-harming principles even at the possible or even likely expense of your own health or life, but I'm skeptical about people who make such proclamations... unless, of course, they have actually faced serious life or death self-defense situations. I hear similarly grandiose statements from hardcore vegetarians that they would never eat an animal, even to survive.

I think these kinds of postures come from an idealistic place born of either a lack of imagination, or a life relatively free of real hardship. Ask someone who has come close to starving about the ethics of killing and eating an animal. Ask someone who lives in a war zone about the morality of causing harm in self-defense. If you've never been in these dire situations, it seems absurd to be presumptive about what others or even you would do when faced with such harsh difficulties.

On a more nuts and bolts level, I think it is wrong to assume that Aikido is about non-violence. O Sensei is not Gandhi. The 'harmony' talked about in Aikido is not about some kind of utopian, lovey-dovey world where no one gets hurt. I think the dynamics of Aikido are much more along the lines of 'what goes around comes around'. If someone attacks with extreme force and speed, that force and speed is quite likely to come back to them in proportion, as their face hits the ground, or a wall. In many situations, I can see the attacker coming to more harm than if you merely ducked and punched them a couple of times... imagine doing Ikkyo Ura on someone in a room full of heavy furniture with sharp corners... If someone comes in with a knife, that knife might well end up stuck in their own abdomen.

Another whole aspect of realistic Aikido self-defense is atemi. Many of the techniques and especially the pins have little hope of working against a strong, tense attacker without a fairly serious blow to a vulnerable point of their body. If that person is intent on serious harm, such atemi doesn't seem out of line at all, but if you don't use it, it is unlikely that you will end up in any position to show any mercy, and instead might end up begging for it.

Harmonizing is about doing what's appropriate to the situation, not imposing some fantasy or ideal on it. I see an ideal Aikidoka as giving an attacker what they need and precisely what they ask for. The more dangerous and out of balance their action, the more severe the reaction. Seagal dramatizes this pretty well (movie-style) when he shows reversals of attacks with shotguns, cleavers, etc...
I agree - and would like to qualify my previous statement. While the concept and philosophy of Aikido may be interpreted as very peaceful, one must keep this strictly in mind: whatever technique is used and whatever the situation, fighting is fighting; it's you vs. the other guy (or guys). While it is entirely possible to resolve a fight without injury, this is not always possible or even preferable. Remember; as aikidoka, we don't start fights, so the only reason we're involved in a fight is if the opponent has dangerous intent to either yourself or the person(s) you are protecting. In other words, he means to cause bodily harm. There are times when simple avoidance is enough to end the situation (i.e. the guy has had too many beers), but there are also times when getting in there and planting his face in the dirt may be required (i.e., same guy, too many tequilas). It follows, therefore, that there are also times when the direct use of extreme force may be required (same guy again, with friends and a broken beer bottle - and don't sneer at the example; that's a potentially fatal situation.)

Your task, therefore, is to assess the situation in a precise manner, and to act accordingly.

As I said before, Aikido or no aikido, fighting is fighting. There is always an attacker and a defender. If you want to - as some believe Aikido teaches - subdue an attacker with the power of gentleness, you have to be a good fighter first, a good aikidoka second. You have to be able to keep your mind on an unemotional, rational (some would say 'cold'; that's fine with me) plane in the midst of an extremely unrational situation - believe me, it's hard to do - such a massive shot of adrenaline (actually, I think in this case it's noradrenaline - any doctors, confirm?)reduces 99 per cent of those inexperienced with it to an animal level of survival instantly.

Personally, I agree wholeheartedly with the ideal of nonviolence - of 'bringing your opponent back into harmony with Ki'; but I urge you to consider: Defend yourself FIRST; protect your opponent second.

Dave

Answers are only easy when they're incomplete.
  Reply With Quote