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Old 03-03-2008, 09:41 AM   #151
Mike Sigman
Location: Durango, CO
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 4,123
United_States
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Re: why focus on internal power

Quote:
George S. Ledyard wrote: View Post
Anyway, it is helpful that you guys are interested in giving Aikido folks your input. I think that between the input from outside folks that Aikido is getting and the innovative ways that Aikido folks are incorporating that information into the art, everyone's Aikido will be better than it is currently. And maybe then it won't take 25 years for someone to start having a clue.
Hi George:

I don't think there's anything special about any of us feeding information from the outside. Think of it more of a few hounds in the pack spotting the fox a little before the rest of the pack does and baying, trying to get the attention of the rest of the pack.

But I think you'll find that only a few people are going to respond and see the importance of these things. Already there's a lot of people trying to convince themselves and others that they already do and teach this stuff, and so on. It's to be expected.

The big difference with Aikido is that it has a number of representative Japanese teachers who are somewhat aware of these skills (I mean as in "in various degrees") and to whom the topic is not really alien. That's a better situation than in, say, some style of karate or other art where the main "name" practitioners are all westerners who think they know everything. Those guys are self-defeating and it's probably impossible with them.

What it boils down to is that enough people are beginning to see the basics of these things and how they tie in with all the old comments about "ki"... and suddenly they see that there's something substantive there. So some people are already beginning to work on it. Some are still in denial or are trying to bluff that they already have all that. Some people aren't sure what to do, so they do nothing... and the years are creeping by so many of them will end up with nothing. But each person makes his own choice. The information has gotten out there and that's about all anyone can ask for. It's a far better situation than 3 or 4 years ago. And as more of the skills are discovered and worked on, it's going to get better for the few who actively go that route.

Best.

Mike Sigman