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Old 01-29-2013, 11:55 PM   #69
Chris Li
 
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Dojo: Aikido Sangenkai
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Join Date: Dec 2000
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Re: Int. Vs. Ext - resisting a push

Quote:
Jun Akiyama wrote: View Post
Also, can folks please explicitly include discussions of aikido in threads within the "Internal Training in Aikido" forum?

Thank you,

-- Jun
Jun, can you explain why discussing something that the Founder demonstrated over and over, that remains part of the core practice of some branches of Aikido, and was cited as involving "the secret of Aiki" (by Morihei himself) doesn't qualify as a discussion of Aikido?

For reference:

http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14991

This thread, on the other hand, seems to qualify as a genuine Aikido discussion:

http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22243

And then of course, Koichi Tohei:

Quote:
Ueshiba Sensei was an individual who showed what it means to exist in a relaxed state, to possess true ki, and to have a unified mind and body. His posture was as solid as a rock and you couldn’t budge him no matter how you pushed or pulled; yet he would toss me effortlessly without ever letting me feel that he was using any strength at all. I was astounded that such a person should actually exist in the world.

More than anything, what Ueshiba Sensei taught me was that a relaxed state is the most powerful. He himself was living proof of that.

I don’t think there is anyone these days who can truly demonstrate this the way he could. This truly wonderful quality that he took such great pains to develop— not stories about him pulling pine trees out of the ground and other nonsense —is what we should try to leave to future generations.
Note that he cites the push test as an exhibition of what he said was the most important thing that he learned from Morihei Ueshiba.

Best,

Chris

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