Quote:
Kevin Leavitt wrote:
Some times it is necessary to strike violence with greater violence, absolutely! It should be a means to do this. However, we also must realize the consequences and outcomes of our actions and realize the true nature of the power we do possess and the responsibility we have to use it appropriately. THAT is were the whole moral and ethical and Compassion part comes in.
Aikido and all Budo, IMO actually is a means for destruction and defeating. It is also a means of restoration. The mid-point of this is harmony. what is NOT harmony is ignoring the destroying and defeating side of the equation and focusing on the love and compassion side only. When you do that...you might have something good, but it ain't budo as Dan pointed out.
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Kevin:
You struck at the heart of the issue that seems to attract a certain type of person to Aikido (to the detriment of the integrity of the art- in my opinion). People would love to be able to allay their fears regarding real violence. It is easy to practice Aikido and pretend that you have been able to reconcile violence through greater love and harmony, without ever having to really do so. It is the easiest and most convenient delusion available to achieve while you pretend that you are actually doing Aikido. I do not believe that these people consciously ignore the destroying and defeating aspects as much as they are genuinely too afraid to directly confront this issue. When they can live very comfortably within their self-defined, safe worlds, they can continue to insist that they have indeed confronted this "evil" and "transcended" beyond it with their flowerly words. As long as they do not have to genuinely confront those "bad realities", they can continue to say that we do not get it yet, understand where they come from, etc.... As you said so eloquently, "
you might have something good, but it ain't budo.
Regards,
Marc Abrams