View Single Post
Old 05-08-2012, 12:38 PM   #20
mathewjgano
 
mathewjgano's Avatar
Dojo: Tsubaki Kannagara Jinja Aikidojo; Himeji Shodokan Dojo
Location: Renton
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 2,276
United_States
Offline
Re: Reality? Embarrassment for Aikido

Quote:
Jackie Adams wrote: View Post
Hello, and greeting

A must see video of Aikido vs Judo

Major Debatable Points:
1. The Aikido guy was over-weight, out of shape.
2. Lacked the understanding of a fundamental principle in Aikido, kazushi
3. Didn't understand Aikido at all. He had no knowledge of the situation he was in, constantly on the wrong type and side of being on the defense.
4. Fought the other guy's fight and feel in to trap after trap.
5. How can this situation be changed for the better, or improved for the Aikido guy. What should he have done realistically.

Again, I apologize. It is my intention not to degrade Aikido, but take this as an opportunity of education through discussion. Honest self-critic is growth. Thank you and looking forward to the constructive comments. Everyone have a great day.
I agree with the idea that this wasn't a serious attempt at sparring. Rather than feel ashamed at his performance, I like that he was trying some things out and working on his "game." Unless there is more information about the guys involved it's hard to pass judgement on his training...and the judo guy was pretty good sized and in good shape, which accounts for quite a bit. The Aikidoist never seemed to really try and seize control like the Judo guy did. So the questions I have are related to the idea that I didn't see any major attempts by the Aikido guy. Perhaps he was trying something very specific that was hard to see. I kept wishing there was no music so I could hear what they were saying.
Failure is a chance to work toward success. It looked very one-sided, but let's suppose this is a video of a shodan Aikidoka training with a sandan (for the sake of argument; not that rank is a valid marker for success, particularly in interdisciplinary randori). Even if he's a very highly ranked Aikidoka with a first year Judoka, as it was pointed out, this doesn't reflect on me or anyone else. I have a similar response when people talk about the decline of Aikido: "Is your training declining?"
There will always be people like me who make their chosen practices look bad in some way; de facto lessening the overall quality to some degree. What matters is how each of us engages our own training; not how others engage theirs. I have no problem with people thinking Aikido is a weak art full of [insert derogatory remarks here]. I'm confident there are folks who are dedicated to doing very serious work and creating very serious quality. Let's look to those examples when we try to define Aikido in the context of other arts.

Gambarimashyo!
  Reply With Quote