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Old 02-01-2011, 01:36 PM   #194
Mike Sigman
Location: Durango, CO
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 4,123
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Re: Aikido training - Why are you searching for internal strength?

Quote:
Jon Reading wrote: View Post
it is possible the "aiki" that exists in aikido is actually an add-on to internal strength training. This is pure speculation. Probably also heresy...
"Aiki" is a variant usage of the basic strengths that are the basis of "Yin Yang" (aka Heng-Ha which is A-Un, etc.) strength/body skills. Taking the power from the "Heaven" and the "Earth" using Man to combine the two is/was so important that it achieved religious or quasi-religious importance in ancient times. The "Ju" in "Jujitsu" came from this usage of internal strength. So yes, I don't think there's any question that Aikido represents an offshoot of internal-strength skills rather than the other way around. In fact, among Asians (particularly Chinese) that know their lore, I doubt there would be much discussion about the many Asian martial-arts being essentially offshoots of this kind of body power.

2 cents.

Mike Sigman
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