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Old 10-08-2009, 11:55 AM   #24
sunrod
Dojo: Reading Zenshin Aikido Club
Location: Reading, Berkshire
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 8
United Kingdom
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Re: Has something changed in Aikido?

Quote:
Mary Malmros wrote: View Post
Weapons aren't some kind of training tool that were invented to help your aikido training; they predate aikido by centuries, and aikido comes from weapons work.
True enough weapons weren't invented for aikido training but the fact that aikido comes from weapons makes them an ideal training tool, no?

Quote:
Mary Malmros wrote: View Post
I think it's important for the aikido student to understand that they're dipping a toe into a great big ocean...and that even if all you're doing is dipping in a toe, you still need to treat the ocean with respect
I regularly use my fellow aikidoka as a training tool (& gladly offer myself up in the same way) but that doesn't mean we treat each other with disrespect.

Quote:
Mary Malmros wrote: View Post
Toward that end, I don't think you really ought to do aikido weapons practice with a constant mindset of "...and how can this help my empty hand practice?"
I've heard that Saito Sensei used to say 'when training with weapons think of taijutsu & when training taijutsu think of weapons'.

What I take from this is that it's the same, whether holding a bokken, a jo or a person. We train our bodies & our spirit in all these forms of practice.

Quote:
Mary Malmros wrote: View Post
That leads to a failure to understand and respect the weapon for what it is.
Ultimately, what it is is a piece of wood. It's only our perspective that makes it a weapon, a training tool...or a walking stick. (Sorry, being a little flippant to make a point ).

Thanks for making me think
J.
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