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Old 06-01-2011, 11:45 AM   #212
Alberto_Italiano
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 296
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Re: Do We Need To Invent A New Training? Yes/No/Maybe/How?

Quote:
Ron Ragusa wrote: View Post
Hi Alberto -

Interesting observation. What I find difficult to understand is why you and others are looking to shoehorn Aikido into a form that it clearly wasn't designed to fit. If fighting proficiency is your primary objective there are better arts and training systems available for achieving that goal.

Personally, I consider Ueshiba's "virus" to be more a "gift" to a world that is awash in violence and ways to inflict violence. One man started with a vision of using his art to make the world a more peaceful place to live. Today that vision endures and continues to slowly spread via the transmission of his art from generation to generation.
I can speak only for myself, of course.
Ueshiba's problem, needs not to be our problem. We are already grateful to him for his gift - which should not prevent us from considering also the human side of Ueshiba - with compassion, not with polemic intentions, yet also with the intention not to succumb to it only because his all too human problems and fears go in bundle with his gifts.
We can keep the gifts, and honour him for those, and correct the problem.

Nothing prevents anyone from pursuing an extremely peaceful aikido - But I deny that wanting to experience an aikido usable within extremely aggressive or violent settings would mean to be untrue to aikido or to be aggressive or violent.

The Gospels said (matthew 11:12) "and the violent bear it away" - by wanting an aikido that can deal with violence, we want a world where the violent doesn't take it away.
Rubricating those who want an aikido able to deal with extreme violence as violent themselves, means to have confused the attacker with the defender.

For, if one would have ever wanted to use violence, one would never go for aikido in the first place: because aikido has no attacking techniques.

So, if you want aikido, you want defense.
And if you want an aikido usable against extremely violent ukes, you want an aikido that can defend you under any type of fire - and not obnly against mild one.

I don't want my umbrella to protect me only against dew - i want it to be usable also under the thunderstorms.

I hope this makes sense
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