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Old 01-11-2013, 11:36 AM   #59
jonreading
 
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Dojo: Aikido South
Location: Johnson City, TN
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Re: Morihei Ueshiba's Use of the Term "Aiki"

A couple of things have come up that I think I can address...

Quote:
Who is convincing you that a cultural filter is needed all the time, and who is capable of providing it?
The opposite, actually. Many of the interpreted translations I have read I now feel flavored the original meanings. When I read Chris' translations, I am like, "wow, that makes way more sense." However, I am not literate in Japanese, nor am I familiar with the Eastern culture. I understand these things influence language and I still need assistance within those contexts. We have so many more bi-lingual capable martial artists who can revise what we know...

Quote:
For anyone to say what Ueshiba actually meant requires a lot of assumption (presumption).
I think it requires the presumption of elite persons capable of deciphering what was going on to undertake the challenge of figuring out what was going on. I think we need to start somewhere and if educated guesses are the beginning, then let's get going. There are guys out there whose guesses I would rather accept than most of the facts in aikido books.

I think several people have commented, but aiki is a fairly straight-forward definition in many other martial arts. For some reason, "aikido" is the art that has the biggest problem with aiki. That should be because the study is expansive, but I am not so sure that is the actual reason.

Jon Reading
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