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Old 05-01-2013, 07:59 PM   #84
Chris Li
 
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Dojo: Aikido Sangenkai
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Join Date: Dec 2000
Posts: 3,313
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Re: Can we see that aikido is all over the place in MMA?

Quote:
Matthew Story wrote: View Post
It's the same with our art. Doshu or anyone else can say that whatever organization isn't doing aikido, but any useful, functional definition of the word aikido is fulfilled by all the curricula we named above.
Defined by who?

You're saying that Moriteru's definition doesn't matter (I don't necessarily disagree) but that somehow there is a definition from....?

You're saying that Aikido ought to be defined technically, is that correct? I'm saying that Ueshiba never intended to define it that narrowly. If he made it (as you said at one point), ought not what he said be important in evaluating the criteria?

Quote:
Matthew Story wrote: View Post
According to your definition of aikido, the sentence "I did aikido this morning," could mean that you trained in a dojo, it could mean you boxed in a ring, it could mean you danced, it could mean you mowed your lawn, it could mean you made waffles, anything. And so your sentence communicates nothing. The sentence means exactly as much as the sentence, "I hargashmalled this morning." You have effectively stripped the word aikido of any meaning at all.
I don't have time to answer the whole thing (and I'm certainly not going to start arguing percentages), but I will say that the above is only true if your definition of "Aiki" covers all those things, mine doesn't.

But my hunch is that we'd define Aiki differently anyway...

Best,

Chris

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