Quote:
|
Honest opinion: I learned more about Aikido this past weekend than I have in all of my 23 years of practice. Being given access to this training model is simply transcendental. There is no other way to say it, this is Takemusu Aikido. And, it DOES NOT negate that which I already know, it does not negate the legacy of Saito Sensei and my years in the Iwama tradition, in fact it illuminates all of it in such a way as to show us how we should be training. This is the power we've been seeking for years but could never achieve, no matter how hard we pushed ourselves in training or how much sciatic nerve crushing ukemi we took. IP is everything we got into Aikido for in the first place, it can be supremely soft and just stunningly devastating in the same moment. To put it another way, "This. F***ing. Rules!"
|
I think its tough to post about an experience that changes the way you view aikido. You're admitting your perspective changed, you're implying the new perspective is better than the old (which some people still hold). You're not yet adequately informed to truly explain what is going on, so your excited ramblings are incomplete at best and incoherent at worst. Then you have the criticism that basically either calls you a liar or a fool. Or both. I find myself commenting more about the courage behind the posts when I read them.
Did everyone watch you go through the stages of grief? Dan laughed at me because my face showed this realization. I am glad that you had a great experience. We're getting ready for the man to head South in January.
As a bit of thread drift that these conversations always tend to go... Aiki as a concept is teachable, reproduce-able, and demonstrable. Gleason Sensei is a great choice if you want to stay more aikido-ish. So is Ledyard sensei. I don't think anyone is making claims any more unreal than what we regularly accept in aikido. When was the last time we read a post when someone claimed to have self-defense experience, to which a user replied, "well, unless you have documented proof of you fighting (fill in the blank), then I believe not only that you are a liar, but you also are not doing aikido."
If you do not want to participate in this investigative process, then don't. Lee made a great comment that aiki methodology does not negate the validity of other training styles. I agree. Personally, there are several methods of teaching with which I do not agree. I do not post about them because I have no interest in whether they do or do not work - they are not going to help me find the aikido I want to perform.
We regularly practice IP in osae waza. It helps. Until you use IP to escape (thanks Hugh, I'm lookin' at you). We regularly use IP in aikido. It helps. It is a constant work in progress because we are so poor at creating a unified body that we have to practice. No rituals. No excommunications. No hunting down humans like they were animals as part of a sick sport... yet.