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Old 11-30-2009, 01:10 PM   #9
Kevin Leavitt
 
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Dojo: Team Combat USA
Location: Olympia, Washington
Join Date: Jul 2002
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Re: Ogawa Tada - aiki techniques& training methods of Kodo Horikawa

I think you can freely offer your opinion on anything without worrying about legal slander/libel.

I can say for example, "In my opinion, that technique sucks and it will not work."

I cannot say, "John Doe totally sucks and I think he hangs out with goats at night, if you know what I mean."

That is, unless you actually had proof that John Doe hung out with goats and it was a declarative statement and not intended simply to be slanderous or speak of his character.

FWIW, I personally pretty much refrain from offering opinion or examples of other peoples videos that I do not know as I have found it will come back to bite you usually.

That is, unless I have the persons permission, and/or I feel I can offer a constructive statement about it.

For example: "In video 1, you will see the nage reach for tori, IMO, I don't think that will work in reality for the following reason...."

What I don't think is in good form is: "In video 1, Uke totally is jacked up, he doesn't know what he is doing at all, and THIS is not aikido and that guy should not be teaching."

Again, though, I will not typically even go there at all as there is just too much to come back on you at some point.

About the only ones I might do are the ones where someone post their own video and is looking for feedback. Even then my comments have to be more than "Well, I think you suck".

Usually though, I don't respond cause I don't feel I understand enough about what is going on in the video, or I don't feel I can competently give a constructive answer.

In alot of cases I simply think it is so bad I can't find anything nice or constructive to say, so having nothing positive to say, I find it best to leave it alone and move on.

Had too many hurt feelings over the years to go there.

However, if I post my own video, I fully expect and hope to get honest replies back...even bad ones...when I put it out there publically, I fully expect to take the heat...I think it comes with the territory.

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