Quote:
Salim Shaw wrote:
Part of the reason for the state of Aikido today is that good strong skilled attacks are never emphasized, so when we practice against it in the dojo it is unlike anything we would encounter in a violent situation. I am certainly not recommending violent attacks but I would recommend people learn well-controlled energetic attacks and that they venture into areas where they are not just in a completely controlled environment. You have to get out of that and we have what you call randori, I mean you have people coming and grabbing with two hands and are waiting to be thrown and it's not very realistic.
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Hey, Salim
Good point. BUT.......
really good point and I read lots of arrrguements and things on that. I boil that down to intensity of training. Which is a person thing. If you don't want to train at that intense level that is ok. If you do want to that is ok too.
" waiting to be thrown and it's not very realistic." Well yes and no. Yes, outside of Japan in the 21th century people don't attack you like they did in Japan in the day. But some grabs still apply, but they not be in highly aggressive situations where the intensity is going to accelerate. Not everyone is going to face a ring fight situation. Say, a drunk grabs you for some odd reason in a restaurant and grabs you with both hands and starts pulling on your clothes as your walking to the restroom thinking you slept with is wife, are you going to take him to the ground and brake his arm? Are you going to punch him, or throw him to the ground? No of course not. There are levels of conflicts and in conflicts there are levels of intensity. Not all self-defense situations are life and death and don't require that intensity.
Training intensely, waiting to be thrown, not being realistic has another purpose, and that is to demonstrate artistic skill,mastery and perfection of technique, or for teaching purposes.
So a two handed grabbed waiting to be thrown isn't realistic today on the street, but that doesn't make it invalid because it has demonstrative purposes, and because in the day it was a realistic thing. A person in Japan stands there and grabs you, you think what a strong grip I better go along. Very much like the way it was around the early 1900s with the early Coppers who didn't carry guns or billys and grabbed a criminal by the collar arresting him and walked him to the station. The criminal without a fight complied. I seen old film footage of this happening many times from that time.
The way you train and the intensity level chosen to train at is a personal thing, and for personal reason. It isn't fair to criticize people because they choose a level of intensity comfortable to them for their purposes. To each is own.
I not trying to say your wrong, I am saying take a wider view on it and see the different perspectives, it may not be all that it seems to be.