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Old 02-21-2006, 02:47 PM   #53
Kristian Miller-Karlsen
Dojo: Shin Sen Dojo Sydney
Location: Sydney
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 33
Australia
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Re: Aikido and Target Focus Training

Edwin,

Thanks for your post.

As we know, Aikido techniques can be practiced, refined, practiced and then refined some more. The textbook ikkyo looks awesome. It is one of my favourite techniques (after shiho nage). That being said, to take someone's elbow past the pathological limit does not take years of practice, and it will not look the same as our beloved textbook ikkyo either. The idea of continual refinement lies in the arena of academia. It is unnecessary to perform 50,000 ikkyo to know how break an elbow. In fact it is very possible to perform 50,000 ikkyo and not know how to break an elbow at all.

Edwin, I think it would be a really valuable exercise for all of us if you were to go through that picture and point out all the technical ‘mistakes' from an Aikido perspective. Then, I could go through that picture and point out the one defining universal thing ‘correct' with it. This being that it will get an injury. Its not meant to look pretty, its meant to get results. Violence has nothing to do with looking good and everything to do with getting injury, in any way possible. There will be no panel of judges standing around when "IT" hits the fan to give you an appraisal of how well you did that ikkyo. No one will be there to give points for how good you looked. You, if fact any of us, will be happy just walk away alive. Most asocial monsters languishing in jail have never seen or even heard of ikkyo. Does that stop them from being effective? No. Most asocial monsters have less than 10min real time experience at killing. Does that stop them from being oh so good at it? No.

Ever hear the quote: "There is nothing new under the sun"? Violence is nothing new. The stone to the back of the head is nearly as old as the stones themselves, so to speak. Osensei does not have the patent on ikkyo. He did not invent ikkyo. Neither did the gentleman who taught him, and so on. Get my meaning?

Last point: Try and block a guy stabbing you with a shiv to the kidney. Now try and block another 60 or 70 attempts. As soon as he gets one in, he will certainly get another, then another. Someone will be lying in a pool of his own blood. I can guarantee it will be the guy who tried to block. See a target then destroy that target and then destroy another if need be. Then do any Aikido technique you want after that.

Thanks again.

Kristian.
Sydney.
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