Taking yourself too seriously?

Mary i am not judging others, i am making an observation, however it seems to me that you are choosing my post to judge me. So check your footing before you fall.

Maarten De Queecker wrote: I don't see how the latter is an issue. As long as people are having fun, let them train. The social aspect of aikido is one of the main reasons I keep training. I

By the comment that I made, I am not at all implying that Aikido should not be "fun". On the contrary, without 'fun and friendships, there would be very few of us left to train with. However, I do not believe that just because one wants their training to be "fun" does not mean that their practice has to be ineffective.

Why cannot one have "fun" training that retains the focus of being effective? To do otherwise does not seem to reflect a martial art--perhaps Yoga or pottery class--but not a martial art either to the public or to other martial artists. To not make effectivess an aspect of one's training not only hurts the practitioner, the image of the art, but also one's training partners in my opinion.

Brian Northrup wrote: Mary i am not judging others, i am making an observation.

Please feel free to substitute "making statements in which you comment unfavorably about what other people think and feel" for "judging", then -- or whatever you prefer. My comments stand: if all you're doing is guessing about other people's beliefs and motivations, I think this is counterproductive. The person that you judge (or use whatever word you want) as "taking him/herself too seriously" may simply have a different way of going about things than you do, or a different kind of focus, or a different level of dedication to his/her training, or simply other difficult things going on in his/her life.

Brian Northrup wrote: however it seems to me that you are choosing my post to judge me So check your footing before you fall.

I'm not judging you, I'm commenting on your own statements. Remember, creating a thread on a discussion forum is an implicit invitation to comment -- and not merely to be a cheering section, but to offer alternate views as well.

It might just be semantics, but I don't think a person can take themselves too seriously. They can take their role in a situation too seriously though.
I try to be serious about everything, including whimsy and lightheartedness (that's a word right?). I find the times I've "taken myself too seriously" it feels more true to say I haven't taken something else seriously enough.

I think it's hard for any person when training to completely leave their personality, or even their mood, at the door. I don't mean this in a bad way, but only that people are ultimately going to be whomever they are. So it follows that some are going to take themselves too seriously, because that's who some people are... sometimes...

Josh Phillipson wrote: O Sensei talked about training with a joyful heart. How is this offset with the seriousness and life-and-death sincerity?

I don't think that life-and-death sincerity offsets a joyful heart. I don't remember the exact quote, but didn't O-Sensei talk about part of the purpose of Aikido being the preservation of life? If so, and life should be something that brings joy, then by practicing something that protects life we should be joyous.

Or, I could've had too much coffee this morning *LOL*

I have always trained with the mindset that it is a serioius endeavor, however, I don't see anything wrong with training with lightheartedness. Smiles and giggles/chuckles should be used when appropriate.

I've been thinking about this subject for a couple f days before I could really comment on it.

To be honest I just can't see why it should matter to me whether someone else takes themselves too seriously or not. That's their issue not mine. To me aikido is a way of exploring and discovering my self... not examining someone else.

I think Mary made a very good point. You cannot know what is going on in someones life or mind, on the day, that might give the impression of seriousness or lack of seriousness. Concentrating on someone else's perceived shortcomings only distracts you from your own training.

Nothing puts a bigger smile on my face than a partner who gets serious, makes a great connection, and moves me in a big way. In fact my partners can tell, if the know to look, if they have connected because when they do I can't help getting a huge smile on my face.

Being serious can be a lot of fun.

Brian Northrup wrote: When i say taking yourself to seriously, i am not talking about training. By all means train with the utmost sincerity, and with 100% effort. You should do this, otherwise you take the chance of hurting yourself or others. What i was getting at is what i like to call the "Steven Seagal "complex. A great martial artist from a technical stand point, but thinking himself a reincarnated Dali Lama and the such is just a bit much. And while i havent come across people with that big of an ego, I have definitely come across people who could slide down that slippery slope.

Hmmm, buy them a copy of Lu-Tze's Yearbook of Enlightenment 2008. It will be out of date but perhaps they will gain some understanding. If you can't find a copy try The Thief of Time.

This way even if they do slide down that infamous slope they can do so with a grin. At the very least they will learn Rule One. Plus, it will give them something to think about while sweeping the Dojo.