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Old 07-31-2014, 11:12 AM   #1
kewms
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Self-defense, Wisdom, and the Way of Aikido

I found this quote in a political article, but it struck me as applicable to the ongoing self-defense debates, too.

Quote:
Tough guys you know right away because they're never scared of a fight. Wise guys you only know in retrospect, when you remember that they quietly walked away from the fight that now has the tough guy in a hospital.
Everyone talks about how aikido needs to be a "real" martial art, with credible self-defense capabilities. I actually tend to agree with that. But it's also a "do," a Way, aimed at developing better human beings.

Very few of us will ever actually need to use our martial training to protect ourselves or our loved ones. But I suspect we could all do with a little bit more wisdom.

Katherine
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Old 07-31-2014, 02:22 PM   #2
mathewjgano
 
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Re: Self-defense, Wisdom, and the Way of Aikido

Here's an example of defense by Stanley Pranin; not sure of the wisdom involved, but maybe it was a case of a moment's satori. No it's not an irresistible ikkyo, but like other stories it does seem to illustrate the idea that techniques aren't the basis for "doing Aikido," and I believe suggests that the essence of training is to take whatever moment we find ourselves in and apply ourselves to the best of our abilities to somehow improve upon it.
My view is that self-defense is where ever you find/put it. I'm not saying you can get comprehensive self-defense training in any single place, but any piece of the puzzle we can add is better than nothing, and as you suggest, there are other, arguably more important goals that have to be considered by your average person, too.
http://blog.aikidojournal.com/2011/0...tanley-pranin/
Quote:
The incident took place in the early 1980s one morning when I was riding on a Tokyo subway. I was seated lost in thought when I noticed a commotion at the other end of the car in which I was seated. Two men had come to blows, and one was clearly dominating and had by that time thoroughly bloodied his adversary.

No one made any effort to stop the fight, or for that matter, do anything. My fellow passengers stared as if hypnotized by the violent spectacle unfolding before their eyes.

After a few seconds, something horrible was about to happen. The aggressor grabbed his hapless opponent by his collar and hair and started to bang his head against an upright steel post that people grab to steady themselves when standing. I don’t remember thinking about much of anything other than the man could be critically injured or even killed as a result of what was happening.

I immediately stood up and ran to the other end of the car. Neither man saw me coming. One was in a rage and the other dazed. As soon as I approached within a couple of feet of them, I let out probably the loudest kiai shout I had ever mustered in my life. The man who was inflicting the damage looked in my direction in a state of utter shock. He back away slightly.

Again, I don’t remember thinking about anything, but I reacted without hesitation and grabbed the arm of the victim and started quickly leading him away from the scene of the fight. He offered no resistance to what I was doing. I frankly doubt that he could even think coherently in the sad state he was in. I moved him quickly out the other end of the car and walked him down further about three cars away from the scene of the fight. I wanted to get far enough away in case the other man tried to follow.

By that time, the train was pulling into the next station, and I walked the poor man off the train and asked him if he was alright. Apart from being bloodied, he seemed to be okay. To be honest, I can’t remember much of what happened after that. The train we were on pulled away, and I waited for the next one to come to continue my journey.

I never saw either man again. I have no idea what happened to either subsequently. All I did was move unhesitatingly with full intent. I acted tactically to distract the two fighting men with a loud, unexpected shout, so that I wouldn’t have to get entangled in their fight. I chose to deal with the victim as I didn’t anticipate any resistance on his part. The attacker was as if paralyzed by the unexpected turn of circumstances.

Was this an application of aikido? I suppose so. I didn’t actually apply a technique. I personally did not feel endangered, but I was fearful of the fate that may have befallen the weaker of the two men.

That’s my story!

Gambarimashyo!
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Old 07-31-2014, 04:57 PM   #3
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Re: Self-defense, Wisdom, and the Way of Aikido

Yes agreed.
There are martial-artist and there are fighters.
And there is a select few who are both.
They are not mutually exclusive, though usually practiced that way.
Any thoughts anyone?

Lynn Seiser PhD
Yondan Aikido & FMA/JKD
We do not rise to the level of our expectations, but fall to the level of our training. Train well. KWATZ!
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Old 07-31-2014, 09:39 PM   #4
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Re: Self-defense, Wisdom, and the Way of Aikido

Quote:
Katherine Derbyshire wrote: View Post
I found this quote in a political article, but it struck me as applicable to the ongoing self-defense debates, too.

Everyone talks about how aikido needs to be a "real" martial art, with credible self-defense capabilities. I actually tend to agree with that. But it's also a "do," a Way, aimed at developing better human beings.

Very few of us will ever actually need to use our martial training to protect ourselves or our loved ones. But I suspect we could all do with a little bit more wisdom.

Katherine
True, but if you don't train like your life depends on it you are just playing lip service to all the lofty 'spiritual growth' aspects of budo. Saying is not as productive as doing, and its difficult to grow or change without difficulty or pain.

Ichi Go, Ichi Ei!
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Old 07-31-2014, 11:19 PM   #5
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Re: Self-defense, Wisdom, and the Way of Aikido

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Adam Huss wrote: View Post
True, but if you don't train like your life depends on it you are just playing lip service to all the lofty 'spiritual growth' aspects of budo. Saying is not as productive as doing, and its difficult to grow or change without difficulty or pain.
But what does "train like your life depends on it" actually mean, given that most of us are not professional soldiers and therefore have other responsibilities beyond martial preparation?

Katherine
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Old 08-01-2014, 03:24 AM   #6
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Re: Self-defense, Wisdom, and the Way of Aikido

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Adam Huss wrote: View Post
True, but if you don't train like your life depends on it you are just playing lip service to all the lofty 'spiritual growth' aspects of budo. Saying is not as productive as doing, and its difficult to grow or change without difficulty or pain.
Absolutely. Well said.

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Old 08-01-2014, 06:01 AM   #7
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Re: Self-defense, Wisdom, and the Way of Aikido

A while back I wrote about self-defense as the need to face and defend ourselves from ourselves.
Perhaps our biggest enemies are nor the external ones, but the internal fears and fantasies.
Perhaps Aikido is just another context/opportunity face both the internal and external insecurities we carry with us.
Training best translates to the internal/external context the closer they are to each other (state-specific learning).
We never grow within a comfort-zone.
Any thoughts anyone?

Lynn Seiser PhD
Yondan Aikido & FMA/JKD
We do not rise to the level of our expectations, but fall to the level of our training. Train well. KWATZ!
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Old 08-01-2014, 06:18 AM   #8
Mary Eastland
 
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Re: Self-defense, Wisdom, and the Way of Aikido

We can live every moment in consciousness...so many people are asleep. They do not take responsibility for what they do or say. People just do things because it has always been done a certain way.

Training as if your life depends upon it is examining choices and being fully aware in every thing we do.

Mary Eastland

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Old 08-01-2014, 07:53 AM   #9
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Re: Self-defense, Wisdom, and the Way of Aikido

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Katherine Derbyshire wrote: View Post

Everyone talks about how aikido needs to be a "real" martial art, with credible self-defense capabilities. I actually tend to agree with that. But it's also a "do," a Way, aimed at developing better human beings.
To my mind, the martial integrity of the discipline is a prerequisite for building any of these things on top.

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Old 08-01-2014, 08:43 AM   #10
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Re: Self-defense, Wisdom, and the Way of Aikido

Self-defense is a very specific set of actions that happens within a very specific period of time. It is most certainly not a comprehensive fighting system, but a consolidated series of tactics that offer the best range of success in application.

Aikido was intended for a greater venue of application (rather than a specific tactical response). Aikido training can be tailored to tactical situations, but I think that is a sub-curriculum based upon the foundation instruction. Our current social structure predominantly does not support civilian conflict. The simple fact is that you are far more likely to use what you learn in aikido in other aspects of your life than actual combat of a physical altercation. For those in positions of heightened exposure to conflict, there are a variety of tactical solutions available, aikido is one of them.

The fact that we have to remind ourselves to train "as if our lives depended on it," is evidence that our reality is largely absent of risk outside of specific scenarios. There are individuals who train that way because they understand what it means and are/were often part of increased risk that required that attention. I think the confusion comes when we train without attention while claiming that training prepares us for danger.

Wisdom is often described as the ability to apply intelligence, often via experience. Its not just knowing a hammer hits a nail, its knowing which type of hammer is best for hitting a specific nail. The second part is having the right type of hammer.

Jon Reading
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Old 08-01-2014, 11:00 AM   #11
Phil Van Treese
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Re: Self-defense, Wisdom, and the Way of Aikido

Training like your life depends on it means you train hard in class without wasting your time or effort by giving anything less than 100%. We don't go to class to goof around so always practice, giving 100%. The way you train is the way you will react in a situation. Wisdom and knowledge are 2 different things. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting in a fruit salad.
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Old 08-01-2014, 01:58 PM   #12
mathewjgano
 
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Re: Self-defense, Wisdom, and the Way of Aikido

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Adam Huss wrote: View Post
True, but if you don't train like your life depends on it you are just playing lip service to all the lofty 'spiritual growth' aspects of budo. Saying is not as productive as doing, and its difficult to grow or change without difficulty or pain.
I might be quibbling over semantics here, but while I would agree that any serious student of martial arts should work in this direction, I do not think you have to be able to handle physical power in order to live up to many of the "spiritual" growth aspects.

Gambarimashyo!
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Old 08-01-2014, 02:26 PM   #13
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Re: Self-defense, Wisdom, and the Way of Aikido

good: train hard and stay in good shape
better: doing good and have a bunch of folks who are slower than you around
best: doing better with thermal nuclear weapon in your backyard (a big grill works too)

you know according to the CDC death statistics for USA. death caused by assault didn't make the top 10 list. you are more likely to have heart attack, stroke, cancer, various diseases, salmonella, vehicle accident, than assault by somebody.

isn't a pint of spirit bringing wisdom, or at least a good laugh by your friends?

"budo is putting on cold, wet, sweat stained gi with a smile and a snarl" - your truly
http://charlotteaikikai.org
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Old 08-01-2014, 03:28 PM   #14
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Re: Self-defense, Wisdom, and the Way of Aikido

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Matthew Gano wrote: View Post
I might be quibbling over semantics here, but while I would agree that any serious student of martial arts should work in this direction, I do not think you have to be able to handle physical power in order to live up to many of the "spiritual" growth aspects.
Certainly there are plenty of non-martial spiritual development practices that seem to work for their adherents. And there are plenty of challenges to the self to be found in non-physical practices.

I do think that the need to confront physical power -- both your own and others' -- is a valuable part of martial arts study, though.

Katherine
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Old 08-01-2014, 04:21 PM   #15
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Re: Self-defense, Wisdom, and the Way of Aikido

To add a spiritual aspect to self defense:

Luke 6:48;

…"Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. "But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great."

dps
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Old 08-01-2014, 10:24 PM   #16
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Re: Self-defense, Wisdom, and the Way of Aikido

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Katherine Derbyshire wrote: View Post
I do think that the need to confront physical power -- both your own and others' -- is a valuable part of martial arts study, though.

Katherine
I completely agree. I think it's crucial...nominally at the very least, martial arts are about confronting physical power in some way, learning about some of the potential of others and ourselves in that regard. The physical practice of this is how we generally hone the non-physical aspects the might imply.
To my mind, always training like your life depends on it suggests a degree of intensity that I doubt exists at most dojos, but I think that's where I'm probably quibbling over semantics.
By handling power, I meant being able to handle someone's power more or less at will; to be better than the person who is putting my life on the hypothetical line in training. You don't have to be that good physically to get the other stuff. But you do have to try hard, and you do have to face physicality of some form in a martial art.

Gambarimashyo!
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Old 08-01-2014, 10:34 PM   #17
kewms
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Re: Self-defense, Wisdom, and the Way of Aikido

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Matthew Gano wrote: View Post
To my mind, always training like your life depends on it suggests a degree of intensity that I doubt exists at most dojos, but I think that's where I'm probably quibbling over semantics.
Situations where people really are training for combat tend to have fairly high injury rates. As do elite athletes, regardless of their sport. So, as with everything else, there are tradeoffs.

Katherine
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Old 08-02-2014, 08:04 AM   #18
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Re: Self-defense, Wisdom, and the Way of Aikido

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Katherine Derbyshire wrote: View Post
But what does "train like your life depends on it" actually mean, given that most of us are not professional soldiers and therefore have other responsibilities beyond martial preparation?

Katherine
A benefit of training in the budo is its a way to simulate such an experience. Gozo Shioda used to say train with the mindset of shinken shobu - meaning roughly the same as what I stated above. Kind of a more poetic way to say 'train seriously,'

Ichi Go, Ichi Ei!
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Old 08-02-2014, 08:06 AM   #19
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Re: Self-defense, Wisdom, and the Way of Aikido

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Lynn Seiser wrote: View Post
A while back I wrote about self-defense as the need to face and defend ourselves from ourselves.
Perhaps our biggest enemies are nor the external ones, but the internal fears and fantasies.
Perhaps Aikido is just another context/opportunity face both the internal and external insecurities we carry with us.
Training best translates to the internal/external context the closer they are to each other (state-specific learning).
We never grow within a comfort-zone.
Any thoughts anyone?
This is the reason I train and, for me, the most practical application of martial arts training.

Ichi Go, Ichi Ei!
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Old 08-02-2014, 08:17 AM   #20
Adam Huss
 
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Re: Self-defense, Wisdom, and the Way of Aikido

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Katherine Derbyshire wrote: View Post
Situations where people really are training for combat tend to have fairly high injury rates. As do elite athletes, regardless of their sport. So, as with everything else, there are tradeoffs.

Katherine
I'm not so sure about the first part. If a commander of a deploying unit has higher than 3% attrition rate during pre-dpeloyment training, it'd be considered unusual (with the exception of a jumping unit).

In the military people are training to polish up job skills, prepare for a specific environment, and learn to work together as a team. Any injury sustained would be do to the speed of training, chaos of getting a large group of people qualified in multiple tasks in a short period of time, etc. Competitive athletes are different. They are working to best another person. The good ones are willing to push themselves beyond safe limits to achieve this goal. Once that goal or competition is over, they migrate to recovery phase. Military people have to achieve certain qualifying goals prior to war. The idea is to be able to sustain physical competency throughout a 7-12 month deployment. Military people get in trouble for getting injured during preparatory training, lol.

Ichi Go, Ichi Ei!
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Old 08-02-2014, 08:23 AM   #21
Adam Huss
 
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Re: Self-defense, Wisdom, and the Way of Aikido

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Matthew Gano wrote: View Post
I completely agree. I think it's crucial...nominally at the very least, martial arts are about confronting physical power in some way, learning about some of the potential of others and ourselves in that regard. The physical practice of this is how we generally hone the non-physical aspects the might imply.
To my mind, always training like your life depends on it suggests a degree of intensity that I doubt exists at most dojos, but I think that's where I'm probably quibbling over semantics.
By handling power, I meant being able to handle someone's power more or less at will; to be better than the person who is putting my life on the hypothetical line in training. You don't have to be that good physically to get the other stuff. But you do have to try hard, and you do have to face physicality of some form in a martial art.
That level of training is very rare in most dojo. I'm on the road about half the year, always bring a dogi, and train at a variety of dojo. I've only encountered that training mentality, in a regular class, twice. Additionally, its nearly impossible to maintain that level of training on a pervasive basis. That's why its best to have a specific, regular, class our course for this type of training. My teacher initially started his dojo with that type of training mentality for every class. He ended up with five or six really talented and motivated students. He realized he was limiting the types of students who could benefit from aikido be having such an atmosphere in the dojo, so he altered his teaching to make his dojo more approachable while keeping the core concepts in place. Then he added a weekly ten month course for those who wanted more in-depth and serious training.

About handling physical power:
I feel like its an important lesson. I've met some high-ranking instructors who possible have let handling power go to their head. Twenty plus years of uke flying around at your every move can lead to some ridiculous ego. I feel learning to train in a martial art where compliant uke are required for basic techniques, while not letting that 'power' go to your head, or give you unrealistic perceptions of your own power, is of value.

Handling the power of others, full-on power, can be a scary prospect, but also teaches a good lesson. If someone comes in with an attack, with all their possible strength and speed, it teaches nage how to deal with a truly dangerous situation. Having the capability to deal with that, mentally and physically, can change people who don't have the opportunity to experience that in their normal lives. Hence, the reason to train in a budo and a reason to keep that training martial.

Last edited by Adam Huss : 08-02-2014 at 08:29 AM.

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Old 08-02-2014, 10:01 AM   #22
kewms
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Re: Self-defense, Wisdom, and the Way of Aikido

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I'm not so sure about the first part. If a commander of a deploying unit has higher than 3% attrition rate during pre-deployment training, it'd be considered unusual (with the exception of a jumping unit).
I think even a 3% loss of students due to injuries would be high enough to be problematic for most civilian dojos.

There's also the issue of chronic injuries. Quite a few competitive athletes are ultimately forced to retire due to accumulated wear and tear, and quite a few end up with sub-optimal quality of life after their careers are over.

Now, that isn't unusual in aikido, either. How many aikidoka do you know with bad knees? But my point is that trashing your body now isn't really a great idea if you want to keep training into your 70s.

Katherine
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Old 08-02-2014, 06:37 PM   #23
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Re: Self-defense, Wisdom, and the Way of Aikido

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Katherine Derbyshire wrote: View Post
I think even a 3% loss of students due to injuries would be high enough to be problematic for most civilian dojos.
Really??? Many dojos have higher rates...looking at my little survey that only looked at knee injuries severe enough to need treatment and lose training time....
"Half of the participating dojo reported NO acute knee injuries in training during the past five years. Fifty one dojo reported a total of 99 persons had experienced acute knee injuries in training. This is 3% of the total respondents; computed on a per-dojo basis the average acute knee injury rate is 4.45%. The figures are virtually identical for men and women.
"Those half of the dojo reporting acute knee injuries were divided into three sections for comparison: those with the highest incidence of injuries (determined as those in the 80th percentile, which amounted to 11 dojo), the corresponding number of dojo showing the lowest incidence of injuries, and the remaining number comprising "some injuries."
"What is intriguing is that the eleven dojo in the "high incidence" group represent less than 5% of the total adult members being reported on yet account for over 30% of the acute knee injuries. This accounts for the comment by many participating dojo that they really do not perceive knee injuries as a common problem, and raises the question of what, if anything, this group of dojo has in common with each other but not with the rest of the study group."

So severe knee injury alone over a five year period is on a per-dojo basis close to 4.5%....that is what, nearly 1% per year just on knees....as we know, shoulder injury is pretty common esp in newbies and for each of us who recovered from shoulder separation in learning forward rolls and kept training, I can think of a couple of never came back....then there are the tweaked backs, hyperextended arms...
and then I think about the 9% of dojos in the survey who accounted for THIRTY percent of the acute knee injuries...that is a very very high injury rate....and there is no way to know going into training what the dojo history or culture is in terms of promoting safety or not.

Janet Rosen
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Old 08-02-2014, 10:05 PM   #24
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Re: Self-defense, Wisdom, and the Way of Aikido

I bow to superior data...

Pre-deployment training would be more comparable to day-to-day training among experienced students. Beginners have a much higher attrition rate, although it's hard to say how much of it is injury-related. I also don't know how many military recruits are lost to injuries during basic training.

Toward the question of the relationship between training intensity and injury rates, it would be interesting to go back and see where your "high-incidence" dojos fall on the scale.

Katherine
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Old 08-03-2014, 04:44 AM   #25
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Re: Self-defense, Wisdom, and the Way of Aikido

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Phil Van Treese wrote: View Post
Training like your life depends on it means you train hard in class without wasting your time or effort by giving anything less than 100%. We don't go to class to goof around so always practice, giving 100%. The way you train is the way you will react in a situation. Wisdom and knowledge are 2 different things. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting in a fruit salad.
What does it mean to give 100%?
Professional fighters do not give 100% in training or sparring, otherwise in the next fight they have nothing left. Many of the people that train as if their life depends on, are those that go go to laugh into the cellar.

Normally on the mat we do not fight, we do keiko, and there is more then one method of keiko.
For some things that have to be learned it is important to do it slow ore soft, and other skills require training in full speed, strong grip ore something else. Keiko is development of body and also of mind, always give 100% is a very simple concept.

In hikitate geiko for some beginners ore lower ranked students it might be very dangerous if I would give them 100% of my power, gokaku geiko is a different task.
In every kind of keiko one there should be a high level of awareness and attention, but also passion, sensitiveness and spirit.
In some situation it is impossible to give 100% of power, when an injury must be cured ore for other health reasons. It would be stupid and not very wise to train with an intensity of 100% in such a condition.
I have to admit that my head sometimes forgets, but next day I realise my body remembers still.

I agree that goofing around is not an appropriate attitude for training aikido. There must be toughness, endurance and personal devotion, but some people train with a kind of morosity I do not like.

How you react in a sitation depends on your state of mind and your heart, if there is fear and the enemy inside is strong, ore if there is valor and resoluteness.
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