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Old 09-15-2015, 09:04 AM   #76
carpeviam
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Re: Crisis of Faith

Quote:
Phi Truong wrote: View Post
Julia, I have two questions. "This is for posterity so be honest."
1. are you afraid of getting hit?
2. are you afraid of hitting people?
I'm afraid of getting dominated by men. This involves getting hit by men. Getting hit by women is fine; it's different. It hurts, but it's just physical pain. When I hit other people when sparring I do try not to damage them, and I do hold back a little, but not more than is normal for friends, I think.

The worst thing is getting pinned by men off-script. Each technique has its assigned pin: that's on-script and it's okay. But if my partner and I mess up a technique and suddenly nage comes up with a new pin that I didn't anticipate happening because it wasn't what the instructor had demonstrated--that's the worst. I hate everything, want to burn everything, know that I can't do anything. It's awful. Not very aiki at all.

If you do want to share your exercises I'd be very interested in hearing them. Even if they're not specifically for my situation they might provide me with some benefit.
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Old 09-15-2015, 11:36 AM   #77
phitruong
Dojo: Charlotte Aikikai Agatsu Dojo
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Re: Crisis of Faith

Quote:
Julia Campbell wrote: View Post
I'm afraid of getting dominated by men. This involves getting hit by men. Getting hit by women is fine; it's different. It hurts, but it's just physical pain. When I hit other people when sparring I do try not to damage them, and I do hold back a little, but not more than is normal for friends, I think.
Julia, I do not know your history, and it's none of my business. Your fears are out of my depth to deal with; perhaps, with a psychiatrist to work out those things.

Quote:
The worst thing is getting pinned by men off-script. Each technique has its assigned pin: that's on-script and it's okay. But if my partner and I mess up a technique and suddenly nage comes up with a new pin that I didn't anticipate happening because it wasn't what the instructor had demonstrated--that's the worst. I hate everything, want to burn everything, know that I can't do anything. It's awful. Not very aiki at all.
to do aikido is to be in chaos, to ride the whirlwind. multiple attacker randori demonstrates that how little you have in control of things around you. those who thrive in this enjoy riding the whirlwind and laughing at the wind. sometimes it's good to laugh at the wind.

Quote:
If you do want to share your exercises I'd be very interested in hearing them. Even if they're not specifically for my situation they might provide me with some benefit.
I have a friend who did aikido. whenever there were striking types of attack, he would flinch and it messed up his flow and timing. he told me that he was bullied at a kid so he would flinch whenever strikes coming at him. so i pulled an exercise from systema playbook. those systema buggers are crazy, but they have great teaching methodology. they could teach aikido folks a thing or two about relaxation.

i got him to stand still and only focus on breathing. in for 3 counts, out for 3 counts, slowly. i would walk around him and put my fists on his body at various places, including the face/head. no power on my fists, just place them on his body. i took my time here to make sure he still breathing regularly and relax. i then increased the power on my fists and pressed harder on his body. i did this slow. when i felt he started to tense up, i would back off the power. when he got his breathing and relaxation back, i would increase the power back. this pattern repeat over and over until i started to punch him lightly. when he can relax and focus on his breathing, then i increased the speed and intensity of my punches. when he could take a good amount of striking power from me, but still keeping his breathing pattern and relaxation, then i got him to move around. i moved around with him and peppered him with my punches. after a time, he looked at me and laughed. i laughed with him. now, he occasionally flinched but he caught himself and relaxed.

another exercise, i also used, basing on the above exercise where i kept punching the other person, and i had them reaching out with their hands to touch my forearm, my striking forearm. once they can do that consistently, then i asked them to touch my biceps. they would still let me hit them, but their focus were on touching me at the location i specified. then i would ask them to touch my chest. then my face. then any place they feel like it. the main thing is that they can't move up until they can do the previous step with relaxation and same breathing pattern.

i practice with quite a few women in aikido at various seminars and i noticed that they weren't comfortable with hitting people. aikido has two sides: attacker and defender, uke and nage. if attacker doesn't perform his/her/it job, then defender can't perform his/her/it job. what i am saying is when you are doing the part of attacker, you need to be as comfortable as when you are a defender. at advance level, the concept of attacker and defender disappears to replace with a conversation between two or more persons.

last advice (maybe), don't take things too seriously, because you won't get out of life alive.

"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 09-15-2015, 11:44 AM   #78
Janet Rosen
 
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Re: Crisis of Faith

Quote:
Julia Campbell wrote: View Post
The worst thing is getting pinned by men off-script. Each technique has its assigned pin: that's on-script and it's okay. But if my partner and I mess up a technique and suddenly nage comes up with a new pin that I didn't anticipate happening because it wasn't what the instructor had demonstrated--that's the worst. I hate everything, want to burn everything, know that I can't do anything. It's awful. Not very aiki at all.

If you do want to share your exercises I'd be very interested in hearing them. Even if they're not specifically for my situation they might provide me with some benefit.
Julia, what I'm going to write may sound dismissive but I absolutely don't mean it that way: you have found the key issue in your own training, the thing that really really pushes your buttons, and how you respond will determine whether you stick with aikido or leave.
Most of us who train end up having buttons pushed. It is how we respond that matters.
Some people simply cannot look at the issue and find other "acceptable" reasons to quit training. Others cannot look at it but keep training by spackling over it and a lot of them become skilled at the outer forms but end up being poor training partners because of the tension, fear, or anger that lurks under the surface each time they bow in.
You seem to be on a better track: you have not only identified the issue but are willing to articulate it to others. Being willing to go through some of "the awful" in the safe training environment of the dojo will give you a chance to experiment with how to change yourself (assuming you are in a good, safe training environment, which some folks are not, sadly)
The dojo is not a therapy center, but the nature of the training DOES give each of us a chance to confront and work on whatever our issues are. For me, I consider it my misogi.

Exercises for getting over fear of hitting......I suggest using weapons and you need a willing partner who can accept and absorb your strong strikes with his or her own weapon...start slow and soft as you need to, focusing on being as on-target at you can and on coordination of slow breathing with your movement. Don't strike faster or harder until you are able to be relaxed at the pace you started with. Accept small incremental improvement each time and don't try to do it in each and every aikido class - then it's a chore....and let's face it, we really do this because we enjoy it much of the time!
And yes, you can with a good partner also use this approach to fear of being hit, via practicing receiving slow, soft strikes from a good partner with your weapon, focusing on breathing and sinking each time you want to flinch....building new habits.

Janet Rosen
http://www.zanshinart.com
"peace will enter when hate is gone"--percy mayfield
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Old 09-15-2015, 11:46 AM   #79
Janet Rosen
 
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Re: Crisis of Faith

Quote:
Phi Truong wrote: View Post
I have a friend who did aikido. whenever there were striking types of attack, he would flinch and it messed up his flow and timing. he told me that he was bullied at a kid so he would flinch whenever strikes coming at him. so i pulled an exercise from systema playbook. those systema buggers are crazy, but they have great teaching methodology. they could teach aikido folks a thing or two about relaxation. [snip]
last advice (maybe), don't take things too seriously, because you won't get out of life alive.
GREAT stuff in there, Phi. Thanks!

Janet Rosen
http://www.zanshinart.com
"peace will enter when hate is gone"--percy mayfield
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Old 09-15-2015, 11:58 AM   #80
kewms
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Re: Crisis of Faith

I definitely agree with Phi about the Systema teaching methodology. In particular, whether you're using a Systema-specific exercise or not, make sure your practice isn't reinforcing fear or tension. If you notice that you or your partner is becoming "amped up" or flinching, back off to a level where you can both stay calm.

Since you have an issue with men specifically, I'd recommend seeking out men in the dojo who you find relatively non-threatening for whatever reason. Make sure they are senior enough to have good control and have gotten past their own issues about hitting women. (I would NOT recommend working with a significant other on this kind of exercise, though.) Work with them on exercises like the ones Janet and Phi suggested.

Katherine
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Old 09-15-2015, 09:40 PM   #81
rugwithlegs
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Re: Crisis of Faith

Lots to chew on. As before, I think you may be more aware of the nuances of your Kotegaeshi, so this increased awareness feels horrible but really is the root of improvement.

I don't mind someone reversing me every now and then, but when someone breaks with the kata, I think I get worse by trying to hold to a kata. An extreme example would be a partner who pulls their hands in to their center when I am supposed to do Shihonage. Iriminage or atemiwaza is much easier when someone pulls their hands close to their body but Shihonage would need much more force. I needed to develop a sense of what was actually offered.

Some insights that helped me, take or leave them,
We don't have wrist locks. All of our movements are to lock the body. For Kotegaeshi, when I am moving slowly for accuracy, I want to see the shoulders rotate bringing the one arm towards me and the other away. I want to see the one shoulder dip down. I want to see the knees start to cave away from me. Much easier to practice with on a compliant partner, but when I had a feel for it I could pick my moments.

We don't do techniques in isolation, each partner is piece of a whole. Uke is my paint brush or clay. Tenchinage is not me lifting my arms up and down, but me making Uke twist up and down. Every difference in Uke's flexibility, stiffness, length of arms, injuries, length of stride, height in relation to me is a new set of variables. Every single Kotegaeshi attempt eventually becomes something new - I hope that isn't too weird sounding. Some specific variations will not fit you and your partner.

I have read that Irimi is actually supposed to be really soft. I try to enter but always just a little off the line so that I am not colliding. Receiving Yokomenuchi at the peak of the strike is a hard impact, but catching the Yokomenuchi when Uke is pulling backward takes much less effort. I also get to engage on my terms and timing, which is much easier to do than waiting and reacting. Not all techniques work by closing the gap, sometimes the technique works better with more distance. I like the one phrase I heard years ago - Avoid a falling rock

I remembered reading that O Sensei had to bathe Takeda Sensei as part of his training. Through massage and nursing, I got a much better sense of how a human body actually felt and moved, and I got over having to touch people. It doesn't have to be a big start - there are usually foot or hand massage classes available where you practice on strangers in the class.

Going off script - there is a time and place, and you're not there so neither should they be. If they do something different, If I go force on force or chase the sense of effort or force a specific technique that they are blocking, I will get worse. I think Uke's ability to receive a technique gets worse too because this is anticipating.

Find some partners you trust and explore.
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Old 09-16-2015, 04:26 AM   #82
Amir Krause
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Thumbs up Re: Crisis of Faith

Quote:
Matthew Gano wrote: View Post
I like that (all of it, not just the above portion)! Thank you for sharing your experiences, John!
I just wanted to add that I really value the interactions that fit the above description. One of the biggest steps forward in my understanding of what we're trying for at my dojo was the idea that uke should always have a sense of looking for kaeshi. I get the sense that my sempai's job is to gently show openings, and sometimes this mean simply reversing or otherwise stopping me, and sometimes it means just telling me about the point in the flow where they perceive something collapsing (e.g. "focus more on what's happening at this point in the movement").
I mention this because, for me, this is what solidified my faith in what we're doing on a technical level. I have faith that I am working on the more intangible things like fortitude and sincerity and humility because that's largely what I bring to the table, but the ability to "play" a little is where I first began to appreciate an aliveness to the physical side of training. There's something unavoidably instructive when you suddenly see a fist inches from your face, or a light tap to the ribs, or what have you.
Thanks again! Take care.
Few messages make me wish the +1 button to make a comeback, your's is one of those.

Especially the part of slowly and methodically getting "aliveness" / free play / Randori /sparring into the practice and not jumping into full fight mind-set. Coming from a system in which Randori is a form of light learning sparring and is integrated into the learning process in a methodical process. I think this comment is important for those who decide to introduce themselves to such elements and need to "re-invent" how to introduce it.
One comment though - at least in our way, resisting Tori movement is normally considered bad move for Uke, should be practiced, but only in a very limited manner. In a live practice, Uke movement should also be sound and practical. He should move out from your technique, and reverse it too ( a strike of all types is also a reversal technique if one is in a position to give one).

Thanks
Amir

P.S.
The concept of "showing openings\flaws" is not sufficient in my opinion, as it is based on your partners imagination\knowledge base rather than real ability and experience. Ideally all should have a great partner, with real experience from other sparring arts and deep understanding of the technique. But what of the realistic case, a partner who's experience was mostly accumulated in same dojo from others who practiced before him, none of whom ever really tried to do this technique in a "live" manner
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Old 09-16-2015, 08:29 AM   #83
phitruong
Dojo: Charlotte Aikikai Agatsu Dojo
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Re: Crisis of Faith

Quote:
Janet Rosen wrote: View Post
Exercises for getting over fear of hitting......I suggest using weapons and you need a willing partner who can accept and absorb your strong strikes with his or her own weapon...start slow and soft as you need to, focusing on being as on-target at you can and on coordination of slow breathing with your movement. Don't strike faster or harder until you are able to be relaxed at the pace you started with. Accept small incremental improvement each time and don't try to do it in each and every aikido class - then it's a chore....and let's face it, we really do this because we enjoy it much of the time!
And yes, you can with a good partner also use this approach to fear of being hit, via practicing receiving slow, soft strikes from a good partner with your weapon, focusing on breathing and sinking each time you want to flinch....building new habits.
Good idea Janet. Your idea triggered an old memory of an article on women and weapon practice. Did some searching and ran across this article from Diane Skoss which I read years ago. http://www.aikiweb.com/weapons/skoss3.html

"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 09-19-2015, 11:10 AM   #84
jdm4life
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Re: Crisis of Faith

It doesnt work, joe rogan says so.

Watch "Joe Rogan vs Aikido Guy on Effectiveness of Aikido" on YouTube https://youtu.be/yXIBi_lszsg
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Old 09-29-2015, 08:09 AM   #85
earnest aikidoka
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Re: Crisis of Faith

Quote:
Greg Sinclair wrote: View Post
I give up.
I do not understand. Have I not conceded to your point regarding Tenshin aikido's potential? And that I should make the effort to train with tenshin aikido in order to understand it better? Before spouting my mouth off as it were?
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Old 09-29-2015, 11:20 AM   #86
jonreading
 
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Re: Crisis of Faith

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Stephen Irving wrote: View Post
It doesnt work, joe rogan says so.

Watch "Joe Rogan vs Aikido Guy on Effectiveness of Aikido" on YouTube https://youtu.be/yXIBi_lszsg
I think I commented on this podcast in another post, but this is maybe a better location for additional comments.

Joe brings up many good points in his podcast that are general perspectives held by a number of sister arts as critiques of aikido. While giving voice to the comments, I don't think Joe is saying anything new. While maybe better remembered for stand-up comedy or hosting Fear Factor, Joe Rogan has been around sport fighting for a while and holds a black belt or two himself. Second, I think most of what the martial arts community sees is jujutsu, not aikido.

There are points in this interview that are almost cringe-worthy, especially the dogmatic aikido response. Part of my crisis is finding the best way to honestly answer good questions from serious people, understanding that right now many of my answers are, "I can't do that." I try to be conscious of respecting what other people consider important in their training. Part of my training is guided by what I consider to be important, why should I dismiss what other people train?

I think part of Joe's comments are directed at the dismissal of what he considers important in his training. At one point, the discussion turns to the classic aikido uke - the enraged, drunk, offensive bar fly. Joe flat-out calls out the presumption the guy picking a fight at the bar [is in the wrong]. At another point, there is an exchange concerning the defense against a leg shoot. Leg shoots are the bread and butter of good wrestling, yet we dismiss that with a "I won't be there."

I think saying what we can (and can't do) and backing up what we say is important. I find myself defending other arts because I have a lot of friends who train in other things they feel are important and I respect what they do. Most of us can't stop a good harai goshi or defend an arm-bar. We don't practice it enough because we focus on those things we value.

Jon Reading
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Old 09-29-2015, 12:53 PM   #87
kewms
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Re: Crisis of Faith

Quote:
Jon Reading wrote: View Post
I think saying what we can (and can't do) and backing up what we say is important. I find myself defending other arts because I have a lot of friends who train in other things they feel are important and I respect what they do. Most of us can't stop a good harai goshi or defend an arm-bar. We don't practice it enough because we focus on those things we value.
I think that's an excellent point.

I think a lot of defenders of aikido should be more willing to say, "No, we don't practice that. Our focus is on [whatever] instead. Enjoy your training."

A key principle of strategy is to not let your opponent define the terms of engagement. People study the arts they study because they think the goals and strategies of those arts are important. That doesn't mean that anyone else has to agree with them, or participate in a debate which takes those goals as given.

If my goal as an aikidoka is to resolve conflict without resorting to physical technique, it's completely ridiculous to get into an argument with a BJJ student about whether he's a more successful grappler than I am. *Of course* he is: he spends more time grappling in a week than I have in years of aikido. And that's ok.

Katherine
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Old 09-30-2015, 12:46 AM   #88
observer
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Re: Crisis of Faith

Quote:
Katherine Derbyshire wrote: View Post
I think a lot of defenders of aikido should be more willing to say, "No, we don't practice that. Our focus is on [whatever] instead. Enjoy your training."
.......
If my goal as an aikidoka is to resolve conflict without resorting to physical technique, ....
I do not agree. As we both know aikido today focuses on dancing without music with a cooperative partner or wooden sticks. No mention knees and wrists devastation with no reason. It is caused by a total misunderstanding of Morihei Ueshiba's new Martial Art concept. I wrote about it a couple weeks ago. The idea is not to prevent nor provoke, but to react only if necessary. To react doesn't mean starting a fight. Simply means to kill or to spare an opponent's life. Till we will not get it (understanding is not enough) our training is useless and creates a very dangerous illusion. We still are taking a lot of common family time giving back false expectations. Our spouse and children definitely can't count on our ability to defend them in case of facing a real threat.
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Old 09-30-2015, 07:51 AM   #89
Hilary
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Re: Crisis of Faith

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Maciej Jesmanowicz wrote: View Post
I do not agree. As we both know aikido today focuses on dancing without music with a cooperative partner or wooden sticks. No mention knees and wrists devastation with no reason. It is caused by a total misunderstanding of Morihei Ueshiba's new Martial Art concept. I wrote about it a couple weeks ago. The idea is not to prevent nor provoke, but to react only if necessary. To react doesn't mean starting a fight. Simply means to kill or to spare an opponent's life. Till we will not get it (understanding is not enough) our training is useless and creates a very dangerous illusion. We still are taking a lot of common family time giving back false expectations. Our spouse and children definitely can't count on our ability to defend them in case of facing a real threat.
Well maybe you dance, and your training is useless, and your family is in immanent danger from real threats because your training sucks...congratulations, go you, excellent use of time! You seem to have it all figured out, well done! Now please go off and capture all this profound knowledge so we all may benefit and learn. I recommend stone tablets, they really stand the test of millennia in the digital dark ages; we'll be out here waiting for you to finish carving them, I promise.
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Old 09-30-2015, 08:41 AM   #90
Demetrio Cereijo
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Re: Crisis of Faith

Quote:
Maciej Jesmanowicz wrote: View Post
I do not agree. As we both know aikido today focuses on dancing without music with a cooperative partner or wooden sticks.
Or even a robot.

http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showpo...&postcount=103

BTW, your 'reverse intimidation' video is still around. Worth watching.

Last edited by Demetrio Cereijo : 09-30-2015 at 08:44 AM.
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Old 09-30-2015, 09:10 AM   #91
Demetrio Cereijo
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Re: Crisis of Faith

Quote:
Katherine Derbyshire wrote: View Post
If my goal as an aikidoka is to resolve conflict without resorting to physical technique, it's completely ridiculous to get into an argument with a BJJ student about whether he's a more successful grappler than I am.
Well, maybe this BJJ student is also a well trained negotiator.
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Old 09-30-2015, 10:11 AM   #92
rugwithlegs
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Re: Crisis of Faith

We're off topic and not helping the OP. But, the comparison does bring up some interesting points. What do we do that others don't?

We work from a variety of disadvantages - sitting against someone standing to find out what it is like to be against someone more mobile with a longer stride, bokken or jo to represent someone with longer reach, and O Sensei's rules for practice say be ready in any direction at any time. We say we are ready for multiple attackers, which can also mean a crowded environment that we can exploit. Can we do this?

That's a more valid question for me than whether or not I can do a jumping spinning kick as well as a Tae Kwon Do student, or whether my lack of newaza practice makes me the equivalent of a martial artist who always practices newaza.
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Old 09-30-2015, 10:33 AM   #93
jonreading
 
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Re: Crisis of Faith

First, I think if the aikido you train is "over-soft," I think you need to have a legitimate conversation about whether your practice qualifies to be part of the conversation. There are people who train in a manner that arguably disqualifies the practice from being considered a fighting art. I think you need to understand your practice and where it sits within the martial world. Qualifying bad aikido as martial art just to trash it as an ineffective art is just setting up an argument. Part of my earlier comments qualified basic aikido as a variation of jujutsu and I think that is important - you need to qualify with some basic fighting skills to start a dialog about aikido's contribution to fighting arts.

Second, I think anytime I hear "react" that implies there must be something to react [to]. If you need something to react to, then you are dependent on someone to "aikido"... whole other argument, but relative to our conversation about aikido's position in the fighting arts...

Third, I think its important to distinguish ourselves by presenting the "aiki" solution to common problems in fighting arts, rather than changing the presumptions of the problem. To Demetrio's comment, Joe Rogan calls out Dr. Hill during the interview for making such a presumption - that the trained fighter in the bar is in a uncontrolled state, while the aikido person (also in the bar) is in a controlled state. This is a false presumption designed to grant moral authority to the aikido person (and therefore "righteousness"). This is (at best) a moral argument, not a physical one. Rather, we should be distinguishing our aiki solution as different from the BJJ solution or the karate solution, while realizing the other solutions are arguably as correct as the aikido solution. I think it's a real problem if we (as aikido people) can't do that. For example, if our "aiki" solution is really just bad jujutsu, how can we distinguish a jujutsu wrist-twist from an aikido wrist-twist? Especially when the jujutsu wrist-twist works under a greater variety of situations... "because we're better than you" is not the answer that is going to win over critics... Nor change the success rate of our wrist-twists.

Last edited by jonreading : 09-30-2015 at 10:38 AM.

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Old 09-30-2015, 11:04 AM   #94
kewms
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Re: Crisis of Faith

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Maciej Jesmanowicz wrote: View Post
I do not agree. As we both know aikido today focuses on dancing without music with a cooperative partner or wooden sticks.
Who is "we?" My aikido doesn't focus on any such thing.

Katherine
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Old 09-30-2015, 01:32 PM   #95
observer
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Re: Crisis of Faith

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Hilary Heinmets wrote: View Post
I recommend stone tablets, they really stand the test of millennia in the digital dark ages; we'll be out here waiting for you to finish carving them, I promise.
I am sorry Hilary. You have got a wrong idea about my post. We are talking about 'Crisis of Faith' and carpeviam started it with a statement:" .. that the skills I've worked on building aren't skills at all, just illusions coming from the fact that my partner intends things to work rather than intending things not to work." This feeling is very common in our aikido society and belive me, I know what I'm saying. I am yudansha with almost 30 years of practice. If it is a question of words I have used to express my thoughts, please feel free to ask, instead judging.

Last edited by observer : 09-30-2015 at 01:41 PM.
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Old 09-30-2015, 02:08 PM   #96
Demetrio Cereijo
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Re: Crisis of Faith

Quote:
John Hillson wrote: View Post
We're off topic and not helping the OP. But, the comparison does bring up some interesting points. What do we do that others don't?
Avoid evidence-based training methods, that's what we do better than almost anyone.
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Old 09-30-2015, 02:34 PM   #97
lbb
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Re: Crisis of Faith

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John Hillson wrote: View Post
We're off topic and not helping the OP.
Wow, is that ever true.

As a point of etiquette, when someone posts asking for help, at the point where what you're doing is not helping, it's time to stop pretending that that's what you're doing, and go down the hall to have a different conversation with those who want to have it with you. Derailing of this sort is pure ego-aggrandizement.
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Old 09-30-2015, 02:53 PM   #98
Cliff Judge
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Re: Crisis of Faith

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Katherine Derbyshire wrote: View Post
Who is "we?" My aikido doesn't focus on any such thing.

Katherine
You guys have music???

joking...but seriously...life itself is a dance, and the only possible martial arts training without cooperative partners is to go out on the streets and roll drunks (like Shioda and other early Aikido people did, and also prominent early Judoka).

Even if you step into an MMA ring with someone - he's there for the same reason, right? the only way your opponent could be truly uncooperative is to not be there.

So, the the OP: don't worry about the part where your technique only seems to work on helpful partners. You are just learning the outlines of the techniques - through diligent practice you will get more effective. PARTICULARLY if you remain critical of yourself.
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Old 12-26-2015, 04:36 PM   #99
dps
 
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Re: Crisis of Faith

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Katherine Derbyshire wrote: View Post
Indeed. Rhonda Rousey said in an interview recently that MMA is easier on her body than judo was. Something along the lines of (paraphrasing): with striking, someone gets a little cut and there's blood everywhere so it looks impressive, but grappling can really do a number on the joints.

(Now, when you decimate opponents in 30 seconds or less, that's probably pretty easy for your body, too, but that's a different topic.)

Katherine
I wonder if Ronda stills feels that way now..

dps
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Old 12-28-2015, 07:48 AM   #100
lbb
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Re: Crisis of Faith

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David Skaggs wrote: View Post
I wonder if Ronda stills feels that way now..

dps
Having a boring Boxing Day, are we?
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