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Old 02-10-2007, 02:13 PM   #1
gdandscompserv
 
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What has aikido caused you to do?

Move my family and I to a foreign country.
Buy mats and open a dojo so I would have a place to train.
Conscript 2 of my son's into 'uchi-deshi'.
Plan vacation time around aikido seminars.
Be a healthier, happier, person.

And you?
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Old 02-10-2007, 03:56 PM   #2
Kevin Beyer
 
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Smile Re: What has aikido caused you to do?

has made me a better person!

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" - Edmund Burke
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Old 02-10-2007, 04:41 PM   #3
Tinyboy344
 
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Re: What has aikido caused you to do?

hasn't done anything to me... yet or have I not realized it!
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Old 02-10-2007, 06:50 PM   #4
Hanna B
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Re: What has aikido caused you to do?

Aikido made me move to a bigger city to get better and more training.

Aikido also made me spend years in social structures that honestly sucked (on and off mat), which made me unhappy and frustrated.
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Old 02-10-2007, 11:55 PM   #5
CNYMike
Dojo: Aikido of Central New York
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Re: What has aikido caused you to do?

Visit Montreal, which I hadn't done since my car was totaled there in 1996, for a USAF seminar.
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Old 02-11-2007, 06:12 AM   #6
Nousha
Dojo: Maadi Dojo
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Re: What has aikido caused you to do?

* get to know people from Switzerland, Itlay, Giboti, Malta, Turkey, Hungary, France, UK, USA,,,,,
* made me return home at -almost- midnight
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Old 02-11-2007, 12:11 PM   #7
Eric Webber
Dojo: Aikido West Reading
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Re: What has aikido caused you to do?

...evaluate how I live my life outside of the dojo.
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Old 02-11-2007, 03:16 PM   #8
Janet Rosen
 
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Re: What has aikido caused you to do?

be less klutzy
confront fears I previously would/could not
blow out my knee
meet folks and make friends from around the world
help me develop, integrate and/or better articulate certain beliefs/attitudes (per my columns here)
start a microbusiness sewing aikido goods
find out I really hate the taste of scotch, however expensive
learn otherwise useless Japanese phrases

Janet Rosen
http://www.zanshinart.com
"peace will enter when hate is gone"--percy mayfield
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Old 02-11-2007, 04:59 PM   #9
Wombat
 
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Re: What has aikido caused you to do?

I have not been practicing long but I am certainly becoming more nimble already. Everyone I have met in conjunction with Aikido has been really friendly and happy. If this is what lies ahead for me, then I can't see a down side.
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Old 02-11-2007, 05:12 PM   #10
sbrocklebank
Dojo: Leeds Aikikai
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Re: What has aikido caused you to do?

1. to post on this web place
2. to walk around work, home, town everywhere practicing tai-sabaki no matter what/how folks look at me!
3. to do the rowing exersize for 25 mins. haven't made sensei's arbetrary 40 mins yet. but will do
4. ask friends to grab my wrist to see if i could do shiho nage or ikkyo or whatever on them...!


sim
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Old 02-11-2007, 06:34 PM   #11
DH
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Re: What has aikido caused you to do?

After attending a few of Kazuo Chiba's seminars years ago and watching his antics, then having a little run-in, I left Aikido. It was already getting dicey for me as the measure of cooperation needed from me to let men do their schtick was just ridiculous.
I'd go on record in saying that Chiba is thee reason I left Aikido for good. I found his behaviour to be repugnant, the personification of all that is wrong with the art.
See Dobson and Arikawa thread here.

A few years ago I had an Aikido teacher ask me why I was so against aikido. I told him I wasn't against aikido I had high hopes for it. Then I had these certain experiences. I had not even finished getting the word Chiba out of my mouth when he raised his hand and said "Say no more. I understand."
So what did Aikido cause me to do?
Leave.
Dan

Last edited by DH : 02-11-2007 at 06:36 PM.
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Old 02-11-2007, 07:43 PM   #12
David Humm
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Re: What has aikido caused you to do?

Aikido has "caused" me to meet some of the nicest most genuine people I've ever met and, a few low-life scumbag parasites. They know who they are.
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Old 02-11-2007, 07:49 PM   #13
gdandscompserv
 
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Re: What has aikido caused you to do?

Quote:
Dan Harden wrote:
So what did Aikido cause me to do?
Leave.
Dan
Sounds like Chiba sensei caused you to leave rather than aikido itself.
However, I can relate. I learned aikdio from one magnificent sensei. After returning to America and experiencing several disappointing aikido teachers I became very disheartened. Once again just reinforcing the concept that the people are the ones that make an art what it is. That is why it is so important for good people to continue in the art. If you want to feel and experience exemplars of excellence in both technique and heart I suggest training with the following people based on my own experience.

Moriteru Ueshiba Doshu
Iwao Yamaguchi Sensei (my sensei, whom I miss terribly)
Kevin Choate Sensei
George Ledyard Sensei
Patty Saotome Sensei
Hiroshi Ikeda Sensei
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Old 02-11-2007, 07:58 PM   #14
Gernot Hassenpflug
Dojo: Aunkai, Tokyo
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Re: What has aikido caused you to do?

Caused me to go out and find knowledge, and realize what a trap Asian hierarchies are. The basic premise to go by is that a teacher won't teach the real deal, and that should be indirectly gotten from someone who is teaching something else (which he won't teach you) but is not protecting that particular thing you're after from him. This doesn't go just for Aikido of course, but the dojo was where I realized this most clearly, by seeing the difference between the few with inside knowledge, and those without. As soon as I learnt some basics (badly, still) from elsewhere (Akuzawa) all that insider knowledge that a few had became worthless (though still magnificent when arrayed against the ignorance of the rest of the practitioners).
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Old 02-11-2007, 08:37 PM   #15
Tim Fong
 
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Re: What has aikido caused you to do?

Gernot,
You are describing what intelligence analysts do with "open sources" , i.e. non classified material. If they can assemble enough pieces of non-classified info (from various sources) they can infer the classified/non released information.

To paraphrase Gibson, the information is there, it's just not widely distributed yet.
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Old 02-11-2007, 09:51 PM   #16
PeterR
 
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Re: What has aikido caused you to do?

Quote:
Gernot Hassenpflug wrote:
all that insider knowledge that a few had became worthless (though still magnificent when arrayed against the ignorance of the rest of the practitioners).
Yet you still train there - why?

Peter Rehse Shodokan Aikido
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Old 02-12-2007, 01:41 AM   #17
Mike Hamer
 
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Re: What has aikido caused you to do?

Aikido has made me realize what I want to do for the rest of my life.

To speak ill of anything is against the nature of Aikido
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Old 02-12-2007, 06:32 AM   #18
batemanb
 
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Re: What has aikido caused you to do?

get drunk, very often...........at least whilst I was living in Japan.

A difficult problem is easily solved by asking yourself the question, "Just how would the Lone Ranger handle this?"
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Old 02-12-2007, 07:07 AM   #19
gdandscompserv
 
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Re: What has aikido caused you to do?

Quote:
Bryan Bateman wrote:
get drunk, very often...........at least whilst I was living in Japan.
lol
they do enjoy drinking.
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Old 02-12-2007, 07:26 AM   #20
Jorge Garcia
Dojo: Shudokan School of Aikido
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Re: What has aikido caused you to do?

Aikido has caused me to realize that I could do a lot of things I would have believed in the past that I couldn't do. Due to circumstances, I was forced to start a dojo 3 years ago so I could keep training under my Shihan.
I shouldn't have been able to succeed and everything was against me because I had a low rank, no money and no contacts. Today, I have two dojos with 80 students. I am teaching Aikido full time and 12 dojos joined the Association that I started and we are still growing. In this endeavor, I learned that I shouldn't be afraid to do what it seems I shouldn't be able to do. With this lesson in hand, I am reaching out again in another crazy idea (a personal endeavor) but it was my experience in Aikido that has given me the courage to try.
Best wishes,
Jorge

"It is the philosophy that gives meaning to the method of training."
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Old 02-12-2007, 07:30 AM   #21
gdandscompserv
 
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Re: What has aikido caused you to do?

Thanks for sharing that one Jorge.
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Old 02-12-2007, 07:40 AM   #22
Jorge Garcia
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Re: What has aikido caused you to do?

Quote:
Ricky Wood wrote:
Thanks for sharing that one Jorge.

Thanks Ricky,
I guess the lesson is that it's ok to dream- your dream might come true!
best,
Jorge

"It is the philosophy that gives meaning to the method of training."
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Old 02-12-2007, 09:01 AM   #23
crbateman
 
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Re: What has aikido caused you to do?

Aikido has caused me to go broke building an Aikido book collection...

Seriously, though, I cannot think of a single aspect of my life or my thinking that has not been influenced in some way by Aikido. It has also afforded me the opportunity to meet some of the finest and most genuine people it has ever been my good fortune to encounter.
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Old 02-12-2007, 10:49 AM   #24
mriehle
 
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Re: What has aikido caused you to do?

  • Start a dojo in Rio Vista, CA. This town is too small, in theory, to support a dojo, but I'm working on defying the odds.
  • Drag my wife and kids to the dojo four times a week.
  • Spend lots of money on uniforms, weapons, books, videos, etc.
  • Give up some bad habits.
  • Start some bad habits.
  • Rethink my software development career (I'm not a fan of the Silicon Valley Work Ethic).

My wife just went through a weekend-intensive introduction to Aikido. It's a brutal way to start Aikido, but she seems to have actually enjoyed it. At least now she's training herself rather than just being a taxi for the kids.

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Old 02-12-2007, 02:59 PM   #25
Nafis Zahir
 
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Exclamation Re: What has aikido caused you to do?

Quote:
Dan Harden wrote:
After attending a few of Kazuo Chiba's seminars years ago and watching his antics, then having a little run-in, I left Aikido. It was already getting dicey for me as the measure of cooperation needed from me to let men do their schtick was just ridiculous.
I'd go on record in saying that Chiba is thee reason I left Aikido for good. I found his behaviour to be repugnant, the personification of all that is wrong with the art.
See Dobson and Arikawa thread here.

A few years ago I had an Aikido teacher ask me why I was so against aikido. I told him I wasn't against aikido I had high hopes for it. Then I had these certain experiences. I had not even finished getting the word Chiba out of my mouth when he raised his hand and said "Say no more. I understand."
So what did Aikido cause me to do?
Leave.
Dan

After experiencing some disappointments, it was Chiba Sensei that made me love training all over again. I guess to each his own. He is very serious about the art and sticking to the basics. But we all have to do what we all to do for ourselves. You may not like Chiba Sensei, but if you like Aikido, come back and train with someone else.

Aikido has made me:

Travel alot more
Spend more money
Lose weight
Stretch
Avoid all confrontations at all cost!

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