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Old 11-27-2010, 07:38 AM   #26
Marc Abrams
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Re: Golden Center Sword

Quote:
Graham Christian wrote: View Post
You're welcome. 1)What is collusive training? 2) All training should make people feel good in Aikido. 3) Martial principles are hard to see by the uninformed.
Graham:

1) Collusive Training. Watch your own videos and read your own writings and you should easily understand that what you do is nothing other than collusive practice. Both sides acting unnaturally to come to some colluded conclusion.

2 & 3) Where on God's green earth did you derive that all training should make people feel good in Aikido? Where on God's green earth did you come to the belief that what you do has martial principles to them and that I, one of the uniformed, could not see it?

Stanley Pranin worked very hard to put together the Aiki Expos, to help the Aikido world move back to the founder's Aikido and practice, and move away from the collusive, feel-good practice seen in your videos. Funny, I don't recall seeing you at any of them. You speak to other's about the words of O'Sensei, you speak to others about Ki is your work as though you are far more "knowing" that many of the posters on this forum. People have been trying to "wake you up" and get you to consider that what you are doing inside of your four-mat, cloistered, shared delusional space has little if any to do with the legacy of O'Sensei.

What, if any experience do you have with any of the direct student's of O'Sensei? You talk about Ki, yet have you any experience with Tohei Sensei or any of his top students?

Your practice lacks of martial integrity. You make ridiculous statements such as "You will never see sincere attacks with martial intent in an Aikido video unless you see an Aikidoka using it in a real life situation from some street happening or such." to try and hide this obvious fact.

Why don't you bring in some full-contact, karateka and film your encounter with him? Why don't you bring in some kendo person of equal rank and film your encounter with him? If you want some safer, encounters with reality, I would recommend these two idea:
1) George Ledyard Sensei conducts 4--day randori and weapons intensives in the US. You should attend one. Protective gear and shinai would be a safe environment for you to see what you can really do with weapons.
2) Kenji Ushiro Sensei will be in Lyon France in April of 2011. You should attend to get an idea of what Ki is really about, and how it can be used effectively and safely in practice with real martial intent.

Then again, you can continue to post about what you think that you know and what you think that you can do. We will continue to try and get you to taste a dose of reality. Hopefully, one day, you might wake up and see that some of those who you view as "uniformed" have put in far greater time, have developed greater skill levels that can be safely demonstrated with martial integrity with real martial intent in attacks, and have a deeper understanding of philosophies that you attempt to "teach" others.

Marc Abrams
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Old 11-27-2010, 09:03 AM   #27
sakumeikan
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Re: Golden Center Sword

Quote:
Marc Abrams wrote: View Post
Graham:

1) Collusive Training. Watch your own videos and read your own writings and you should easily understand that what you do is nothing other than collusive practice. Both sides acting unnaturally to come to some colluded conclusion.

2 & 3) Where on God's green earth did you derive that all training should make people feel good in Aikido? Where on God's green earth did you come to the belief that what you do has martial principles to them and that I, one of the uniformed, could not see it?

Stanley Pranin worked very hard to put together the Aiki Expos, to help the Aikido world move back to the founder's Aikido and practice, and move away from the collusive, feel-good practice seen in your videos. Funny, I don't recall seeing you at any of them. You speak to other's about the words of O'Sensei, you speak to others about Ki is your work as though you are far more "knowing" that many of the posters on this forum. People have been trying to "wake you up" and get you to consider that what you are doing inside of your four-mat, cloistered, shared delusional space has little if any to do with the legacy of O'Sensei.

What, if any experience do you have with any of the direct student's of O'Sensei? You talk about Ki, yet have you any experience with Tohei Sensei or any of his top students?

Your practice lacks of martial integrity. You make ridiculous statements such as "You will never see sincere attacks with martial intent in an Aikido video unless you see an Aikidoka using it in a real life situation from some street happening or such." to try and hide this obvious fact.

Why don't you bring in some full-contact, karateka and film your encounter with him? Why don't you bring in some kendo person of equal rank and film your encounter with him? If you want some safer, encounters with reality, I would recommend these two idea:
1) George Ledyard Sensei conducts 4--day randori and weapons intensives in the US. You should attend one. Protective gear and shinai would be a safe environment for you to see what you can really do with weapons.
2) Kenji Ushiro Sensei will be in Lyon France in April of 2011. You should attend to get an idea of what Ki is really about, and how it can be used effectively and safely in practice with real martial intent.

Then again, you can continue to post about what you think that you know and what you think that you can do. We will continue to try and get you to taste a dose of reality. Hopefully, one day, you might wake up and see that some of those who you view as "uniformed" have put in far greater time, have developed greater skill levels that can be safely demonstrated with martial integrity with real martial intent in attacks, and have a deeper understanding of philosophies that you attempt to "teach" others.
Dear Marc,
You certainly got the six guns out and fired some rounds at Graham.Lets be charitable.The guys heart might be in the right place but his aikido is elsewhere.Since I have only seen the videos on You tube I dont want to totally state that Graham is not too adept at Aikido .If this is Tohei based aikido and he is an qualified teacher in this method,it would suggest to me there is something amiss here.
While Aikido is a broad church and there are many methods of Aikido, I see very little evidence of good quality training in the vids.
Perhaps Graham you would care to tell our readers more about your aikido lineage?I personally do not want to judge anyone solely on the basis of a couple of video clips alone.
Cheers, Joe.

Last edited by akiy : 11-27-2010 at 06:35 PM. Reason: Fixed quote tag
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Old 11-27-2010, 09:10 AM   #28
Marc Abrams
Dojo: Aikido Arts of Shin Budo Kai/ Bedford Hills, New York
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Re: Golden Center Sword

Quote:
Joe Curran wrote: View Post
Dear Marc,
You certainly got the six guns out and fired some rounds at Graham.Lets be charitable.The guys heart might be in the right place but his aikido is elsewhere.Since I have only seen the videos on You tube I dont want to totally state that Graham is not too adept at Aikido .If this is Tohei based aikido and he is an qualified teacher in this method,it would suggest to me there is something amiss here.
While Aikido is a broad church and there are many methods of Aikido, I see very little evidence of good quality training in the vids.
Perhaps Graham you would care to tell our readers more about your aikido lineage?I personally do not want to judge anyone solely on the basis of a couple of video clips alone.
Cheers, Joe.
Joe:

Sometimes a healthy dose of reality is needed to break through. I was actually being relatively kind in my dosing. When he seeks to pontificate based upon a cursory understanding, he invites a certain nature of response. He is very lucky this is the Aikido world. Much of the martial arts world is not as charitable as we tend to be.

We both agree about the nature of Graham's practice. I agree that his heart is in the right place. When you teach, you need much more than a heart in the right place. Hopefully, he can take what he has and move beyond where he is, so that he can regain a realistic sense of martial integrity to all aspects of his Aikido life.

Cordially,

Marc Abrams

Last edited by akiy : 11-27-2010 at 06:35 PM. Reason: Fixed quoting
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Old 11-27-2010, 09:45 AM   #29
sakumeikan
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Re: Golden Center Sword

Quote:
Marc Abrams wrote: View Post
Joe:

Sometimes a healthy dose of reality is needed to break through. I was actually being relatively kind in my dosing. When he seeks to pontificate based upon a cursory understanding, he invites a certain nature of response. He is very lucky this is the Aikido world. Much of the martial arts world is not as charitable as we tend to be.

We both agree about the nature of Graham's practice. I agree that his heart is in the right place. When you teach, you need much more than a heart in the right place. Hopefully, he can take what he has and move beyond where he is, so that he can regain a realistic sense of martial integrity to all aspects of his Aikido life.

Cordially,

Marc Abrams
Dear Marc,
Thanks for your comments.Unfortunately Aikido has for some people a quasi mystical element.All this stuff about love /harmony/ making oneself blend with the universal etc
I have it on good authority that O Sensei was a man who could get quite agitated on certain occasions .In this particular mode his hair on the back of his neck bristled.
Certainly some of the Shihan I have worked with have the ability to really damage you big time.However having the ability to sort somebody out , does not mean you have to exercise that ability.Rather than use the Iron Fist use the Buddha Heart.
Severe training[Shugyo] nowadays is pretty rare.Some classes do not focus on the Martial aspects of Aikido. This is ok if thats what the teacher /students want. Each person has to choose their own path.But the Path surely must be based on sound principles.If not the Art gets diluted and before long Aikido is no more . We must try and preserve the values of Aikido for the future generations.

Last edited by akiy : 11-27-2010 at 06:36 PM. Reason: Fixed quoting
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Old 11-27-2010, 10:32 AM   #30
kewms
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Re: Golden Center Sword

Quote:
Marc Abrams wrote: View Post
Sometimes a healthy dose of reality is needed to break through. I was actually being relatively kind in my dosing. When he seeks to pontificate based upon a cursory understanding, he invites a certain nature of response. He is very lucky this is the Aikido world. Much of the martial arts world is not as charitable as we tend to be.
Toward individuals, or toward other arts. Videos like these are why students of other arts tend to scoff at aikido.

Katherine
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Old 11-27-2010, 11:59 AM   #31
Marc Abrams
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Re: Golden Center Sword

Quote:
Joe Curran wrote: View Post
Dear Marc,
Thanks for your comments.Unfortunately Aikido has for some people a quasi mystical element.All this stuff about love /harmony/ making oneself blend with the universal etc
I have it on good authority that O Sensei was a man who could get quite agitated on certain occasions .In this particular mode his hair on the back of his neck bristled.
Certainly some of the Shihan I have worked with have the ability to really damage you big time.However having the ability to sort somebody out , does not mean you have to exercise that ability.Rather than use the Iron Fist use the Buddha Heart.
Severe training[Shugyo] nowadays is pretty rare.Some classes do not focus on the Martial aspects of Aikido. This is ok if thats what the teacher /students want. Each person has to choose their own path.But the Path surely must be based on sound principles.If not the Art gets diluted and before long Aikido is no more . We must try and preserve the values of Aikido for the future generations.
Joe:

You are I are in total agreement. My teacher was one of O'Sensei's direct students so I know what you are talking about in regards to training at the Aikikai Hombu Dojo with O'Sensei. The Buddha Heart does not truly exist in a real conflict without a true Iron First. The attacker is pre-consciously aware of this and responds accordingly.

Shugyo can be severe in honesty and spirit without physical brutality. I am okay with people choosing their own paths. If they try and sell that path as representative of some martial tradition when it is little more that a shared delusional space, they are not only fooling themselves but potentially endangering their students with a psychotically false sense of security. Graham represents what a lot of Tai Chi had devolved into. The real stuff is fantastic in it's martial reality. The "new age" stuff is simply empty. Graham should not talk about his stuff as having no martial integrity, based upon an idealistic philosophy that sinks in the "waters of reality."

Regards,

Marc Abrams

Last edited by akiy : 11-27-2010 at 06:36 PM. Reason: Fixed quoting
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Old 11-27-2010, 12:18 PM   #32
mathewjgano
 
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Re: Golden Center Sword

Hi Graham,
Quote:
Graham Christian wrote: View Post
Until a person has experienced this then of course they can't see it.
Here you seem to be suggesting that none of these folks who have criticized your training have experienced ki-based training. Is that the case?
Quote:
As for the martial intent, well I can only tell you this: Once O'Sensei said true budo is love and then formed Aikido I believe at that point the whole purpose of this martial discipline changed. No longer was it to defeat the enemy or to dominate or to win etc. It was now to harmonise and thus the spiritual side of the techniques and motions needed to be fully understood and experienced which takes far more discipline than mere physical.
Are you saying your practice is unconcerned with remaining standing after someone attacks you? Or that it is a secondary or tertiary concern compared to generating an enjoyable, healthy feeling?
My meager sense of O Sensei's intent for Aikido was that, yes, on the whole it should feel good, but that "harmonization" has more to do with operating in accordance/concordance with natural laws/forces/strengths. Love is the ki we try to imbue our movements with so we cause as little harm as possible. In other words, sometimes we may need to let the attacker hit us for the greater good to come about, but sometimes we may also need to break something to serve that same noble goal. Knowing the difference and being able to account for both is damned hard, but that's why the need for such constant and sincere/intense training.
Take care,
Matthew

Gambarimashyo!
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Old 11-27-2010, 12:45 PM   #33
kewms
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Re: Golden Center Sword

Quote:
Graham Christian wrote: View Post
Until a person has experienced this then of course they can't see it. As for the martial intent, well I can only tell you this: Once O'Sensei said true budo is love and then formed Aikido I believe at that point the whole purpose of this martial discipline changed. No longer was it to defeat the enemy or to dominate or to win etc. It was now to harmonise and thus the spiritual side of the techniques and motions needed to be fully understood and experienced which takes far more discipline than mere physical.
Not just picking on you, because I see this spiritual vs. physical dichotomy in a lot of discussion of aikido.

The challenge is that you need both. If physical rigor is absent, if your practice falls apart in the presence of sincere attacks, you're no longer practicing a martial art. Which is fine, but you should no longer call it aikido.

In your terminology, it's not samurai OR Buddha, but samurai AND Buddha. Choosing the Buddha side alone is not the "more difficult" path, it's just as much a way of avoiding the main challenge as the samurai side alone is.

Katherine
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Old 11-27-2010, 12:59 PM   #34
Tony Wagstaffe
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Re: YouTube: Golden Center Sword

Did somebody just wake me up for this!!
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Old 11-27-2010, 01:21 PM   #35
Marc Abrams
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Re: YouTube: Golden Center Sword

Quote:
Attilio Anthony John Wagstaffe wrote: View Post
Did somebody just wake me up for this!!
Tony:

We feel your pain! Now if only we can get Graham to wake up......

Regards,

Marc Abrams
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Old 11-27-2010, 01:43 PM   #36
Mary Eastland
 
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Re: YouTube: Golden Center Sword

Hi Graham;
Can you talk about what you were teaching in those videos? In one it looked like your uke was experienced yet he was receiving the throw as though he did not know how to fall. Were you working on something specific that we can't tell from a video?
thank you,
Mary
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Old 11-27-2010, 01:53 PM   #37
Michael Hackett
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Re: YouTube: Golden Center Sword

I think I've mentioned this before, but I had the privilege of doing a session with Homma Sensei at the 2005 AikiExpo. Homma Sensei picked up a jo and held it horizontally. He explained that Aikido can be represented by the length of the jo, with one end being the "aiki bunny dance" and brutal. bone crushing martial technique on the other (and I am paraphrasing here). He ended his discussion by saying that both ends of the jo were poor Aikido, but a practitioner had to be able to move back and forth along the jo to truly practice Aikido. As he spoke, he made it clear with the path of his hands that the movement in the art was within the middle half or third of the jo. My understanding was that either extreme was something to be avoided and what he said rang true for me, given his lineage with Toyoda Sensei through Tohei Sensei to O Sensei.

Michael
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Old 11-27-2010, 03:17 PM   #38
Lyle Laizure
 
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Re: Golden Center Sword

Quote:
Katherine Derbyshire wrote: View Post
Toward individuals, or toward other arts. Videos like these are why students of other arts tend to scoff at aikido.

Katherine
I agree but to be honest it isn't just limited to Aikido.

I can't say that I understand the training but I would be interested in knowing more about his training/lineage/ranking etc.

Lyle Laizure
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Old 11-27-2010, 03:41 PM   #39
mickeygelum
 
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Re: YouTube: Golden Center Sword

Quote:
Aikido can be represented by the length of the jo, with one end being the "aiki bunny dance" and brutal. bone crushing martial technique on the other (and I am paraphrasing here). He ended his discussion by saying that both ends of the jo were poor Aikido
So true, Michael.

Greetings All,

While Graham has his "perspective", I also equate that same expression to that of several godan/rokudans that post here.

While the majority of members/posters here is Aikikai, when will the truth be told about those"perspectives" that are scoffed at by the rest of the world.

While the criticism of Graham's perspective has been harsh, when will that same criticism be levied upon the namedropping, "snake oil senseis".

While there are plenty of aikidoka that employ the physicality of Aikido daily, in life threatening or tense situations, why diminish it by rearing the " do not cause harm to the attacker" recital. The sick, lame and lazy that have their own "goals" established should not equate to those that push the bar higher daily. In reality, there are professionals that exemplify the basic tenets of Aikido daily.

As a matter of fact, Aikido, at least Aikikai for the most part and even some Tomiki perversions has become the Tai Chi of obese intellectuals and smug wannabe warriors, that could sell ice makers in the Arctic Circle.

"Can't we all just get along ", Hell no, because there will always be the ones who can and the ones who cannot...too bad there will always be a greater majority that cannot.

It is so easy to attack those that cannot, how about "putting up or shutting up" with the ones who can and will welcome the training?

Truth be told, it all comes down to the person...and in their own mind they know who and what they are.

Train well,

Mickey

ps...when one makes an endorsement, your credibility, ability and perspective are attached

Last edited by mickeygelum : 11-27-2010 at 03:45 PM.
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Old 11-27-2010, 05:59 PM   #40
mathewjgano
 
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Re: YouTube: Golden Center Sword

Quote:
Michael Gelum wrote: View Post
As a matter of fact, Aikido, at least Aikikai for the most part and even some Tomiki perversions has become the Tai Chi of obese intellectuals and smug wannabe warriors, that could sell ice makers in the Arctic Circle.
...
Truth be told, it all comes down to the person...and in their own mind they know who and what they are.

Train well,

Mickey
Interestingly enough (to me at least ), I came to Aikido because I viewed it as "Japanese Tai Chi," which to my mind meant it was more meditative than martial (I have since learned both can be perfectly effective as physical self-defense practices). This is why I asked my questions about Graham's meaning. I don't think it's inapropriate to put healthful socializing in the forefront of one's training. As long as we're honest with ourselves and open to new points of view, i say we can't really go wrong for the most part.
Incidentally, my brief experience with Tomiki Ryu gave a very nice comparison for the "flavor" I began with. I can only imagine how a greater cross-section of experience would deepen my perspective.

Last edited by mathewjgano : 11-27-2010 at 06:02 PM.

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Old 11-27-2010, 06:07 PM   #41
graham christian
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Re: Golden Center Sword

Quote:
Marc Abrams wrote: View Post
Graham:

1) Collusive Training. Watch your own videos and read your own writings and you should easily understand that what you do is nothing other than collusive practice. Both sides acting unnaturally to come to some colluded conclusion.

2 & 3) Where on God's green earth did you derive that all training should make people feel good in Aikido? Where on God's green earth did you come to the belief that what you do has martial principles to them and that I, one of the uniformed, could not see it?

Stanley Pranin worked very hard to put together the Aiki Expos, to help the Aikido world move back to the founder's Aikido and practice, and move away from the collusive, feel-good practice seen in your videos. Funny, I don't recall seeing you at any of them. You speak to other's about the words of O'Sensei, you speak to others about Ki is your work as though you are far more "knowing" that many of the posters on this forum. People have been trying to "wake you up" and get you to consider that what you are doing inside of your four-mat, cloistered, shared delusional space has little if any to do with the legacy of O'Sensei.

What, if any experience do you have with any of the direct student's of O'Sensei? You talk about Ki, yet have you any experience with Tohei Sensei or any of his top students?

Your practice lacks of martial integrity. You make ridiculous statements such as "You will never see sincere attacks with martial intent in an Aikido video unless you see an Aikidoka using it in a real life situation from some street happening or such." to try and hide this obvious fact.

Why don't you bring in some full-contact, karateka and film your encounter with him? Why don't you bring in some kendo person of equal rank and film your encounter with him? If you want some safer, encounters with reality, I would recommend these two idea:
1) George Ledyard Sensei conducts 4--day randori and weapons intensives in the US. You should attend one. Protective gear and shinai would be a safe environment for you to see what you can really do with weapons.
2) Kenji Ushiro Sensei will be in Lyon France in April of 2011. You should attend to get an idea of what Ki is really about, and how it can be used effectively and safely in practice with real martial intent.

Then again, you can continue to post about what you think that you know and what you think that you can do. We will continue to try and get you to taste a dose of reality. Hopefully, one day, you might wake up and see that some of those who you view as "uniformed" have put in far greater time, have developed greater skill levels that can be safely demonstrated with martial integrity with real martial intent in attacks, and have a deeper understanding of philosophies that you attempt to "teach" others.

Marc Abrams
Marc. Chill out. 1) I now understand what collusive attacking is.
2) Where on Gods green earth did I come to the belief that you could not see it? From you, thats where, you said it yourself.
3)Only rants like this, and collusive attacking and belittling give me the idea that maybe I do 'know' more than some here. Why don't I bring in some sumo wrestlers?

Didn't realize some are so childish and disrespectful. My fault. I apologize. G.
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Old 11-27-2010, 06:13 PM   #42
graham christian
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Re: Golden Center Sword

Quote:
Katherine Derbyshire wrote: View Post
Toward individuals, or toward other arts. Videos like these are why students of other arts tend to scoff at aikido.

Katherine
Wow. Another wise statement.
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Old 11-27-2010, 06:16 PM   #43
graham christian
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Re: YouTube: Golden Center Sword

Quote:
Michael Hackett wrote: View Post
I think I've mentioned this before, but I had the privilege of doing a session with Homma Sensei at the 2005 AikiExpo. Homma Sensei picked up a jo and held it horizontally. He explained that Aikido can be represented by the length of the jo, with one end being the "aiki bunny dance" and brutal. bone crushing martial technique on the other (and I am paraphrasing here). He ended his discussion by saying that both ends of the jo were poor Aikido, but a practitioner had to be able to move back and forth along the jo to truly practice Aikido. As he spoke, he made it clear with the path of his hands that the movement in the art was within the middle half or third of the jo. My understanding was that either extreme was something to be avoided and what he said rang true for me, given his lineage with Toyoda Sensei through Tohei Sensei to O Sensei.
Funny, that's my view too.
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Old 11-27-2010, 07:37 PM   #44
graham christian
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Re: YouTube: Golden Center Sword

Quote:
Mary Eastland wrote: View Post
Hi Graham;
Can you talk about what you were teaching in those videos? In one it looked like your uke was experienced yet he was receiving the throw as though he did not know how to fall. Were you working on something specific that we can't tell from a video?
thank you,
Mary
Hi Mary. I will try my best .

1) In the first video I was showing that you could study all techniques from the viewpoint of the sword, the jo, and the spear. Each has a different feel, a different energy. So for this one I was obviously showing the sword for I teach that the Ki cuts through and the sword follows.

2)In the second one it starts with two students practicing. One was asking the other why he couldn't just attack how he wanted, he hadn't any experience previously. So the other was showing him even though he hasn't taught it before but has been uke many times.
I found it interesting to observe how he was doing and let it progress.
Now when I take over I am showing a few separate things. First I was showing uke what it felt like if I stepped off line and cut down on his shomen attack and then what it felt like if I did the same but with weight underside.
Secondly I was showing him how to cut through and allow the sword to immediately return to center line in which case the uke either has to stop, or or run straight into the point.
Thirdly I was showing that no matter what cut or turn or entering you do you must always be focused on and ready to cut through the opponents center line. Return to center line. Once again it was for him to see what it felt like.

3)The third one was altogether different. I was asked to show what I had said the previous week by the sensei watching. So this wasn't teaching the uke, it was only asking him to cut shomen while I showed my friend.
I had said that movement depended on your intention. ie: If you intend to oppose and counter then you would have one group of possible actions. If you intend to blend with then you have another. If you intend to BE the attacker then you move and act differently, and have a totally different 'mindset' for want of a better word.
4)The fourth one was for fun, no particular significance.

That's all. Oh except for the uke and the throw. Not sure which one you mean. In the first one you will notice that I was holding whilst cutting, you cannot breakfall from this, take nikkyo for example, but you are right in as much as he could have 'fallen' better. In his defence I must say he hadn't got a clue what I was doing, he had never experienced that before.

In the third one where I was asking him to attack while I was unarmed he was not only bemused and uncentered, he was lost.

Well, that's the best I can do. Hope it answers your question. G.
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Old 11-27-2010, 07:56 PM   #45
Mary Eastland
 
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Re: YouTube: Golden Center Sword

Hi Graham:
Thank you for the explanation. That was very interesting.
Mary
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Old 11-27-2010, 08:33 PM   #46
Anthony Loeppert
Dojo: Aikido of Del Mar
Location: San Diego, CA
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Re: Golden Center Sword

Quote:
Graham Christian wrote: View Post
3)Only rants like this, and collusive attacking and belittling give me the idea that maybe I do 'know' more than some here.
Interesting. I genuinely hope your general (outside of aikido) learning method is different from this attitude. If not, I assume had you thought 2+2=3 or some other such absurdity and you posted to various math websites proclaiming your new truth, the responses you receive would no doubt increase your resolve.

Good day! Enjoy your "truth".
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Old 11-27-2010, 11:32 PM   #47
Andrew Macdonald
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 126
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Re: YouTube: Golden Center Sword

I can't say good or bad, or comment much about ki exercises or apps in this video.

on the other hand

I know the difference between what I want to study and what I don;t want to study.

this would be the latter
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Old 11-28-2010, 08:14 AM   #48
Marc Abrams
Dojo: Aikido Arts of Shin Budo Kai/ Bedford Hills, New York
Location: New York
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Re: Golden Center Sword

Quote:
Graham Christian wrote: View Post
Marc. Chill out. 1) I now understand what collusive attacking is.
2) Where on Gods green earth did I come to the belief that you could not see it? From you, thats where, you said it yourself.
3)Only rants like this, and collusive attacking and belittling give me the idea that maybe I do 'know' more than some here. Why don't I bring in some sumo wrestlers?

Didn't realize some are so childish and disrespectful. My fault. I apologize. G.
Graham:

Please allow me to offer you a constructive re-frame to this response.
1) Instead of me "chilling out", maybe you should ramp it up. Words like connection, Ki,...... are nice and fuzzy things to explore in a gentle, collusive environment and simply do not offer a pathway to utilizing these necessary skills in the middle of chaos and conflict. You stated that the videos posted were how you ran your classes. That pattern of training simply does not translate to functional effectiveness in the midst of a real conflict. I suggest that you find some way to communicate with, or research the experiences of teachers who did train under O'Sensei to get an idea as to what that training environment was like. Practicing in your manner is your choice. Acting as a teacher implies a far greater degree of responsibility that can directly effect the health and well-being of your students.

2) I saw and understood quite well what was and what was not going on in your video clips. If you think that my response was a "rant" then that says an awful lot in regards to your ability to function in the midst of true conflict. Your belief that maybe you do "know more" than others on this forum has yet to be observed through your video clips and writings. Both demonstrate a place in your training where a little knowledge and experience is being interpreted as far beyond what is really there. That is not a safe place to be when having to actually rely on what you really do know. A sumo wrestler, along with the other possibilities that I did suggest would be helpful to you. Drop your defensiveness and find out how empty your "glass of experience" is. This is a very helpful tool. One that I regularly employ to find as many holes in my skill sets and understandings as I possibly can, so that I can work even harder to better develop my skill sets and understandings to the levels of my teachers.

3) Your reference to people being childish and disrespectful is simply your defensiveness trying to mask your own inadequacies that come across in a all-to-typical, passive-aggressive manner amongst Aikidoka. You have a foundation upon which you have the opportunity to develop and later teach Aikido. Stop sitting back and recounting all of your years of hard work to reach the level of enlightenment that you believed that you have reached. Go out and push yourself to discover where you really are. My suggestions to you were designed to push you in that direction. That is where real growth and progress lies. Many of us continue along this path in hopes of being able to better represent an art that is so inconsistently represented throughout the world. The more we discover, the more we discover how little we have uncovered and how much more there is to delve into so that real progress is achieved.

You are best served by dropping the apologies and pontifications and begin to push yourself in whatever manner possible to safely test the boundaries of your competence.

Believe it or not, we will still be here supporting you and pushing you to not give up when you truly come face-to-face with where you really are. The first Aiki Expo was the first of those profound wake-up calls for me. I still push myself harder and harder every year to find those wake-up calls.

Good Luck!

Marc Abrams
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Old 11-28-2010, 09:38 AM   #49
Aikirk
Location: Aahus
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 83
Denmark
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Re: YouTube: Golden Center Sword

The third video caught my interest. Now I'm only a humble mudansha, but I wonder from which school you've got your sword skills from?

Uke seems particullarly unskilled with a sword, and attacks in strange ways. First of all:

1, Why is his sword pointing towards your stomach? As far as I know, it should be pointing towards the throat or face, before the initial attack.

2. The sword is sometimes as low as pointing to the mat, before he attacks. Why?

3. The angle is tricky, but it seems like uke draws his sword way to late, and will actually walk into to you, before having made the actual cut.

4. You do an iriminage to a person who has got a sword? I see no control of the sword.

I know this is not actual teaching of uke, but if you are going to teach sword techniques properly, uke must know the basic way of attacking. There is a good reason why kendo guys don't initiate attacks with a lowered sword.

And I'm sorry to say, but your sword techniques looks very poor indeed.
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Old 11-28-2010, 10:21 AM   #50
graham christian
Dojo: golden center aikido-highgate
Location: london
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 2,697
England
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Re: Golden Center Sword

Quote:
Marc Abrams wrote: View Post
Graham:

Please allow me to offer you a constructive re-frame to this response.
1) Instead of me "chilling out", maybe you should ramp it up. Words like connection, Ki,...... are nice and fuzzy things to explore in a gentle, collusive environment and simply do not offer a pathway to utilizing these necessary skills in the middle of chaos and conflict. You stated that the videos posted were how you ran your classes. That pattern of training simply does not translate to functional effectiveness in the midst of a real conflict. I suggest that you find some way to communicate with, or research the experiences of teachers who did train under O'Sensei to get an idea as to what that training environment was like. Practicing in your manner is your choice. Acting as a teacher implies a far greater degree of responsibility that can directly effect the health and well-being of your students.

2) I saw and understood quite well what was and what was not going on in your video clips. If you think that my response was a "rant" then that says an awful lot in regards to your ability to function in the midst of true conflict. Your belief that maybe you do "know more" than others on this forum has yet to be observed through your video clips and writings. Both demonstrate a place in your training where a little knowledge and experience is being interpreted as far beyond what is really there. That is not a safe place to be when having to actually rely on what you really do know. A sumo wrestler, along with the other possibilities that I did suggest would be helpful to you. Drop your defensiveness and find out how empty your "glass of experience" is. This is a very helpful tool. One that I regularly employ to find as many holes in my skill sets and understandings as I possibly can, so that I can work even harder to better develop my skill sets and understandings to the levels of my teachers.

3) Your reference to people being childish and disrespectful is simply your defensiveness trying to mask your own inadequacies that come across in a all-to-typical, passive-aggressive manner amongst Aikidoka. You have a foundation upon which you have the opportunity to develop and later teach Aikido. Stop sitting back and recounting all of your years of hard work to reach the level of enlightenment that you believed that you have reached. Go out and push yourself to discover where you really are. My suggestions to you were designed to push you in that direction. That is where real growth and progress lies. Many of us continue along this path in hopes of being able to better represent an art that is so inconsistently represented throughout the world. The more we discover, the more we discover how little we have uncovered and how much more there is to delve into so that real progress is achieved.

You are best served by dropping the apologies and pontifications and begin to push yourself in whatever manner possible to safely test the boundaries of your competence.

Believe it or not, we will still be here supporting you and pushing you to not give up when you truly come face-to-face with where you really are. The first Aiki Expo was the first of those profound wake-up calls for me. I still push myself harder and harder every year to find those wake-up calls.

Good Luck!

Marc Abrams
Hi Marc.
Thank you for your considered response, I like it, I respect it. More than that I see you do have lots of experience by what you say and even more than that, that your intentions are indeed honourable. For this I thank you.
: Regards. G.

Last edited by graham christian : 11-28-2010 at 10:34 AM.
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