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Old 09-13-2006, 01:59 PM   #26
KarateCowboy
Location: Wisconsin
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Re: Do men and women do aikido differently?

I think men and women approach Aikido differently, mainly because their motives are often very different.
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Old 09-15-2006, 08:00 AM   #27
Dirk Hanss
 
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Dojo: Aikidoschule Trier
Location: Merzkirchen
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Re: Do men and women do aikido differently?

Quote:
Matthew Origer wrote:
I think men and women approach Aikido differently, mainly because their motives are often very different.
Hi Matthew,
the motives of KarateCowboys are probably very different or even weird

Your statement does not say anything. What do you think are the motives of men and woman and how do they affect their aikido?

I just would say, every man or woman has his/her own aikido. You might find tendencies in groups. Men and women are examples, One could take countries, etc.

But whatever you take and identify, it is just statistical average and you always find a lot of exceptions. And there are many people out there, who do not like to be decribed by such a group, they belong to. But if you state, there are differences generally, you should tell us, which ones. They are not so obvious, that we all know exactly what you mean.

Best regards Dirk
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Old 09-22-2006, 12:57 PM   #28
Jenn
Location: California
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Re: Do men and women do aikido differently?

This is more of a gender-related challenge to Aikido than a way of "doing" Aikido, but I found it interesting:

It was something thing my sensei (also a woman) pointed out to me...

Is that, well a lot of people, but especially women are socialized not to assertively invade someone's space. She is right, and I notice I have to work to overcome my socialized habit of wanting to be polite/ladylike whatever.. that subconsciously results in me leaving too much space between myself and uke when trying to execute various techniques. There's a voice in my head that lets me know when I really *should* be entering, keeping my balance centered, etc, but then there's the part that still takes over more than it should that says "Whoa, too close! Too aggressive! Not polite!" - and before I know it I'm leaning back, feeling resistance, and generally frusterated - with the Aikido-voice saying "Uh, that's not entering. That was more like.. some sort of sad little unbalanced shuffle."
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Old 09-22-2006, 03:46 PM   #29
James Davis
 
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Dojo: Ft. Myers School of Aikido
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Re: Do men and women do aikido differently?

Quote:
Jennifer Johnson wrote:
Is that, well a lot of people, but especially women are socialized not to assertively invade someone's space. She is right, and I notice I have to work to overcome my socialized habit of wanting to be polite/ladylike whatever.. that subconsciously results in me leaving too much space between myself and uke when trying to execute various techniques.
I tell my students to think of playing chess. When a piece is moved onto a square that's occupied by the other player's piece, that square is taken. Out with the old, and in with the new. The square's old occupant has to go someplace else. Just take their square.

"The only difference between Congress and drunken sailors is that drunken sailors spend their own money." -Tom Feeney, representative from Florida
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Old 09-22-2006, 04:39 PM   #30
Janet Rosen
 
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Re: Do men and women do aikido differently?

James, it is good to have various analogies/metaphors because you never know which one will work with a particular student!
But thinking about it that way doesn't really address a gut level, socialized-into-the-self-concept issue like Jennifer raised. And it is not just gender socialized internalized messages. I think we all carry some kind of baggage that affects how our minds/bodies react to what happens on the mat.
If a student realizes the nature of that baggage and consciously address it in his/her practice it is more likely to work towards resolution. So in her example, repeating internally the message, "enter! I have a right to be here!" or something like that, to directly counter the messages she automatically tells herself, would probably be more successful than thinking about chessboards.
my 2 cents.

Janet Rosen
http://www.zanshinart.com
"peace will enter when hate is gone"--percy mayfield
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Old 09-23-2006, 01:11 AM   #31
Jenn
Location: California
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Re: Do men and women do aikido differently?

Janet's right, I think.

It's funny, I actually have two senseis.. husband and wife. They both offer very unique and valuable perspectives, but the female sensei's teaching style is a WAY better fit for me. My male sensei would probably say something about chessboards or something too.
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