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Old 08-25-2009, 06:31 PM   #26
Michael Hackett
Dojo: Kenshinkan Dojo (Aikido of North County) Vista, CA
Location: Oceanside, California
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Re: I sense something.. a presence I've not felt since...

Well, Ricky, we are from California and there isn't much that puts us off out here. Hell, spurs are wedding gifts here. Nothing quite like getting the bride her own tin of Cope either.

Michael
"Leave the gun. Bring the cannoli."
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Old 08-25-2009, 06:47 PM   #27
eyrie
 
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Re: I sense something.. a presence I've not felt since...

Quote:
Don Magee wrote: View Post
I can tell if someone has been trained in the martial arts by how they walk.
The *really really* good ones can "hide it".

Ignatius
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Old 08-25-2009, 06:50 PM   #28
Rob Watson
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Re: I sense something.. a presence I've not felt since...

Quote:
Ignatius Teo wrote: View Post
The *really really* good ones can "hide it".
.. trips on hakama ... 'wha ..?'

"In my opinion, the time of spreading aikido to the world is finished; now we have to focus on quality." Yamada Yoshimitsu

Ultracrepidarianism ... don't.
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Old 08-25-2009, 07:31 PM   #29
RED
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Re: I sense something.. a presence I've not felt since...

Quote:
Walter Martindale wrote: View Post
hanmi?
han - half
mi - "visible" sort of. "look" sort of... "exposed" sort of...

yes teacher
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Old 08-25-2009, 07:45 PM   #30
raul rodrigo
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Re: I sense something.. a presence I've not felt since...

Quote:
Robert M Watson Jr wrote: View Post
.. trips on hakama ... 'wha ..?'
Seeing as I have tripped on my hakama, then that's going to be my story: "Oh that? I meant to do that."
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Old 08-25-2009, 10:17 PM   #31
BlueDevilfish
Dojo: World Aikido Yoga - Melbourne
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Re: I sense something.. a presence I've not felt since...

Quote:
Alex Lawrence wrote: View Post
We can walk into a bar and the place goes silent and everyone just stares at us. It's like a scene from a western when the gun slinger walks into the saloon.
You haven't been walking into bars naked by any chance???
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Old 08-25-2009, 11:27 PM   #32
eyrie
 
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Re: I sense something.. a presence I've not felt since...

Or walking into the wrong bar... like The Blue Oyster for instance...

Ignatius
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Old 08-26-2009, 12:18 AM   #33
thisisnotreal
 
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Re: I sense something.. a presence I've not felt since...

Quote:
Cherie Cornmesser wrote: View Post
.. Most people, when I ask them, cant even begin to tell me what it is about me that is so scary.
it's kinda hard 'cause the picture is so small ... but you do kind of look like a centaur. no offense to you or the centaurs. but i do find them scary.
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Old 08-26-2009, 05:50 AM   #34
Shadowfax
 
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Re: I sense something.. a presence I've not felt since...

Quote:
Josh Phillipson wrote: View Post
it's kinda hard 'cause the picture is so small ... but you do kind of look like a centaur. no offense to you or the centaurs. but i do find them scary.
hahaha thanks! Now I totally understand.
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Old 08-26-2009, 12:03 PM   #35
CarrieP
 
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Re: I sense something.. a presence I've not felt since...

Quote:
Don Magee wrote: View Post
http://www.cauliflower-ear.com/cauli..._pictures.html

Most long term grapplers end up with some level of screwed up ears. Just like long term judoka end up with ugly looking fingers and toes.
Oh. OW. Thanks.
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Old 08-26-2009, 12:56 PM   #36
Robert Cowham
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Re: I sense something.. a presence I've not felt since...

Quote:
Alex Lawrence wrote: View Post
My dojo has actually had problems because of this kind of thing. We can terrorise a room by sitting in corner reading a book, practically.
We can walk into a bar and the place goes silent and everyone just stares at us. It's like a scene from a western when the gun slinger walks into the saloon.
There's a book with a nice quote - I think it is Forest Morgan's "Living the Martial Way", but it may not be.

The author talks about going into bars and getting into fights all the time. Then realises that he goes in and sizes up all those present subconsciously, thinking "I could take him, him, ....".

Things get more peaceful when he goes in to bars with the attitude "everyone in here is safer because I am here..."

Then of course there are all the stories of zen masters playing with tigers etc as opposed to fighting them...
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Old 08-26-2009, 06:01 PM   #37
patf
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Re: I sense something.. a presence I've not felt since...

I was playing drop-in soccer during lunch one day last year and a guy on our side got taken down, he did mae-ukemi and was back up immediately.I went over to him and asked him if he did Aikido, and sure enough he did, though he said he hadn't practiced for a few years. Old habits die hard I guess.
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Old 08-27-2009, 04:06 AM   #38
Pauliina Lievonen
 
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Re: I sense something.. a presence I've not felt since...

Quote:
Robert Cowham wrote: View Post
There's a book with a nice quote - I think it is Forest Morgan's "Living the Martial Way", but it may not be.

The author talks about going into bars and getting into fights all the time. Then realises that he goes in and sizes up all those present subconsciously, thinking "I could take him, him, ....".

Things get more peaceful when he goes in to bars with the attitude "everyone in here is safer because I am here..."
One thing I can do pretty well is walk past the groups of teenagers that hang around street corners where I live, without them calling after me or actually reacting in any particular way at all.

I think what usually happens is adults (especially women I'd imagine) feel threatened by a group like that, and the kids in turn, being teenage kids, already feel insecure and selfconscious and sense very easily that they are being judged. So they react, you could say in self defense.

So I think things like "what a nice evening to be with friends" or something like that, sort of get into the same frame of mind as the kids, and I walk right by them and they just go on with whatever they are doing.

kvaak
Pauliina
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Old 08-27-2009, 12:53 PM   #39
Michael Hackett
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Re: I sense something.. a presence I've not felt since...

One of the skills you develop as a cop over the years is the ability to pick out who the truly "bad dude" is in a group. The skill isn't foolproof and sometimes you're wrong, but the percentage is very high that you are correct. There are a lot of subtle tells that you can articulate; the deference shown him by his friends, his focus, his relaxed body language, his quiet confidence. It usually ain't the character with the shaved head, tattoos, pit bull and Tapout tee shirt. It certainly isn't the guy telling you how bad he is either.

Uniquely, a friend of mine from the FBI Behavioral Sciences Unit interviewed dozens of individuals in prison for killing cops and asked why they chose to fight it out with their victim and not others. Almost to a man, they talked about a lack of focus and attention, lack of confidence, and sloppy uniforms. A common response was that the arresting officer who finally got them wore a sharp looking and professional uniform, had a strong command presence and bearing, was self-confident, and remained focused on the situation.

Michael
"Leave the gun. Bring the cannoli."
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Old 08-27-2009, 01:04 PM   #40
Kevin Leavitt
 
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Re: I sense something.. a presence I've not felt since...

Michael Hackett wrote:

Quote:
Almost to a man, they talked about a lack of focus and attention, lack of confidence, and sloppy uniforms. A common response was that the arresting officer who finally got them wore a sharp looking and professional uniform, had a strong command presence and bearing, was self-confident, and remained focused on the situation.
We in the Army try to impress this to our soldiers big time. This is why a good commander is adamant about his soldiers looking uniform and confident. This is one of the most important things to consider on the street.

All predators work this way. You don't go for the strongest sheep in the heard, but the easiest. The one that appears weak and won't put up a fight.

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Old 08-27-2009, 01:10 PM   #41
Shadowfax
 
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Re: I sense something.. a presence I've not felt since...

Reminds me of an incident once at my job. I had a co worker who claimed he'd been in prison for manslaughter. Any rate he got angry one night at me and started to threaten. Said he'd be meeting me out back after work. I just smiled at him and said ok and continued working. He kept at it and I just kept smiling and saying ok. Totally relaxed and quite cool.

About 30 minutes before we were due to be done work he came over and apologized to me and said he was just upset and didn't mean it... all the while his body language said he was not quite so sure he wanted to go through with it.

Its not the first, or last, time I've used the same body language mentioned by Kevin to change the mind of someone who thought they could push me around. One thing I've often said. You don't actually have to be able to kick someones but you just have to make them believe you can.
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Old 08-27-2009, 01:16 PM   #42
Ron Tisdale
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Re: I sense something.. a presence I've not felt since...

Quote:
One thing I've often said. You don't actually have to be able to kick someones but you just have to make them believe you can.
Or that there will be just enough pain involved for them in kicking yours that it's NOT worth it...
B,
R

Ron Tisdale
-----------------------
"The higher a monkey climbs, the more you see of his behind."
St. Bonaventure (ca. 1221-1274)
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Old 08-27-2009, 07:03 PM   #43
Ketsan
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Re: I sense something.. a presence I've not felt since...

Quote:
Ron Tisdale wrote: View Post
Next time I go bar crawling, I'm bring you mates....
Best,
Ron
That'd be an awesome night. Doubt we'd remember it thought.

Last edited by Ketsan : 08-27-2009 at 07:07 PM.
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Old 08-27-2009, 07:06 PM   #44
Ketsan
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Re: I sense something.. a presence I've not felt since...

Quote:
Cherie Cornmesser wrote: View Post
It might help to stop wearing the Gi to the bar.
Doh, is that where I'm going wrong? I thought we had to wear it all the time.
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Old 08-27-2009, 07:14 PM   #45
Kevin Leavitt
 
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Re: I sense something.. a presence I've not felt since...

yeah I went to a bar once wearing one of my Gracie Jiu Jitsu shirts, didn't give it much though until I got in there. Not a good idea. Nothing happened, but I kept getting looks from bubbas that were definitely sizing me up.

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Old 08-27-2009, 07:32 PM   #46
Ketsan
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Re: I sense something.. a presence I've not felt since...

Quote:
Ignatius Teo wrote: View Post
Or walking into the wrong bar... like The Blue Oyster for instance...
Actually there was this one night. I'll put in my blog cuz I don't think it belongs here.
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Old 08-29-2009, 06:56 PM   #47
Lyle Bogin
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Re: I sense something.. a presence I've not felt since...

Sometimes it's like we carry the stink of martial arts...like "stinking of zen".

"The martial arts progress from the complex to the simple."
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Old 08-31-2009, 04:13 AM   #48
James Edwards
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Re: I sense something.. a presence I've not felt since...

I tell them apart by the weapon bags they carry Although there's this one guy I keep seeing who might be carrying either a naginata or a fishing rod... Might ask him some day.

But the other day I noticed this guy and knew right away that he does some sort of meditation or exercise from they way he sat. He was also a vegetarian. Turns out he was a yoga teacher.

Talking about people who always stand in hanmi, I read somewhere that Takeda Sokaku always stood in hanmi...
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Old 08-31-2009, 10:14 AM   #49
kokyu
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Re: I sense something.. a presence I've not felt since...

Quote:
Kevin Leavitt wrote: View Post
yeah I went to a bar once wearing one of my Gracie Jiu Jitsu shirts, didn't give it much though until I got in there. Not a good idea. Nothing happened, but I kept getting looks from bubbas that were definitely sizing me up.
Yup... I also feel uncomfortable wearing a shirt that advertises your martial art when walking around outside... not quite sure what kind of message you are trying to send to people around you
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Old 08-31-2009, 10:22 AM   #50
kokyu
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Re: I sense something.. a presence I've not felt since...

Quote:
Don Magee wrote: View Post
http://www.cauliflower-ear.com/cauli..._pictures.html

But I notice a lot with how guys walk. It's hard to quantify, but I can tell if someone is able to handle themselves by how they walk.
Tend to agree... notice that people of a certain rank have a relaxed but alert air about them... however, reaching that rank would probably require 10+ years of dedicated training
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