Welcome to AikiWeb Aikido Information
AikiWeb: The Source for Aikido Information
AikiWeb's principal purpose is to serve the Internet community as a repository and dissemination point for aikido information.

Sections
home
aikido articles
columns

Discussions
forums
aikiblogs

Databases
dojo search
seminars
image gallery
supplies
links directory

Reviews
book reviews
video reviews
dvd reviews
equip. reviews

News
submit
archive

Miscellaneous
newsletter
rss feeds
polls
about

Follow us on



Home > AikiWeb Aikido Forums
Go Back   AikiWeb Aikido Forums > General

Hello and thank you for visiting AikiWeb, the world's most active online Aikido community! This site is home to over 22,000 aikido practitioners from around the world and covers a wide range of aikido topics including techniques, philosophy, history, humor, beginner issues, the marketplace, and more.

If you wish to join in the discussions or use the other advanced features available, you will need to register first. Registration is absolutely free and takes only a few minutes to complete so sign up today!

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 05-11-2011, 05:04 PM   #51
sakumeikan
Dojo: Sakumeikan N.E. Aikkai .Newcastle upon Tyne.
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,266
United Kingdom
Offline
Re: Aikido and Music

Quote:
Graham Christian wrote: View Post
Hey, now that there is MOVEMENT. Excellent. Koshinage's, taisabakis, tenkans, even roundhouse kicks. Oh dear, I'm just a beginner!

Regards.G.
Dear Graham,
If you want rhythm watch Cab Calloway on youtube- awesome!!
Also the Dior Dancers [a dance troup from 1957].The lady in the
group is so sexy and an incredible athlete.Power, flexibility -the whole five yards.Again on You Tube.
Cheers, Joe.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-11-2011, 05:26 PM   #52
abraxis
 
abraxis's Avatar
Location: New England
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 185
United_States
Offline
Re: Aikido and Music

Quote:
Mary Malmros wrote: View Post
Well, sure. But you're chasing something here. Surely you must have some idea of what it is you're chasing?
Mary,

I'm not disputing that this line of inquiry can quickly get complicated and could fly in the face of the Aikido establishment. I mean, it is a MARTIAL Art after all and how does music fit into that? And then there's the spiritual meditation aspects--how can anyone be expected to achieve a proper meditative or spiritual state with music playing!? Show some respect for Budo after all etc.( Sorry for being facetious.) Seriously, I know this wouldn't be for everyone or every practice session even in a dojo where the dojocho supported it. Maybe it's not for the majority of serious minded aikido players, maybe it's just for certain kids who are beginners, maybe it's only for people whose wiring is, well, atypical.

All that aside, to answer your direct question quite directly I'll refer to the same explanation I offered to Krystal Locke earlier today: "My hope is that music might be productively combined with Aikido and that some dojos will continue to explore this relationship since there is great potential benefit-- both physical and spiritual -- in a connection of the two." That's my belief, I'm not seeking to impose it on anybody, but I'm sticking to it.

Best regards,

RT

NB See also Matthew Gano's post which immediately followed yours for some additional reasons why some of us feel this way eg.
the part where Matthew says "....There is a strong relationship with rhythm and endurance, which is partly why it's so popular to run to music, but I think there are deeper relationships too. Oliver Sacks has some wonderful material on the nature of music and neurological issues..." Props to Matthew for his comments.

Last edited by abraxis : 05-11-2011 at 05:29 PM.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-11-2011, 05:55 PM   #53
abraxis
 
abraxis's Avatar
Location: New England
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 185
United_States
Offline
Aikido and Music

Two more edited pieces of footage with music only added after the fact but they're both very much worth looking at with the sound on I think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0IS_UMp7Rs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sWev...layer_embedded

Last edited by abraxis : 05-11-2011 at 05:59 PM.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2011, 07:40 AM   #54
lbb
Location: Massachusetts
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 3,202
United_States
Offline
Re: Aikido and Music

Hi Rudy,

Thanks for the explanation. I guess my reaction stems from something that I perceive as pretty common in American culture (and probably others as well): trying to achieve some kind of inner state or change by moving around the outer circumstances, sometimes in very indirect ways. To give one non-aikido example, take the case of people who search out cafes that are "good places to study" (something very common in college towns). These people want to set up some kind of ideal circumstances so that they can get work done -- they want to achieve a mental state of optimum concentration and focus on the task at hand. But in order to do this, they need an espresso bar, and the right kind of music, and comfortable chairs, and wifi, and a good vibe, whatever that is.

Now, granted, if the external circumstances are extremely poor -- if fire alarms are going off and your roommate keeps talking to you, and the room is 40 degrees (Fahrenheit or Celsius, take your pick), if you haven't slept in the last 24 hours and haven't eaten in three days and your chair is covered with broken glass -- then yes, the external circumstances are likely to prevent you from getting work done. But in a more reasonable scenario, I think that people often invest their external circumstances with a great deal of power. I spend a lot of time in Boston, the biggest college town in America, and there are a great many students who seem unable to study in the dorm rooms, class rooms and libraries that their universities provide. They need their situation to be just so -- large latte, corner table with the comfy chair near the power outlet, steady wifi, good music -- and then...then, they can study.

But really, what does any of that have to do with studying? I'm willing to accept Matthew's premise that there's a connection between music and endurance, or music and distraction, or whatever. So how, in the millenia of human history before the iPod, did anyone ever manage to focus on an intellectual task?

The fact that people have accomplished all kinds of tasks in situations where the external circumstances weren't so congenial, leads me to believe that they're often not as necessary as we think they are, and that focusing on them only makes us less capable. You don't need a large latte and a wifi connection to study, but you can convince yourself that you do, and belief can become reality, and if you don't have that latte, you really won't be capable of studying without it. You become dependent on things being just so; your capabilities become more brittle, more subject to things outside your control.

At a less extreme level, your efforts to arrange the external circumstances can misdirect you. Meditation is one example of this. A lot of people come to martial arts with a vague belief that it's going to somehow help them achieve a meditative state -- and it is true, people do achieve meditative states while training. But if that mental state is what you're after, why go after it through the study of something that may, if you're lucky, produce it as an accidental by-product? Why not just study meditation?

One obvious answer is the same answer for why people try to "study" in a cafe instead of in a library: because it's more fun that way. I have no trouble believing that it's more fun to study with a latte in hand, some nice music, a comfy chair and the whole interwebs to distract you, than it is to buckle down at a study table in a library (no beverages allowed, sorry!) -- and I can also believe that it's more fun to "meditate" by doing something different than meditation and hoping that a meditative state just happens, than it is to sit down on a cushion and do the hard work (and it is hard work) to reject distractions rather than indulging in them, and keep bringing yourself back to that same boring uncomfortable point of focus. But if you truly want the benefits of study, or meditation, or exercise, or anything else, I have to believe that the best way to get them is to buckle down at the thing itself, not at some more engaging, less demanding activity that you hope will bring you the gain without the pain.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2011, 09:45 AM   #55
mathewjgano
 
mathewjgano's Avatar
Dojo: Tsubaki Kannagara Jinja Aikidojo; Himeji Shodokan Dojo
Location: Renton
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 2,276
United_States
Offline
Re: Aikido and Music

Rudy,
Thanks for the props! I appreciate it!
This is a fun topic; I can tell I'm going to be thinking about music a bit more the next few days.

Mary,
I think that's a good point to make and goes to the heart of a lot of society's problems. People like to take the view that personal taste isn't learned, and place blame outside themselves for their lack of enjoyment, sabotaging a lot of potentially good activities. Because music tends to affect us on such an emotional level, I can see how a lot of folks could be insulating themselves further by just giving their inner child a fish instead of teaching it how to fish...for lack of a better description.

One of Gardner's multiple intelligences is music. This wasn't to say that some people only learn with music so much as to say music lends itself toward some learning and some people are more comfortable with that...which of course begs Mary's question.

Here's a site listing a few potential benefits: http://www.thelearningweb.net/music-learning.html I'm not sure of Dryden's qualifications, but this might be a good place to start.
Take care, and thanks for the great conversation!
Matt

p.s. this might be a better place: http://www.baatltd.com/newsletters/T...20Learning.pdf
...hmmm, hard to find something quickly that isn't attached to a business...

Last edited by mathewjgano : 05-12-2011 at 09:58 AM.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2011, 10:18 AM   #56
abraxis
 
abraxis's Avatar
Location: New England
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 185
United_States
Offline
Re: Aikido and Music

Hi Mary and Matthew,

Quote:
Mary Malmros wrote: View Post
.... But if you truly want the benefits of study, or meditation, or exercise, or anything else, I have to believe that the best way to get them is to buckle down at the thing itself, not at some more engaging, less demanding activity that you hope will bring you the gain without the pain.
Granted. I agree that what passes for a study or meditative environment is often inappropriate to the stated goals and objectives of the true task at hand. Agreement is good.
On the other hand: ever tried studying while standing in a crowded subway car at rush hour while the train shakes and rattles around a curve at 50mph making the wheels screech at 120db? It's done all the time. So is meditation. So is Aikido. It's very much at the heart of why OSensei developed Aikido. And is also why Matthew has kindly supplied us with more information about Music and Learning which I just noticed while keyboarding this. That's all the time I have for now, I have a bunch of Aiki gardening to do.

Maybe what I just wrote doesn't help explain why it's reasonable to believe an integration of Music and Aikido can be of great value in the real world. So, here's a link sent to me by a Sensei who knows more about these things than I ever will. He calls it Aiki Music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPZyd...layer_embedded

Last edited by abraxis : 05-12-2011 at 10:30 AM.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-13-2011, 02:41 PM   #57
abraxis
 
abraxis's Avatar
Location: New England
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 185
United_States
Offline
Aikido and Music

Some shallow data mining here on AikiWeb brings up these recent posts related to Aikido and Music:

In the thread "Internal strength/aiki vs. mechanically efficient movement?"
Quote:
Chris Hein wrote: View Post
I think what you are describing is a major part of internal martial arts.

I think, "Aiki" is different than what you described. I believe "Aiki" is non physical. But non magical as well. Aiki is what musicians use in order to play music together, not physical, but not magical either.
And the thread "Musical aiki?" at
http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showth...ght=aiki+music

Clearly, there's been more interest in relating music to Aikido here on AikiWeb than I was aware of when I started this thread. Lends evidence to the belief that Aiki Music is a topic which enjoys a small but dedicated interest group among aikidoka around the globe. In any case, here's a link to another bit of "Pure Aiki Music" I hope people will respond to positively.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEW0BtFuj5I

Last edited by abraxis : 05-13-2011 at 02:45 PM.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-15-2011, 12:02 AM   #58
observer
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 122
United_States
Offline
Re: Aikido and Music

Unfortunately, I rarely look in here due to the fact that my posts usually are not reciprocated. Nevertheless, music and aikido have always played a big role in my life. May I begin by saying that a few years ago I became fascinated by Carlos Saura's film "Tango". Since then, tango has become my other passion (after aikido) and of course its history is not foreign to me. What was a mystery to me, is the message that till 1930 dancing the tango was by men only (and in suspicious places); men still of course interested in women. To get to the heart of the matter I even went to Buenos Aires and met there with outstanding representatives of the art of tango.

As it turned out, the tango has its roots in the environment of gauchos, local cowboys, for which the last argument in squabbles was a knife. They spent hours on tedious exercises in a knife's fighting, mostly on techniques' repetitions. To kill the boredom they began doing their exercises accompanied by music with a highly variable rate. Maybe it is a reason that in today's Argentinian Tango we can observe the rigorous rule: men lead, women follow. Uke attacks, and the tori avoids the attack, moving in a certain way but always being in close contact.

If we now associate the basic aikido attacks with knife's cuts and thrusts, it imposes the same thought. In aikido the most important thing is not to be touched before doing a technique. With this skill a man is not born, and unfortunately today's methodology of aikido teaching is not conducive to learning it. I decided to solve that issue by developing an hour aikido class which is accompanied by 21 music hits, including mainly Argentinian Tango, and it always starts with the Relax Taiso. But that's another story.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-15-2011, 06:37 AM   #59
Mary Eastland
 
Mary Eastland's Avatar
Dojo: Berkshire Hills Aikido
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,476
Offline
Re: Aikido and Music

Hi Maciej:
That video was well done. I enjoyed it and your post. Do you have any other videes I could see?
Thank you,
Mary
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-15-2011, 07:25 AM   #60
abraxis
 
abraxis's Avatar
Location: New England
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 185
United_States
Offline
Re: Aikido and Music

Quote:
Maciej Jesmanowicz wrote: View Post
Unfortunately, I rarely look in here due to the fact that my posts usually are not reciprocated. Nevertheless, music and aikido have always played a big role in my life. May I begin by saying that a few years ago I became fascinated by Carlos Saura's film "Tango". Since then, tango has become my other passion (after aikido) and of course its history is not foreign to me. What was a mystery to me, is the message that till 1930 dancing the tango was by men only (and in suspicious places); men still of course interested in women. To get to the heart of the matter I even went to Buenos Aires and met there with outstanding representatives of the art of tango.

As it turned out, the tango has its roots in the environment of gauchos, local cowboys, for which the last argument in squabbles was a knife. They spent hours on tedious exercises in a knife's fighting, mostly on techniques' repetitions. To kill the boredom they began doing their exercises accompanied by music with a highly variable rate. Maybe it is a reason that in today's Argentinian Tango we can observe the rigorous rule: men lead, women follow. Uke attacks, and the tori avoids the attack, moving in a certain way but always being in close contact.

If we now associate the basic aikido attacks with knife's cuts and thrusts, it imposes the same thought. In aikido the most important thing is not to be touched before doing a technique. With this skill a man is not born, and unfortunately today's methodology of aikido teaching is not conducive to learning it. I decided to solve that issue by developing an hour aikido class which is accompanied by 21 music hits, including mainly Argentinian Tango, and it always starts with the Relax Taiso. But that's another story.
Hello Maciej,

You are far ahead of me in thinking about the relationship between aikido and music and you have my admiration. Do you know of a dojocho in your area who would allow you to teach (or co-teach under their supervision) a weekly class such as the one you have designed? Do you think a Y or a gym which offers various alternative exercise classes would be willing to let you offer classes if a traditional dojo isn't open to your ideas? I wish you great success and hope you will let the AikiWeb community know of your progress in this regard. Finally, sincere thanks for the link Relax Taiso

Best regards,

RT

Last edited by abraxis : 05-15-2011 at 07:30 AM.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-15-2011, 07:53 AM   #61
Demetrio Cereijo
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 2,248
Spain
Offline
Re: Aikido and Music

Quote:
Maciej Jesmanowicz wrote: View Post
... that till 1930 dancing the tango was by men only (and in suspicious places); men still of course interested in women. To get to the heart of the matter I even went to Buenos Aires and met there with outstanding representatives of the art of tango.

As it turned out, the tango has its roots in the environment of gauchos, local cowboys, for which the last argument in squabbles was a knife. They spent hours on tedious exercises in a knife's fighting, mostly on techniques' repetitions. To kill the boredom they began doing their exercises accompanied by music with a highly variable rate. Maybe it is a reason that in today's Argentinian Tango we can observe the rigorous rule: men lead, women follow. Uke attacks, and the tori avoids the attack, moving in a certain way but always being in close contact.
Hi Maciej.

Interesting revisionist version of tango history. Do you have sources substantiating it?

OTOH, aikido and tango video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG_tnefyOcc

And more aikido w/music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3ARV05ZSvg
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-15-2011, 08:09 AM   #62
abraxis
 
abraxis's Avatar
Location: New England
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 185
United_States
Offline
Aikido and Music

Quote:
Demetrio Cereijo wrote: View Post
Demetrio,
Great stuff! I also agree with the comments (under more) made by the person who uploaded the second video.
Best
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-15-2011, 10:20 AM   #63
abraxis
 
abraxis's Avatar
Location: New England
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 185
United_States
Offline
Re: Aikido and Music

Quote:
Matthew Gano wrote: View Post
Rudy,
Thanks for the props! I appreciate it!
This is a fun topic; I can tell I'm going to be thinking about music a bit more the next few days.

Mary,
I think that's a good point to make and goes to the heart of a lot of society's problems. People like to take the view that personal taste isn't learned, and place blame outside themselves for their lack of enjoyment, sabotaging a lot of potentially good activities. Because music tends to affect us on such an emotional level, I can see how a lot of folks could be insulating themselves further by just giving their inner child a fish instead of teaching it how to fish...for lack of a better description.

One of Gardner's multiple intelligences is music. This wasn't to say that some people only learn with music so much as to say music lends itself toward some learning and some people are more comfortable with that...which of course begs Mary's question.

Here's a site listing a few potential benefits: http://www.thelearningweb.net/music-learning.html I'm not sure of Dryden's qualifications, but this might be a good place to start.
Take care, and thanks for the great conversation!
Matt

p.s. this might be a better place: http://www.baatltd.com/newsletters/T...20Learning.pdf
...hmmm, hard to find something quickly that isn't attached to a business...
Matthew,

I think you raise important points regarding the potential benefit of incorporating music into aikido practice. And I think that Mary's concerns are legitimate and speak to the concerns of the large majority of aikidoka.

Thinking about why this may be the case, and I'm probably treading on sensitive ground by saying this, so with all due respect for Mary's concerns and especially with respect for a culture as ancient and as noble as Japan's, I will say that I think we are describing an americanization of aikido which most Japanese aikidoka, (and most american ones as well), especially of an older generation, find borderline, or over the borderline if you will, repugnant.

I believe this reaction to the topic of music and aikido may possibly stem from traditional Japanese attitudes regarding "public displays of affection" (PDA's) and "loss of face"(LOF). I'm not trying to be facetious here, it happens though so I'll apologize in advance, but isn't it likely that there is an underlying fear that if you pair music and aikido together it is apt to lead to dancing? It would fly in the face of OSensei's aikido but much more deeply it would look like a drawn out and emotion laden PDA and there would be great LOF as a result.

In America people are told to dance as if nobody was watching. How likely is it this feeling would be fostered in a dojo in Japan? In a European one maybe, and now, soon possibly, at least in in a few instances, in America as well. But not without a willingness to explore the question.

Best regards,

RT

Last edited by abraxis : 05-15-2011 at 10:22 AM.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-15-2011, 11:24 AM   #64
mathewjgano
 
mathewjgano's Avatar
Dojo: Tsubaki Kannagara Jinja Aikidojo; Himeji Shodokan Dojo
Location: Renton
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 2,276
United_States
Offline
Re: Aikido and Music

Quote:
Rudy Ternbach wrote: View Post
In America people are told to dance as if nobody was watching. How likely is it this feeling would be fostered in a dojo in Japan? In a European one maybe, and now, soon possibly, at least in in a few instances, in America as well. But not without a willingness to explore the question.

Best regards,

RT
Hi Rudy,
If there's a cultural componant that would shy away from music being integrated I think it would be more along the lines of something based on notions of tradition more than PDA or LOF. I was surprised how often I saw groups of Japanese kids dancing in public (which would certainly be different from older generations, so who knows what that says for future attitudes). Budo, having such a long tradition of established norms might seem strange to incorporate things like music as a central training theme. I think it's similarly true for westerners though. I think most people think "hippie" when they think of mixing music with more "serious" practices, although it probably depends largely on the music.
It's interesting to me how all the videos I see with "bad-ass" music instantly make me a little cynical. I imagine, for different specific reasons, it's the same for a lot of other people when they see some other bit of music too. Like me, their presumptions color their understanding and make them more ready to write it off as mental game-play.
The music might also make the choreographed nature of some training aspects really stand out, too. Looking at some of the music/aikido videos I think I can see why a lot of folks wouldn't be very interested in it from a "practical fighting" standpoint. The tempo of movements seems to get very drawn out and most "martial" artists I think are interested in tightening their beats up. If we're waiting for the set rythm to establish our next movement, they're not very organic/alive in terms of timing. That's not to say it couldn't be done; I think it would be interesting to play with a simple rythm and gradually tighten (or loosen) the tempo.
Take care,
Matt

Last edited by mathewjgano : 05-15-2011 at 11:33 AM.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-15-2011, 11:53 AM   #65
dps
 
dps's Avatar
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,415
Offline
Re: Aikido and Music

For background music something like this,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6yuR...eature=related

dps

Go ahead, tread on me.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-15-2011, 12:53 PM   #66
mathewjgano
 
mathewjgano's Avatar
Dojo: Tsubaki Kannagara Jinja Aikidojo; Himeji Shodokan Dojo
Location: Renton
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 2,276
United_States
Offline
Re: Aikido and Music

Quote:
David Skaggs wrote: View Post
For background music something like this,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6yuR...eature=related

dps
Nice! I love Bach...and you can't go too wrong with cello or violin in my mind. Vivaldi is another one toward the top of my list.
One of my favorite songs to run, ski, or read to is Orion, by Metallica. I really like their instrumentals in general though because they have a nice driving groove, but enjoy a little melody too.
And for those with a more "classical" timbre: Rodrigo y Gabriela. I like every single song I've heard them play, even Stairway to Heaven.
Also, while we're on the subject, I'm a huge Doors fan and I came across a guy named Jaz Coleman who translated an album worth of their music into concerto format, which I like to put on in the background at home from time to time. Beautiful violin work by Nigel Kennedy!

Last edited by mathewjgano : 05-15-2011 at 01:00 PM.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-15-2011, 03:02 PM   #67
abraxis
 
abraxis's Avatar
Location: New England
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 185
United_States
Offline
Aikido and Music

Hi David and Matthew,

You've provided people reading your recent posts with invaluable pieces of "Pure Aiki Music".

I can see some people listening to certain pieces while viewing aikido footage at home (I know I'll be doing that this evening), some may have a piece of music accompany their meditation or warm-ups before or after a class. Some people will choose to have a piece play in the background during a group practice:-- assuming the dojocho and everyone attending agrees in advance! I'm thinking of having the Bach Cello Prelude playing in the background next time I practice a jo kata in the backyard (no prior informed consent needed).

Not every piece and not every application will be for everyone that's certain, but for those who are predisposed to relate the spiritual nature of a piece of music to the spiritual flow of their physical movements these pieces promise to bring a unique quality of peace and joy to their practice of aikido.

Best regards,

Rudy

Last edited by abraxis : 05-15-2011 at 03:14 PM.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-15-2011, 06:54 PM   #68
graham christian
Dojo: golden center aikido-highgate
Location: london
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 2,697
England
Offline
Re: Aikido and Music

Quote:
Joe Curran wrote: View Post
Dear Graham,
If you want rhythm watch Cab Calloway on youtube- awesome!!
Also the Dior Dancers [a dance troup from 1957].The lady in the
group is so sexy and an incredible athlete.Power, flexibility -the whole five yards.Again on You Tube.
Cheers, Joe.
Hi Joe.
Just seen them. Cab Calloway WAS o.k. but more tap dancing than anything.

However, the dior dancers.....WOW. Makes pole dancing seem rather silly don't you think?

http://youtu.be/iYg7_ikJgFg

The moves, especially near the end were breathtaking. (Purely from a technical viewpoint you understand.)

Hmm. I need a drink!

Regards.G.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-16-2011, 07:41 AM   #69
Mary Eastland
 
Mary Eastland's Avatar
Dojo: Berkshire Hills Aikido
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,476
Offline
Re: Aikido and Music

Wow...That one was hard for me to watch. While I admire the athleticism, it was painful to watch a woman be treated like that and then literally and symbolically thrown away.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-16-2011, 11:48 AM   #70
Marie Noelle Fequiere
 
Marie Noelle Fequiere's Avatar
Dojo: Atibon Aikido, Port Au Prince, Haiti
Location: Port au Prince
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 295
Haiti
Offline
Re: Aikido and Music

My instructor hasn't done that in a while, but he used to play some meditating music during class, mostly Kitaro. It did help us relax.
I also remember that when I was practicing Karate, we had to move from the place where we were training (we heard there was a big fight between the current owner of the place and some family members who claimed they'd inherited part of it). For about a year, we found refuge in a health club, and there was no way avoiding the music from the weight lifting room. Some students complained about it, but I quickly learned to ignore the din and concentrate on what I was doing.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-16-2011, 12:09 PM   #71
dps
 
dps's Avatar
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,415
Offline
Re: Aikido and Music

Quote:
Marie Noelle Fequiere wrote: View Post
My instructor hasn't done that in a while, but he used to play some meditating music during class, mostly Kitaro.
A quick search found this one that I like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ulc5...eature=related

dps

Go ahead, tread on me.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-16-2011, 12:30 PM   #72
abraxis
 
abraxis's Avatar
Location: New England
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 185
United_States
Offline
Aikido and Music

Quote:
Marie Noelle Fequiere wrote: View Post
My instructor hasn't done that in a while, but he used to play some meditating music during class, mostly Kitaro. It did help us relax.
I also remember that when I was practicing Karate, we had to move from the place where we were training (we heard there was a big fight between the current owner of the place and some family members who claimed they'd inherited part of it). For about a year, we found refuge in a health club, and there was no way avoiding the music from the weight lifting room. Some students complained about it, but I quickly learned to ignore the din and concentrate on what I was doing.
Marie,

So you found the music chosen by your instructor could help you relax and the music from outside the dojo could be ignored.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGtKxbu7vLI

Looking at Wikipedia for Kitaro it says "The events of September 11, 2001 occurred while he was en route from Japan to Los Angeles. Kitaro's jet liner was diverted to Honolulu for five days, during which time the conceptual endeavor -- which he envisioned as an artistic means to help unify people globally -- took shape. Every track on Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai 1 to 4 contains samples from ancient Japanese temple bells (Peace Bells) from 88 sacred temples and is intended to inspire spiritual awakening and a profound sense of peace in its listeners." Seems like that could prove worth listening to while practicing aikido. If someone wanted to ignore it though it probably wouldn't be too difficult.

Best regards,

RT

Last edited by abraxis : 05-16-2011 at 12:39 PM.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-16-2011, 02:45 PM   #73
Marie Noelle Fequiere
 
Marie Noelle Fequiere's Avatar
Dojo: Atibon Aikido, Port Au Prince, Haiti
Location: Port au Prince
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 295
Haiti
Offline
Re: Aikido and Music

Quote:
Mary Eastland wrote: View Post
Wow...That one was hard for me to watch. While I admire the athleticism, it was painful to watch a woman be treated like that and then literally and symbolically thrown away.
I almost got dizzy myself. And I did not like the sexism at all. But she seemed to be over eighteen and to enjoy it.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-16-2011, 04:41 PM   #74
abraxis
 
abraxis's Avatar
Location: New England
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 185
United_States
Offline
Aikido and Music

Quote:
Matthew Gano wrote: View Post
... I was surprised how often I saw groups of Japanese kids dancing in public (which would certainly be different from older generations, so who knows what that says for future attitudes). Budo, having such a long tradition of established norms might seem strange to incorporate things like music as a central training theme....
Matthew,

A peek into the future of Budo in Japan? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB9u1k1TIDc

Regards

Rudy
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-17-2011, 01:47 AM   #75
guest1234567
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 428
Spain
Offline
Re: Aikido and Music

Quote:
Maciej Jesmanowicz wrote: View Post
Unfortunately, I rarely look in here due to the fact that my posts usually are not reciprocated. Nevertheless, music and aikido have always played a big role in my life. May I begin by saying that a few years ago I became fascinated by Carlos Saura's film "Tango". Since then, tango has become my other passion (after aikido) and of course its history is not foreign to me. What was a mystery to me, is the message that till 1930 dancing the tango was by men only (and in suspicious places); men still of course interested in women. To get to the heart of the matter I even went to Buenos Aires and met there with outstanding representatives of the art of tango.

As it turned out, the tango has its roots in the environment of gauchos, local cowboys, for which the last argument in squabbles was a knife. They spent hours on tedious exercises in a knife's fighting, mostly on techniques' repetitions. To kill the boredom they began doing their exercises accompanied by music with a highly variable rate. Maybe it is a reason that in today's Argentinian Tango we can observe the rigorous rule: men lead, women follow. Uke attacks, and the tori avoids the attack, moving in a certain way but always being in close contact.

If we now associate the basic aikido attacks with knife's cuts and thrusts, it imposes the same thought. In aikido the most important thing is not to be touched before doing a technique. With this skill a man is not born, and unfortunately today's methodology of aikido teaching is not conducive to learning it. I decided to solve that issue by developing an hour aikido class which is accompanied by 21 music hits, including mainly Argentinian Tango, and it always starts with the Relax Taiso. But that's another story.
Hi Maciej,
I was born in Buenos Aires and heard tango during all my childhood but cannot dance it.It is a sad music, the words are in lunfardo(slang of Buenos aires). One of the greatest poets of tango Discépolo said: Tango is a sad thought danced. There is a beautiful movie"Take the lead" the real story of the ballroom dance teacher Pierre Dulaine, who teaches respect, compassion and learn to control their own lifes to disadvantaged children http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Dulaine
And I'm sure that we could apply this to aikido too.
  Reply With Quote

Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
I'm Leaving Aikido Daniel Ranger-Holt General 122 10-07-2010 08:01 PM
Transmission, Inheritance, Emulation 14 Peter Goldsbury Columns 38 07-31-2009 11:19 PM
Transmission, Inheritance, Emulation 12 Peter Goldsbury Columns 32 05-16-2009 06:05 PM
What makes Aikido aikido (to you)? tarik General 71 10-02-2007 08:50 AM
What music do you listen to during aikido? Phillip Armel General 26 07-27-2003 03:22 PM


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 03:21 AM.



vBulletin Copyright © 2000-2024 Jelsoft Enterprises Limited
----------
Copyright 1997-2024 AikiWeb and its Authors, All Rights Reserved.
----------
For questions and comments about this website:
Send E-mail
plainlaid-picaresque outchasing-protistan explicantia-altarage seaford-stellionate