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Old 07-26-2012, 01:39 PM   #101
Chris Evans
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Cool Re: Styles of Aikido - which is right for me?

Quote:
Alic Xie wrote: View Post
By the way, I just want to add something...

You don't have to enroll in the senshusei program as a white belt. You could always just pop into one of the regular classes. They're just regular training, with different hours available, and you also get access to the same teachers. I think Shioda kancho teaches on friday... and certain other sensei's come by during the week.

Just because you enroll in Yoshinkan, doesn't mean you automatically get put into the most intense course they have. People generally go after they get to sankyo or above (my sensei recommmends ikkyo to shodan as best, since you can get the best amount of learning during that time without too many painful lessons). You can train in the regular class until brown belt and then decide if you want to try out senshusei.

As for the toughness and military styled training that they have... the origins of Aikido is drawn from a war art. Wouldn't it make sense to train your body like a soldier then? Even if the mentality is different, you still need the same discipline and spirit. A sword is only strong if the flame is hot and the metal beaten many times, and it can only become sharp after much polishing. Budo is the same, so don't dismiss the repetitive drilling of techniques; they're there for a reason.
which also means physical fitness (suppleness, explosive power, and anerobic endurance training) and mind training (zazen/shikantaza) are all helpful

"The state that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting by fools."
 
Old 07-30-2012, 01:30 AM   #102
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Re: Styles of Aikido - which is right for me?

I feel that this forum has tried earnestly to address the questions and issue raised by TokyoZeplin. Many people have tried their utmost in fact but we can’t listen and understand for him. (i.e he is a time waster in my view.)

At the end of the day, he needs to cease being academic - Masters Degree or whatever (who cares?) or 3rd kyu (again who cares?) in Shotokan - and get himself on the aikido mat.

I have tried all the major aikido styles and eventually I found the one for me and the instructor – since 2005, I commute over 300km each way and 3 ½ hours to train.

If I had stopped at the first aikido dojo (which was not for me), then I would not now be doing something that I feel passionate about.

If TokyoZeplin does not go all the way with aikido, then the aikido world has not missed any thing of significance
 
Old 07-30-2012, 06:10 AM   #103
TokyoZeplin
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Re: Styles of Aikido - which is right for me?

Quote:
Tom Seeto wrote: View Post
I feel that this forum has tried earnestly to address the questions and issue raised by TokyoZeplin. Many people have tried their utmost in fact but we can't listen and understand for him. (i.e he is a time waster in my view.)

At the end of the day, he needs to cease being academic - Masters Degree or whatever (who cares?) or 3rd kyu (again who cares?) in Shotokan - and get himself on the aikido mat.

I have tried all the major aikido styles and eventually I found the one for me and the instructor -- since 2005, I commute over 300km each way and 3 ½ hours to train.

If I had stopped at the first aikido dojo (which was not for me), then I would not now be doing something that I feel passionate about.

If TokyoZeplin does not go all the way with aikido, then the aikido world has not missed any thing of significance
For people saying they study an art of peace, and many claim to have become better at conflict solving in their personal lives, some posts here sure seem to do their best to make this discussion as hostile as possible.
 
Old 07-30-2012, 08:51 AM   #104
lbb
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Re: Styles of Aikido - which is right for me?

Quote:
Philip Zeplin-Frederiksen wrote: View Post
For people saying they study an art of peace, and many claim to have become better at conflict solving in their personal lives, some posts here sure seem to do their best to make this discussion as hostile as possible.
Well, it's your choice about whether you want to characterize these posts as "hostile". I'm not going to go back and scrutinize the thread, but I think that in some cases, your basis for assessing hostility seems to be that someone (who has experience in aikido that you don't) didn't agree entirely with your take on things, or who said anything that disagreed with your proposed course of action as the best way to go. These are uncomfortable voices, but if you can find a way to listen to them (and defuse your own inclination to characterize them as "attacks"), uncomfortable opinions now will probably save you from some pain and disappointment later on.

(as an aside, I'd be careful about playing the "art of peace" card more than once in a very great while, and that in situations where it's clearly warranted, as it is not here. It's a bad habit whose most likely outcome is layers of self-delusion.)
 
Old 07-30-2012, 10:07 AM   #105
TokyoZeplin
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Re: Styles of Aikido - which is right for me?

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Mary Malmros wrote: View Post
Well, it's your choice about whether you want to characterize these posts as "hostile". I'm not going to go back and scrutinize the thread, but I think that in some cases, your basis for assessing hostility seems to be that someone (who has experience in aikido that you don't) didn't agree entirely with your take on things, or who said anything that disagreed with your proposed course of action as the best way to go. These are uncomfortable voices, but if you can find a way to listen to them (and defuse your own inclination to characterize them as "attacks"), uncomfortable opinions now will probably save you from some pain and disappointment later on.

(as an aside, I'd be careful about playing the "art of peace" card more than once in a very great while, and that in situations where it's clearly warranted, as it is not here. It's a bad habit whose most likely outcome is layers of self-delusion.)
You seem to be a bit confused here... I continuously said that I have no issues with that giving advice that I do not necessarily agree with. I have continuously pointed out peoples weird misconceptions of what I'm saying, which seem primarily based off of other posters misconceptions, even though I have repeatedly said that their interpretation of what I'm saying is wrong (several times saying things I have never even mentioned).
Rather, it is the tone of posts, that I find hostile, as well as some replies which outright ARE hostile. Examples: "he already said that sort answer is of no use to him. he wants to hear the answers that he likes, and not the right answers. i was wondering if you want some cheese to go with the whine?" I do not see how that could, in any sense of the word, be considered a constructive post.
Another example: In the post I was replying to (which you seem to completely disregard, and again, take my post out of context... why?), I was a "time waster" and if I ended up not doing Aikido "then the aikido world has not missed any thing of significance". I was replied to with "who cares" (to points that were relevant).

In those cases, yes, I find it ironic that in a forum of people, who will post endlessly about the internal benefits of Aikido, and how great it has made them at conflict resolving, I have received in many ways a more hostile "welcoming" than on any other forum. Even more ironic is it, that the people that feel entitled to post these fairly hostile replies, seem to think it's fine doing so, without actually reading the thread and my replies. It's getting tiresome to reply to the same things over and over again, and explain the same things over and over again.
 
Old 07-30-2012, 12:04 PM   #106
lbb
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Re: Styles of Aikido - which is right for me?

Eh. It's generally a good idea to be very careful about inferring tone from internet communications. If you find the thread tiresome, your best bet would be to take what you can of value and simply walk away. But since my suggestions are unwelcome, I'll stop offering them. Best of luck with whatever you're looking for.
 
Old 07-30-2012, 01:11 PM   #107
TokyoZeplin
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Re: Styles of Aikido - which is right for me?

Quote:
Mary Malmros wrote: View Post
Eh. It's generally a good idea to be very careful about inferring tone from internet communications. If you find the thread tiresome, your best bet would be to take what you can of value and simply walk away. But since my suggestions are unwelcome, I'll stop offering them. Best of luck with whatever you're looking for.
See again, you are implying I'm saying things which I am not, and acting like I'm somehow scuffing you off, when that is not at all the case.
By all means, if you could see what I quoted as anything but in a hostile view, please, tell me how I should interpret them, because really, I don't see it.
If you don't put tone on written words, I imagine reading books are REAL boring for you

I didn't say your suggestion were unwelcome. Please don't put words in my mouth.

... "best of luck with whatever you're looking for" - you mean the dojo, that I already said I found on the last page?
 
Old 07-30-2012, 03:11 PM   #108
lars beyer
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Re: Styles of Aikido - which is right for me?


Quote:
Philip Zeplin-Frederiksen wrote: View Post
For people saying they study an art of peace, and many claim to have become better at conflict solving in their personal lives, some posts here sure seem to do their best to make this discussion as hostile as possible.
It sounds more like a monologue on being misunderstood than a discussion about aikido.. but offcourse.. how can you engage in a discussion about something you have never tried for yourself..? You posted a question, people responded. What´s the problem..
 
Old 07-30-2012, 04:24 PM   #109
TokyoZeplin
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Re: Styles of Aikido - which is right for me?

Quote:
Lars Beyer wrote: View Post


It sounds more like a monologue on being misunderstood than a discussion about aikido.. but offcourse.. how can you engage in a discussion about something you have never tried for yourself..? You posted a question, people responded. What´s the problem..
Am I the only person here (well, I'm not, because several have posted good replies, whether I agree / was looking for that specific answer or not) that understands the meaning of "constructive criticism"?
 
Old 07-31-2012, 01:06 AM   #110
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Re: Styles of Aikido - which is right for me?

Quote:
Philip Zeplin-Frederiksen wrote: View Post
For people saying they study an art of peace, and many claim to have become better at conflict solving in their personal lives, some posts here sure seem to do their best to make this discussion as hostile as possible.
Sometimes I find those that default to the "peace" and "conflict solving" theme, are those who try to defend the indefensible …

You reminded me of peace and conflict resolution but no where in my aikido training/research do I find that I/we have to accommodate those who chose NOT to listen or understand.

You have not been on an aikido mat. You do not have a recommendation to go to a traditional dojo -- in short, you are a non-entity.

You have been to Japan and bowed (?) to people. You have been on the Shotokan karate mat and bowed. What do you understand when you bowed?

FYI - bowing is about demonstrating your respect to others, to demonstrate your humility and your appreciation to those who went before you, to demonstrate a LACK OF ARROGANCE.

Towards the start of your thread, you blew away at least one well regarded sensei and his comment. So when you blew away those who have went before you (in aikido) and tried to give you earnest advice, were you thinking of "peace" and "conflict solving"?

Before I retired from work, I had a management role in which I inducted new employees. One of my advice to them was: "It's ok to make a mistake because it is a learning experience. It is even ok to make the same mistake twice as long as you learn something. But if you make the same mistake 3 times, then we start to think if there is something not right with you." So how many mistakes have you made by ignoring sound advice from those who went before you?

The martial arts world and the aikido world do not dance to your tune. Get over it. And get on the mat. You cannot learn aikido by theorising and making it an academic issue. In the process you may learn what bowing is really all about.

You initial question "which is right for (you)" is not something for which there is a black and white answer … something that many in the forum have tried to convey to you.

It's like asking "Which is the best martial art?" The answer is … "It depends". And there is not one best martial art.

Finally, someone (much more worthy than I) observed that you cannot buy the training. Sure you can sign-up, pay your membership/training fees and train on the mat, but your sensei will soon work out if you are worthy or not. Please keep this in mind when you start knocking on the doors of aikido dojo.

Good luck in your future endeavours.
 
Old 07-31-2012, 07:43 AM   #111
TokyoZeplin
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Re: Styles of Aikido - which is right for me?

Tom, what in the world are you ranting on about? Exactly how much of this thread have you read, before you decided to make your replies? You are bringing up things that either I have already answered, or have already made clear people misunderstood. And then there's the things I don't even know where you're getting...
I know you haven't read some key points in this thread, since you clearly don't know I already found a dojo. But no, I will not start repeating myself, simply because you write without having read...

And I'm not "defaulting" back to saying "it's an art of peace" - I'm making an observation, that it's ironic that for a group that supposedly puts great emphasis on this, I really really don't see in many of the replies.
 
Old 07-31-2012, 08:24 AM   #112
lars beyer
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Re: Styles of Aikido - which is right for me?

Quote:
Philip Zeplin-Frederiksen wrote: View Post
Tom, what in the world are you ranting on about? Exactly how much of this thread have you read, before you decided to make your replies? You are bringing up things that either I have already answered, or have already made clear people misunderstood. And then there's the things I don't even know where you're getting...
I know you haven't read some key points in this thread, since you clearly don't know I already found a dojo. But no, I will not start repeating myself, simply because you write without having read...

And I'm not "defaulting" back to saying "it's an art of peace" - I'm making an observation, that it's ironic that for a group that supposedly puts great emphasis on this, I really really don't see in many of the replies.
I believe you will do yourself and others a huge favour if you forget about aikido and concentrate all your efforts on finishing your artstudy with good grades. There is absolutely no need to waste your own and other peoples time blabbering away on topics where you have no authority whatsoever and start training in an artform that takes both sincerity, courage, devotion and most of all respect for your peers very seriously.. As Tom mention above that is key in budo training.

What your problem is I can only guess, but I do think that the prospect of finishing school soon is putting
a huge pressure on you, so why not spend your energy on finishing school instead of starting out in a new artform which you very clearly have very limited mental acces to- at least for the time being ?

All the best
Lars
 
Old 07-31-2012, 09:27 AM   #113
akiy
 
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Re: Styles of Aikido - which is right for me?

Thread closed for the moment while I go back and review people's behavior in it.

-- Jun

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