My Introduction

I live in Rapid City, South Dakota. I'm 44. There is no active aikido dojo here. I have just begun in MA. My Sensei of Sensei's says; among other MA, he is willing to teach me Aikido.

There is much I can say as to why I decided to study MA. I don't want to write a book here.

I would like to say. My internal war has re-erupted since starting. I started reading books aimed at 'do'. Searched for the true spirit behind serious MA. I have found that in the teachings of the founder of aikido. I'm reading The Art of Peace right now. Have two other books of his on order right now from amazon.

I was disappointed at many forums in MA. Wished to talk with others about the "do". I have seen the right spirit here. Wish to talk with others about that. Share. This, to help me with my internal war.

Right now my Sensei says I need the "hard". I must concentrate on that for now. I know, at the peak of my learning lies Aikido. He tells me one must be both hard and soft. He and I are both Christian. I have the soft down to the point that I had sat in the seat of Job....and I won. I have fellowship with my Lord in that. When my Lord comes back, it will not be as a sacrificial lamb. And neither will I.

I'll leave this introduction at this for right now. Like I said. I could write a book on this.

Hi Ron, welcome to aikiweb! I know there is disagreement on whether you need to go through a 'hard' stage to develop 'softness' or whether developing 'hardness' at the start just slows your development in attaining 'softness'.

I think using force at the start can actually make you appreciate that blending is more powerful. Also, I think there is a necessity to 'fill the opponents gaps' which can be overlooked in aikido i.e. if they are weak you need to take advantage of this weakness (often with direct power, since there will be little resistance to it). Within kungfu circles sensetivity is generally recommended before developing power, though in practise it also seems to be trained the other way around (possibly because sensetivity is much more difficult to develop).

I prefer to think of 'blending' rather than hard or soft. You blend so that you can put the person in a position where you can completely destroy them (of course the choice is then yours).

Also, with the 'do' side of things. I definately think that has to be achieved by reflecting on your training; and although thinking can be guided by philosophy from books, you have to relate this to the real experience of real body movement and training. The chinese have a saying which is effectively 'other people's knowledge is other people's knowledge' i.e. only be learning for ourselves do we truly understand reality.

Hope you get alot out of aikiweb - don't be put off by argumentative people (like myself), it's well worth the effort.

Hi Ron,

Welcome, and thank you for your introduction!

-- Jun

Hi Ron,

Welcome to Aikiweb. I hope you enjoy it here and have fun in the exchange of thoughts.

Imo Aikido can be both "hard" and "soft" it depends on what one wants to focus on at the point in time. They both have their lessons that together make up the whole.

Regards.
LC

hello ron,its good that you express you the way you did ,am sure the masters out there will give you good councel.from my little knowledge i wil advise that you take your time and learn the hard and the soft because each had its day.a great % of success in martial art lines in you,the ability to usefully utilise that which is in you without stress for maximum reward.you are what you make you to be and with good training and reasoning you will always getthe best.just remember that martial art is for the disciplined mind and for one who cares for others most especially his enermies