Aikido, the Hippie Martial Art

Daren Sims wrote: I think he did give them their own planet ....like guinea pigs crossed with snooker balls wern't they. I'm sure they were behind the original idea for gremlins! ....yuk....breeding everywhere. Zoom...back in the 60's and 70's just for a second there. ;-)

Scotty beamed them over to the Klingon ship, "where they'll be no tribble at all..."

Everyone please forget that I knew this...

Clark Bateman wrote: Scotty beamed them over to the Klingon ship, "where they'll be no tribble at all..." Everyone please forget that I knew this...

I thought that was something Joe Curran said

Ha ha....actually very pleased that I'm not the only one harking back to younger days on this fine friday.

Clark Bateman wrote: Scotty beamed them over to the Klingon ship, "where they'll be no tribble at all..." Everyone please forget that I knew this...

i knew that, but didn't want to mention it because it would make me feel really old.

Mary Malmros wrote: Got a mouse in your pocket?

it's a sock. i saw it. scar me for life.

Mary Malmros wrote: Got a mouse in your pocket? I already asked myself that. My conclusion is that it's most likely a case of dismissive labeling. Beyond that, I don't feel the need to analyze it, and certainly not navel-gaze about it. Dismissive labels are not based on true knowledge and thoughtful analysis, and they don't shine any light on any subject. Devoting brain cycles to tossoff remarks as if they were thoughtful, meaningful insight strikes me as a waste of time.

I am taking "Got a mouse in your pocket?" to mean "is there something more you'd like to say?"

I think aikido has friends in other arts. Friends who see value in aikido, but are genuinely confused by the lack of...competency in the martial application of technique and the population that has come to accept that fact. I think these friends start communications with humor and needling, but are actually saying, "no, seriously, why do you guys let your own student demean your art?" I think we have the opportunity to open that dialogue and explain the "misconceptions" about aikido; or, we can just dismiss their inquiry.

We are ever bit as prejudiced against other martial arts as they are against us. Heaven forbid we should devoid brain cycles to trying to understand other people.

Hi Jon,

I guess I just have different experiences. I can't say that I ever much thought about aikido when I was practicing karate -- I knew that it existed, I had friends that trained, I knew that I didn't know much of anything about it, and I didn't spend a lot of brain cycles on it. I also know that in discussions with my fellow karateka, the subject of aikido never came up -- literally, not once in years of training. We'd talk about karate, beer, movies, sushi, beer, karate, sports, karate and beer. Maybe we were just very boring people!

But I think it's entirely possible for intelligent people with inquiring minds to let a subject rest, so to speak: there are only so many hours in a day, and "I know that I don't know" is a sensible resting place, if you know what I mean. Of course, a lot of people don't get to this point, and if you seek out a martial arts discussion forum that is not devoted to a single art, of course you're going to run into a lot of comparative discussions, because of self-selection bias: those who are attracted to these kind of discussions will be disproportionately represented in these forums. And I'm here to tell you, the "my style is the best" thing is absolutely not an aikido thing, nor even a martial arts thing -- it's a human thing. For "style" substitute "religion" or "political party" or "dietary habits" or "exercise regimen", and it seems clear that most humans reassure themselves about their choices by affirming the superiority of those choices over all other ways. Perhaps this comes from a belief that there is a "best" choice, and the fear that choosing anything but the "best" puts one at a life-scarring disadvantage. In the US, we see this often among middle- and upper-class parents, so many of whom seem to have this pervasive anxiety that they must make the "best" choice in everything for their child (schools, clothes, activities), and that failure to do so will cripple their child's chances in life.

It's a kind of arms race mentality, this endless search for the "best". It consumes so much energy and resources, and the hell of it is, it's all based on false premises (at least I think so). For one thing, it's often a case of two paths up the mountain, both with different features (this one has a great view, that one goes by a fantastic waterfall), both getting to the goal, neither having a decided advantage. Choosing one means forgoing the benefits of the other; it doesn't mean there is a "best". And even in a situation where a real quality difference exists, most people (of any age), when presented with the "best", are not able to fully take advantage of it. Give me Cadell Evans' bicycle, and I'm still not going to climb Alpe d'Huez; serve me Chateau Margaux, and I might not notice any difference between that and a mid-range Bordeaux.

This need to have the "best" and to be the "best" is generally presented in a favorable light here in the US. We (see, that's me and the mouse in MY pocket talking) say that this inspires us to seek excellence, but frankly, I think it's a corrosive mental disease that we'd be better off without. It makes a virtue of greed and self-centeredness, and leads to a life utterly out of balance.

But I digress. This need to be the "best" didn't seem to inspire my fellow karateka back in the day -- they were doing what they wanted to do, not because they thought it was the "best", but because it had value for them personally. They didn't spend time obsessing about what those weird aikido people were doing -- didn't, for that matter, think of aikido as "weird", as near as I can tell. It was different, we didn't understand it, and we didn't expect to understand it because -- wait for it -- we hadn't ever studied it. It doesn't seem to me to be such a huge leap of logic to think that outside the self-selected denizens of martial arts forums, most martial artists don't have this kind of attitude towards other styles, rather than an insatiable nagging obsession with the martial validity of styles of which they have only superficial knowledge.

I find myself watching a lot of youtube martial arts videos. The comments sections are almost always my art is better than your art bitchfests, especially when aikido is the topic of the video.

I notice that when an aikido person does the technique we commonly call kotegaeshi, it sucks balls (according to the commenters) but when any other style's practitioner does kotegaeshi with no flow, no kuzushi, no zanshin, etc., all of a sudden the commenters are blown away by the awesome wrist lock, so simple and so powerful....

Krystal Locke wrote: I find myself watching a lot of youtube martial arts videos. The comments sections are almost always my art is better than your art bitchfests, especially when aikido is the topic of the video. I notice that when an aikido person does the technique we commonly call kotegaeshi, it sucks balls (according to the commenters) but when any other style's practitioner does kotegaeshi with no flow, no kuzushi, no zanshin, etc., all of a sudden the commenters are blown away by the awesome wrist lock, so simple and so powerful....

I find myself watching youtube martial arts videos too, but usually I end up in "that weird part of YouTube" fairly quickly. Could be me though...

I suppose we can define a 'hippie' as someone who keeps their greying pony tail long after the pate is fully visible wearing a tie dye shirt, Birkenstocks and sporting a 'meat is murder' sticker on a bio-diesel or hybrid car with a well used bike rack. I live in a community of these 'uber hippies' (a.k.a 'peace-nicks, pinko's, protesters) who worship at the crystal encrusted altar of universal consciousness. And much of the Aikido of O'Sensei fits with these beliefs--if it is EFFECTIVE Aikido. They want to learn budo and they want their grandchildren to learn it too. They do like that AIkido teaches harmony and non-retaliation. The 'hippie' beliefs are not weaknesses anymore than Aikido is weakness though there are those who practice 'dance aikido' and still call it a martial art. I think Miles Kessler Sensei described Aikido perfectly with: "Aikido is unique among martial arts in that it teaches:
Calmness and creativity in the midst of aggression.
Compassion and non-violence responses towards violence.
Resolution of conflict without harming another."
If these principles of O Sensei so well put by Kessler Sensei are also 'hippie' values...great! I rather like my 'hippie' community of academics and balding pony tail wearing crystal keepers.