AikiWeb Aikido Forums

Aikido and long hair (Kit Leblanc)

Kit Leblanc — 2008-05-11T20:20:17-07:00

General: Aikido and long hair - 23 Replies

From: Kit Leblanc on Sun, 11 May 2008 20:20:17 -0600

While people kid about using it as a handle, few actually try.

Well, Lynn, clearly you don't get in many fights with the police...:D Its an old stand by and excellent for head control. It comes in handy in place of a collar for shime-waza, and I've been known to use it against biters as well - threaded through the mouth it can create tremendous leverage on the jaw. Did a bit for the jujutsu guys I train with on "exigent application of pony tails and mullets" in suspect control. That being said, be wary of extensions. More than one guy has tried head control using long hair as a handle and ended up with a handful of.... ....of whatever it is they use for hair extensions. ;)

Starting an all-women's class (Michael Varin)

Michael Varin — 2008-05-11T19:57:55-07:00

Teaching: Starting an all-women's class - 2 Replies

From: Michael Varin on Sun, 11 May 2008 19:57:55 -0600

Just curious... What's the purpose of a women only class?

Who "invented" aikido's ukemi (Raul Rodrigo)

Raul Rodrigo — 2008-05-11T19:16:49-07:00

General: Who "invented" aikido's ukemi - 4 Replies

From: Raul Rodrigo on Sun, 11 May 2008 19:16:49 -0600

Tamura shihan said: "In the old days, we did not learn how to take ukemi like people do now. Ukemi was something you learned by being thrown. What you picked up naturally by being thrown was considered as true ukemi."

Resistance in Aikido (Ron Tisdale)

Ron Tisdale — 2008-05-11T18:20:17-07:00

General: Resistance in Aikido - 26 Replies

From: Ron Tisdale on Sun, 11 May 2008 18:20:17 -0600

Hey Don, Done that...sometimes it works, sometimes I land REALLY hard. :D That's ok... Best, Ron

Martial arts for the elderly (Stefan Stenudd)

Stefan Stenudd — 2008-05-11T18:02:42-07:00

General: Martial arts for the elderly - 8 Replies

From: Stefan Stenudd on Sun, 11 May 2008 18:02:42 -0600

Judging from the films, Osensei's aikido changed through the years. I find it increasingly fascinating, the older he got. We can't all be Osensei, but I guess we can all allow our aikido to change as we get older, to fit what our bodies are comfortable with at each stage. I'd like to call that development. I really believe that aikido progresses, even though the body deteriorates - or maybe just because of that incentive. Or maybe I'm just getting old, trying to find solace...

Gay Aikido People? NORTHEN UK (Dan O'Day)

Dan O'Day — 2008-05-11T16:28:54-07:00

General: Gay Aikido People? NORTHEN UK - 99 Replies

From: Dan O'Day on Sun, 11 May 2008 16:28:54 -0600

Yep. I don't know what the deal is...like some have said...fear, I guess. Fear of what is new, what is different? Aren't all of these labels folks attach upon one another just learned stuff anyway? In my training I'm constantly seeing that Aikido is not so much a way of learning something new. It's more a way of refamiliarizing myself with what I was born with; a natural knowledge of awareness, movement and logical thought. Yep. It sure seems that much of my training has to do with "undoing" years of conditioned behavior. Most of it is physical stuff. You know, stiff shoulders, living from the torso up and being totally unaware of hips and thighs and legs and feet and any sense of grounding, etc. So the question of sexual orientation is nothing, in my mind, but more of that societally conditioned stuff which I train to shed. To be free of the mental and physical chains which it is so easy to become shackled with as one enters this world as a child, innocent and malleable. A child, so willing to believe anything a parent tells them....scary stuff. It's amazing we all have survived this long but the fact that we have speaks volumes for the vast multitude of parents who, even while possibly disseminating grossly erroneous information to their children, were guided by some possibly innate sense of morality which has thus far preserved the species. I was raised in California near San Francisco by a single mother who worked in the city. Many of her friends were gay. This was in the early 1970's. I grew up with many surrogate father figures through my mom's friendships and most of them were gay. Maybe that's why I have no issue with sexual orientation. I was never taught to. Of course I was taught other dumb things which is one of the reasons I train. Got to unlearn the dumb things and refamiliarize with the innate, the natural, the organic, the something, the anything that didn't come out of years of policy and code based on a concept as injurious to all as that of Manifest Destiny. Whoa...I hope I didn't cross the line with that one. I don't mean to single out Manifest Destiny folks. Plenty of other societies have created equally crazy justifications for their actions. Am I still on topic? Gay. Lesbian. Straight. Black hair, blond hair, different skin colors... Myself...well, I'm kind of exclusive. I boast of direct ancestry with Mitochondria Eve and I just won't train with anyone else but those who are members of my family.

Update of the USAF Shihan list (Karen Wolek)

Karen Wolek — 2008-05-11T14:13:12-07:00

AikiWeb System: Update of the USAF Shihan list - 1 Replies

From: Karen Wolek on Sun, 11 May 2008 14:13:12 -0600

Wow, that's a lot of new shihan! *Linda Lee Vecchio, Aikido of Cleveland* A female shihan in the USAF, woo hoo! :)

Dislocated Finger-Help! (Shany Golan)

Shany Golan — 2008-05-11T11:27:33-07:00

Training: Dislocated Finger-Help! - 6 Replies

From: Shany Golan on Sun, 11 May 2008 11:27:33 -0600

Shany, your injury may/not have been a dislocation, so hard to exactly compare to the OP.

yeah i know, though it hurts even 3 months after it happened...

Video: Steven Seagal on Merv Griffin Show (Jennifer Smith)

Jennifer Smith — 2008-05-11T11:12:39-07:00

General: Video: Steven Seagal on Merv Griffin Show - 23 Replies

From: Jennifer Smith on Sun, 11 May 2008 11:12:39 -0600

No one has really looked at the other post on Seagal video's, so I'll put it here as well. This is from the 80's on a TV show that aired in Los Angeles. I think this one is really great too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab60i-FE0YA

I looked at it:D . Thanks.

Fight does not work at all in Aikido. (Don Magee)

Don Magee — 2008-05-11T10:43:44-07:00

General: Fight does not work at all in Aikido. - 56 Replies

From: Don Magee on Sun, 11 May 2008 10:43:44 -0600

A surgical knife makes a poor machete. What does it matter if Aikido never took the Gracie challenge. Aikido is the big question mark isn't it? That unknown eats at the MMA rollers. Aikido is about not being on the UFC Ultimate Fighter. Aikido's principles work against all the MMA principles for an universal example. Aikido is for self-defense if required, but it's not a requirement. Aikido is the art of peace, not war. MMA rollers who see Aikido as an opponent don't know enough about Aikido to understand that Aikido isn't about what they are about. It is easy to put something down when there isn't much known about it. Even easier when it is unable to be understand. I can learn properly MMA moves to fight in a fight in 6 mos. It would take years just to learn an Aikido waza properly, say Katate Mochi Shiho Nage on the street. I think that is the reason why MMA rollers and fighter doesn't consider Aikido as a part of MMA. If the MMA world wants me to say uncle I will say it, UNCLE! You guys win. Your the baddest, the pimpist, the wickedest, around better then Aikido. But, I am not swtiching to MMA. Just like I am not switching to Ninjitsu, Hapkido, Kungfu, etc. I picked Aikido, am sticking with it. I am happy and your happy. We both get what we want. But, I get the peace, and better health; no haunting injuries, and something I can do well into old age that will keep me healthly.

I just ran a quick Q&A with MMA fighters (lucky my gym has a few) Their responses were mostly "What is aikido? and "Well if it worked in the ring, we would already be doing it, so who cares." The MMA world as a whole does not give a crap about any "traditional" martial arts. 90% of them think it's all karate anyways. I know some guys who get offended with being called martial artists ("I don't do that gay crap, I'm a fighter") What you see on the internet is the 1% of people who want to show others what they feel is valuable. I'm not threatened by aikido in the least. Instead I want to show people (not just aikidoka) new ways they can use to help improve their training. And I want to take away new ways I can help improve mine. Of course there are also sites out there that just want to focus on what really works, and what is a waste of time, and others that just want to point out idiocy in the martial arts.

Your Dojo's Website? (Romuel Villareal)

Romuel Villareal — 2008-05-10T22:47:07-07:00

Websites: Your Dojo's Website? - 359 Replies

From: Romuel Villareal on Sat, 10 May 2008 22:47:07 -0600

Basic training, thanks for viewing. http://shuryukan.webs.com

Kisshomaru as Interpretor of the Founder's Words (Dan Rubin)

Dan Rubin — 2008-05-10T20:55:04-07:00

Spiritual: Kisshomaru as Interpretor of the Founder's Words - 23 Replies

From: Dan Rubin on Sat, 10 May 2008 20:55:04 -0600

I'm afraid that I have long been skeptical of translations by John Stevens, based on an interview that appeared in Aikido Today (v.2, #1, Spring 1988). In that interview, Professor Stevens was asked how he researched O Sensei's life for his book, Abundant Peace. Professor Stevens replied that "the best, most interesting stories" were those told him by his various teachers over the years. He pointed out that O Sensei himself changed the descriptions of his enlightenment experience over time. He stated that the taped interviews of O Sensei were very difficult to understand, between the poor quality of the tapes and the difficulty in understanding O Sensei; studying the doka and looking at films helped him. "But," he said, "I suppose I relied mostly on inspiration rather than on pure research. I looked for a unifying view instead of just looking at what O'sensei [sic] did and where." The book is divided into three sections: The Man, The Martial Artist and The Message. "The last and most important section is The Message," Professor Stevens said. "Here I tried, not to be objective, but to imagine what O'sensei would say to people if he were speaking English. This was very difficult for me because O'sensei lived in a different world�a world, now lost, peopled with gods and fairies and divinities. I had to appreciate that." So it seems that Professor Stevens did not really translate O Sensei's words. Instead, he wrote what he thought O Sensei should have said, and would have said, if he could have said it in English. Shoulda-woulda-coulda. That doesn't sound like great scholarship, to me. If this has been Professor Stevens research philosophy in all of his writing then I fear that, instead of helping readers understand O Sensei and aikido, he has done them both irreparable harm. Dan

Learning by teaching (Chuck Clark)

Chuck Clark — 2008-05-10T19:51:54-07:00

Teaching: Learning by teaching - 20 Replies

From: Chuck Clark on Sat, 10 May 2008 19:51:54 -0600

Just because you're an "expert" or a "master" with degrees doesn't mean you are a "teacher." You may even be a minimally qualified "instructor" that may eventually keep learning and become more skilled at instructing or even become a teacher. It depends...

Instructor and Student Safety (Michael Hackett)

Michael Hackett — 2008-05-10T19:38:08-07:00

Teaching: Instructor and Student Safety - 17 Replies

From: Michael Hackett on Sat, 10 May 2008 19:38:08 -0600

Jennifer, I'm not sure that most "traditional" dojo would meet the criteria for access, but a quick call to the California AG at 916-227-2928 or 916-227-9508 could quickly resolve the issue. Based on my experience with Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI), the records retention/security/audit requirements may be too burdensome to be of much value, but that's a decision only you and your dojo can make. You have to acquire the applicant's fingerprints, either on fingerprint cards or by live-scan. Most local police agencies can and will fingerprint applicants but they charge for the service, usually in the range of $ 45.00 per applicant, depending on their local labor and overhead costs. For true non-profits, the AG's Office will waive their fees. You can do the paper card fingerprints yourself, but that takes a little training and practice - no big thing, but the rejection rate is quite high, even for police agencies. Live-Scan is beyond your capability (no insult intended - the equipment is horrendously expensive to purchase and maintain) so your best bet is to get it done at the local PD or SO. In your case, I would contact the Sheriff in Santa Cruz. He is a great guy and might be willing to help you. Santa Cruz SO can be called at 831-454-2985. Just give them a call in Sacramento - you'll find them very helpful and then you can decide whether you want to pursue the idea. Good luck!

Would you teach this knife technique? (Joseph Arriola)

Joseph Arriola — 2008-05-10T17:56:21-07:00

Techniques: Would you teach this knife technique? - 42 Replies

From: Joseph Arriola on Sat, 10 May 2008 17:56:21 -0600

Defending Against the Knife Means Ignoring the Flower The assumption is that I have no choice but "to fight". I am trapped in a knife fight. I am now on automatic. My brain reacts to the knife before my body...before I am aware of my decision to act...my mind knows and my body moves. As such, prior to all "combat" I must train 1) for the act of particular defense and 2) for all other possibilities. The flower may blossom into many shapes, colors and densities. It evokes a variety of "emotions" depending on the unsuspecting "victim". Fear, insecurity, over-confidence, and courage are all possibilities. But, the expert ignores the flower and all its temptations to illicit "emotion". The expert instead uses his own "spade" to dig for the source of the flower. He attacks the branch and the root that "does not move". He ignores the flower that is the knife. Instead of fleeing, he engages by "going into" the branch and root. He does not think of his strategy. He allows his brain and body to make decisions before he becomes aware of them. He flanks the forearm and he penetrates the shoulder allowing the knife to pass him by. He is in the eye of the storm protected from the viciousness of the knife. The danger is managed by "controlling" the knife and eliminating its source. He knows not to attack the fluid, changing, deceptive flower. He instead attacks the immobile branch and the root that he knows is simply covered with the illusion of earth. He has successfully defended against the flower that is the knife. He has lived another day. Sincerely Joseph T. Oliva Arriola