The latest AikiWeb Aikido Forums posts http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/ Sat, 25 May 2013 05:52:07 -0700 http://www.aikiweb.com/graphics/logo.gif http://www.aikiweb.com Forums feed provided by AikiWeb. Click to visit! http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=22656&goto=newpost General: Aikido Magazine - 5 Replies

From: Christine Schmidt on Sat, 25 May 2013 03:00:29 -0600

Do you know about the Aikidojournal ? There's a french and german edition of this printed magazin published quaterly (as I remember). Websites: french [url]http://fr.aikidojournal.net/[/url] german [url]http://www.aikidojournal.de/[/url] portal to some english entries: [url]http://eu.aikidojournal.net/Home_en/[/url] As a European you are maybe multilingual ... ? Regards, Christine]]> Christine Schmidt General Sat, 25 May 2013 03:00:29 -0700 http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=22657&goto=newpost Techniques: Where does "Morote Dori" come from? - 31 Replies

From: Devon Smith on Sat, 25 May 2013 00:20:15 -0600

[QUOTE=Robert M Watson Jr;326591]Pay very close attention to what goes on that segment. Interesting things to be seen there. It is not important what I see but what do you see? 0:18-0:23 a lot can happen in 5 seconds.[/QUOTE] As a Hakkoryu student, I enjoyed 2:32 to 2:36 very much! Devon]]> Devon Smith Techniques Sat, 25 May 2013 00:20:15 -0700 http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=22701&goto=newpost Training: Re: It Had to Be Felt #41: Shirata Rinjiro: "Your Aikido Techniques Must Become Majestic" - 2 Replies

From: Jun Akiyama on Fri, 24 May 2013 22:39:54 -0600

Please note that the above two messages have been moved from the orignal thread (located [url="http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22687"]here[/url]). Again, here are the rules for contributing to the "It Had to Be Felt" column threads: For those inclined to post, please re-read the [URL="http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20638"]introductory column[/URL] before doing so. The rules for contributors, in short:[LIST] [*]Only people who have actually taken ukemi the teacher who is the subject of this thread, may post [*]Simply post your direct experience of taking ukemi. This can include the nature of your relationship with them, as ukemi is more than merely taking falls. [*]Do not engage in back-and-forth with other posters, disputing their experience, or trying to prove why yours is more real. Just post your own experience. Trust your readers to take in each writer's account on its own merits. [*]If, for any reason, you find something to praise or condemn in anyone's description or wish to amplify your insights and perceptions, do so elsewhere. Start a thread about that subject in the appropriate section of Aikiweb. [*]Follow-up posts should be substantive, striving to equal the depth of the original essay. Simply agreeing with the writer, or a brief comment that, yes, the teacher in question was really powerful or had a wonderful shihonage or the like, are not congruent with the purpose of this archive.[/LIST] Thank you, -- Jun]]> Jun Akiyama Training Fri, 24 May 2013 22:39:54 -0700 http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=22509&goto=newpost General: Ranking systems in different countries - 80 Replies

From: Daniel James on Fri, 24 May 2013 17:51:00 -0600

[QUOTE=Peter Gröndahl;326926]Talent, it´s back! [url]https://www.msu.edu/~ema/HambrickEtAl13.pdf[/url] "The second myth is that it requires at least ten years, or 10,000 hours, of deliberate practice to reach an elite level of performance..... But the data indicate that there is an enormous amount of variability in deliberate practice—even in elite performers. One player in Gobet and Campitelli's (2007) chess sample took 26 years of serious involvement in chess to reach a master level, while another player took less than 2 years to reach this level."[/QUOTE] This is a nice article, but important to consider that cognitive skill development such as in a chess player is quite different to acquisition of a physical motor skill which might account for the difference. Also must be careful to seperate out individual case studies vs large scale data. Sometimes though apparent outliers ( could almost segway to the gladwell book here) have a vast background in other , but related activities. Its a whole can of worms. The paper gives a good treatment. Violin, as a fine motor skill skill is probably a reasonable comparision with aiki. Not that learning violin in my youth seemed to help my aiki in a tangable way- other than appreciation of delayed gratification, discipline etc.. John - sorry for the fuzz just wanted to put a thought out there Dan]]> Daniel James General Fri, 24 May 2013 17:51:00 -0700 http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=22673&goto=newpost Language: musubi - 3 Replies

From: Robert Cowham on Fri, 24 May 2013 14:32:25 -0600

I have been told that musubi can also mean a meeting and conflict, and that such a conflict may give rise to a new creative solution. So, just because you meet and conflict, don't back away, stick with it and see what new solution may arise from the seeds of both conflicting parties...]]> Robert Cowham Language Fri, 24 May 2013 14:32:25 -0700 http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=22702&goto=newpost Teaching: Starting a kids class- seeking advice & wisdom - 7 Replies

From: Philip Smith on Fri, 24 May 2013 07:43:20 -0600

[QUOTE=Jørgen Jakob Friis;326935]Hi Phillip This touches a point we have been discussing in our Dojo. The way I teach Aikido I rely on my students wanting to learn so I think it would be perceived as very soft. It works out fine in the adult class though. However in the kids class I am aware I should probably adopt a harder style - but I have no idea how to do that. Could you explain just a little what you mean by 'Hard work sessions' - especially how you deal with it if somebody slack off. I hope you can help. JJ[/QUOTE] Actually the second part of your first post is pretty much what we do. The kids warm-up with lots of physical "stuff" - jogging around mat, sit-ups, press-ups, general flexibility such as touching toes and so on. We then do taisebaki following senseis count e.g. we're going to do tenkan 10 times - sensei counts 1,2, etc whilst performing the movement as well Then technique asking for the name of the attack, technique and if it's omote or ura. So one student is asked "What technique is it?" another "what is the attack?" After they have practised each technique we get two pairs to show what they have learnt to the whole class. End of class is kokyu-ho. Hope that helps - the competitive elements are learning the names and showing the technique "better" than anyone else.]]> Philip Smith Teaching Fri, 24 May 2013 07:43:20 -0700 http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=22693&goto=newpost Seminars: Gleason, Ledyard, Popkin, Brogna - June in NY - 3 Replies

From: Howard Popkin on Thu, 23 May 2013 18:33:52 -0600

Sorry :) I'm guessing Mass, and Ohio too !!!]]> Howard Popkin Seminars Thu, 23 May 2013 18:33:52 -0700 http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=21950&goto=newpost General: The Fear of Power - 126 Replies

From: Graham Christian on Thu, 23 May 2013 16:33:52 -0600

[QUOTE=Yannis Mousoulis;326883]"Nobody can take away my strength because I do not use it." O'sensei Morihei Ueshiba The goal of taking up martial arts has always been clear to me: to be able to defend oneself and to develop every aspect of the human being, physical, mental, spiritual, esoteric simultaneously. Of course this has nothing to do with wanting to impose your will by using force, neither with having any fear of power. Many people confuse the way aikido works without relying merely on brute force with teaching the absence of any power, but nothing could be further from the truth. We use power in aikido or else nobody would go flying around or be imobilized, but that doesn't mean that we use it the way body builders do. In aikido our power comes by redirecting the attacker's power, by using the combination of our tai sabaki and ki power, by being able to make the transition from hard to soft, by using hard and soft at the same time or the combination of all the above acording to the attack one faces. So we are far from using mere brute violent strength against the attack, yet we have absolutely no problem with being powerful. Aikido is a martial art and a martial artist is a warrior first and foremost. However he is also the preserver of peace. There is nothing non pacifistic about being a martial artist. On the contrary it gives the chance to be actively in peace instead of simply talking about it. Most people nowadays are full of anxiety and stress, leading lives that get them further and further from being one with themselves and nature. Practicing aikido leads people to get in touch with their selves, with human nature and if they practice seriously it leads them to be calmer, more realised persons, with higher self esteem. So they become peacefull inside and that changes also the way they interact with others. Even in a self defence situation, it is the martial artist that can react more peacefully. He will either use his martial arts perception to avoid getting in trouble or (if that is impossible) he will use his self defence techniques to defend himself while being in complete control of himself, not causing unnesessary damage, hurting his attackers only as much as is needed to save his own life. So even though he has unwillingly entered a fighting situation, the martial artist can be in peace with himself during the confrontation and restore peace to his environment by neutralising his attackers. A theoretically pacifistic person, with no martial arts training, facing the danger he could either lose his life or lose control of himself and save his life by seriously hurting or killing his attackers even if that could have been avoided. There is no inconsistency in being an aikidoka and being a powerful one as long as that power comes by using the aikido principles to apply aikido tachniques. There is no inconsistency in being an aikidoka and being a peaceful one. Only the people that have the power to hurt are living in peace consciously. The others simply have no choice.[/QUOTE] Yes, I like your quote at the beginning. I also like this one: “If all you think about is winning, you will in fact lose everything. Know that both you and your opponents are treading the same path. Envelop adversaries with love, entrust yourself to the natural flow of things, unify ki, body and mind, and efface the boundary between self and other. This opens unlimited possibilities. Those who are enlightened to these principles are always victorious. Winning without contending is Masakatsu-Agatsu-Katsu-Hayabi. Masakatsu, - True Victory, is to unify self and other, to link yourself to the Divine, to yoke yourself to Divine Love, to become one with the universe itself. Masakatsu represents the masculine fire element of the left; Agatsu stands for the feminine water element on the right; Katsu-Hayabi is the perfect combination of both that creates the technique.” O-Sensei. Peace.G.]]> Graham Christian General Thu, 23 May 2013 16:33:52 -0700 http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=20001&goto=newpost Anonymous: Farewell Aikido - 28 Replies

From: Christine Schmidt on Thu, 23 May 2013 14:57:47 -0600

[QUOTE=Anonymous User;286933](This is my brief observation during my time practicing Aikido) ... ... [/QUOTE] If you like to read books I would like to point you to a nice one. Actually it's a novel, but not only a novel. Suppose you can find there something: Cognard, André: Le Disciple. Editions Dervy, Paris, 2002. ISBN 2-84454-150-X. Well, it's written in French. But many people know some French and it's really worth to read. Regards, Christine]]> Christine Schmidt Anonymous Thu, 23 May 2013 14:57:47 -0700 http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=22698&goto=newpost Weapons: Origins and inspirations of kumijo - 6 Replies

From: Brad Darr on Thu, 23 May 2013 14:54:28 -0600

So I didn't catch it all but the audio for that clip mentions O'sensei. Can someone with better Japanese skills post a translation maybe? Just out of curiosity.]]> Brad Darr Weapons Thu, 23 May 2013 14:54:28 -0700 http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=7837&goto=newpost Testing: Now what? - 15 Replies

From: Susan Dalton on Thu, 23 May 2013 12:41:56 -0600

[QUOTE=Janet Rosen;326613]I smiled reading this, once again contemplating the "it's a small world" aspect of aikido and the myriad personal connections stretching across years and miles.[/QUOTE] Which, I think, is one of the most beautiful parts of aikido--how all those ripples spread and intersect. I enjoyed reading this whole thread again. Susan]]> Susan Dalton Testing Thu, 23 May 2013 12:41:56 -0700 http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=22699&goto=newpost General: Things i can do at home? - 16 Replies

From: Benjamin Edelen on Thu, 23 May 2013 08:46:29 -0600

People are not concerned enough about the dangers of squatting. Attempting to mount and unmount the crapper should only be done under the supervision of a qualified trainer. If only our bodies were already designed for this kind of movement.]]> Benjamin Edelen General Thu, 23 May 2013 08:46:29 -0700 http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=22641&goto=newpost Anonymous: Cold Sensei - 29 Replies

From: Lorien Lowe on Wed, 22 May 2013 18:47:17 -0600

Hi Anonymous- I hadn't picked up from your earlier posts that you're now being excluded from 'dojo business' circles that other people of your rank and status are not being excluded from; I think that's a more troublesome aspect, if I'm now understanding you correctly. Do you think that your relationship with Sensei at this point is also damaging his ability to teach you and/or your ability to learn? I can understand why you wouldn't feel comfortable directly approaching him at this point, but maybe you could ask another yudansha to speak with him on your behalf. The only other options that come to mind would be to accept relative stagnation where you are, or to move to another dojo.]]> Lorien Lowe Anonymous Wed, 22 May 2013 18:47:17 -0700 http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=22566&goto=newpost Weapons: Bokken, Jo, Sword? - 51 Replies

From: Marie Noelle Fequiere on Wed, 22 May 2013 12:35:07 -0600

[QUOTE=Cliff Judge;325985]May I ask what it is that you do when you handle a live sword?[/QUOTE] I do kata, and I practice suburi, basic techniques. I found that the sharp blade forces me to be more careful about the position of the edge of the blade.]]> Marie Noelle Fequiere Weapons Wed, 22 May 2013 12:35:07 -0700 http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=17623&goto=newpost General: Looking for Sensei/Dojo in McKinney, TX - 7 Replies

From: Richard Oneill on Tue, 21 May 2013 19:23:55 -0600

[QUOTE=Alex Fitzgerald;323869]I know this post is a few years old, but I live in Mckinney and this dojo is about 15 miles away from me down 75. It is about 20 minutes drive time. I have only practised sporadically as I mostly do BJJ, but I can say the mats are probably the thinnest and hardest in the metroplex. You will need ibuprofen if your rolls/falls are not that great or if you are still working on them :-)[URL="http://www.aikidoplanodojo.vpweb.com"]http://www.aikidoplanodojo.vpweb.com[/URL][/QUOTE] Actually I am still looking. Thanks for the info.]]> Richard Oneill General Tue, 21 May 2013 19:23:55 -0700