That's right - there are some implications of "peace" in the kanji for "ai" - but no Japanese person would ever say "ai" when they are trying to talk about "peace" (except where it's used in a compound). When Koichi Tohei came to the US people asked what "Aikido" means and he broke it down into three characters, which started the damage. John Stevens came along later and gave some very poetic translations that, while not exactly incorrect, led people further along in what was (IMO) the wrong direction. He and I have had some "discussions" on some other issues in the translations as well. Best, Chris Aikido Sangenkai
I would make sure the teacher knows his stuff first. I have met people with 30 years of Aikido that had no real attainment. If he has something to offer you , you will not be able to do anything to him, test him, if he can't show you or won't, take a walk, he probably does not have it, and if he doesn't have it , then he can't show you the things worth knowing. You should have application, which should also be a part of it all, don't worry about strikes. And when you test him, make sure you just don't let him show you, try not to let him do his techniques, if he has something you should drop like a rock. Cheers
Working out with a club and seeing if the instructors challenge you is a basic precaution you ought to take at any martial arts club.
I like the aspects of harmony, ki, relaxation, etc. and I'm sure it'll help me mentally, but I don't see myself using Aikido as self defense... maybe after years and years of training and actually training under stressful/aggressive situations. I think the emphasis on relaxation is good and I'm sure it'll help in the long run but there's no way in hell I'll be able to toss someone around in a relaxed, loose, flowing manner without any aggression because of the lack of striking in this dojo (still psyched about taking it and learning more about this style, though). So maybe I can blend the mentalities of the styles I've trained in and Aikido... I'm just a little discourage by the fact that this dojo doesn't teach any strikes. I know plenty of strikes and I'll be sure to utilize them when training elsewhere but I'd like to be able to use an Aikido strike when a certain technique doesn't work so that I'm not contradicting the style too much.
As I understand it (and I freely admit my Japanese is almost non-existent) the kanji for ai is made up of three parts. The particles for joining or coming together, the number one and mouth. If we take ki to mean energy, spirit or mind then we have two streams of energy, two spirits or two minds joining or blending. In the context of martial arts one stream of energy, one spirit or one mind must always dominate the other. Otherwise we have a stalemate which is very bad.
My understanding of Judo is that they place an emphasis on fighting smarter by using the leverage one can gain front the hips etc. Certainly when I practised many years ago as a junior it never felt like anybody was trying not to hurt their opponent. Especially as I always ended up paired off with some giant 6ft monster in randori nobody else wanted to go up against. It was just that hurting someone was not the objective. Dealing with the problem was the objective. Which is how Aikido approaches martial arts as far as I'm concerned. I'm not sure in what context the unbendable arm exercise is a discrepancy. It's certainly rolled out as a party trick and crowd pleaser at public demonstrations. But there's also a genuine lesson to be learned from it as well. Particularly in the context of Ki as in the mind and the effect ones state of mind has on ones body and ability to perform.
There are two forces joining together - the key questions are which forces are where are they. In essence, the opposing In-Yo forces join through your own body - the other guy is more or less irrelevant. "Aikido without Peace or Harmony" discusses this a little bit. Best, Chris Aikido Sangenkai
Can someone tell me why Aikido does not train "leg moves" used in Judo and other wrestling such as, cut, sharpen, hook, scoop, sweep, lift, block, twist, ... I know Aikido and Judo are different arts, but leg moves are leg moves which should not have any "style boundary". Here is a "lift" that I'm talking about. http://www.judoinfo.com/images/animations/blue/uchimata.htm
I expect it goes back to the sword influence. To a large degree aikido movements mimic those of Japanese fencing, and a throw such as that is not part of sword fighting.
Very interesting. Although at this point I have to make you aware you're linking out to your own blog just a bit too much. MAP policy is to repost content when ever possible.
Sorry... Actually, one of the main reasons for putting the blog up was so that I can go into these things in more depth there - and so I don't have to re-post every time these discussions come up. Best, Chris Aikido Sangenkai
Just a friendly heads-up. We do need more knowledgeable people posting in Aikido. So it is appreciated. The link in your sig is fine btw.
Aikido Leg Sweeps You Know Who.. Aikido does include leg work similar to uchi mata. When performing Ikkyo for example it is highly effective to sweep uke's leg while cutting thier arm to a kusuhi (horrible breakfall!!). In addition lots of Ara waza use trips of uke's feet as well as purposely standing on their foot while executing a technique. Again Ikkyo is a good exanmple, pinning the arm while standing on uke's forward foot would cause serious damage to the ankle/Lower leg. We also implement trips, applying yonkyo will tripping the forward foot once again. Unfortunately these techniques rarely see the light of day in many Aikido Dojo :bang: I would recomend checking out Saito's Jo work as the sweeps from the Jo can easily be translated into hand/leg techniques.
