Aikiwolfie - you are absolutely right! By using a common Japanese language we avoid all international barriers and linguistic barriers. Sensei from all over the globe can provide us with their expertise. Great comment! Sorrry, couldn't resist (LOL)! Serious point: The Sensei I've received instruction from (including Daito Ryu) invariably taught me more through physical contact than language. It is my experience that the Japanese way is : ' I show, you do; I correct, you do again, and again, and again..' We sometimes look for explanations and words when all we really need is more 'doing' and less 'talking'. I've a theory that Westerners have lost the patience to repeat again and again, so they look for words when few are necessary. I first took up Judo at the age of 6. When I was 16 my Sensei, Japanese trained, would have us perform the same technique to exhaustion and beyond. In later years, it seemed that we were to perform many techniques in a session, each repeated a few times. Why? because there was a degeneration, which meant that repetition was 'boring' and also lost students. A sad reflection on societal change, and the very reason we should seek to retain the very best in Aikido. Given a bunch of teenage beginners, it's amazing how they still respond to discipline and consistency. I would go so far as to say they really enjoy training with hard discipline that gives them a real sense of success when they deserve it. In a nutshell, the Japanese culture and language should still enable us to deal with modern instruction to modern students, and I am conviced we rob them of the true Aikido if we omit such vital components as we have discussed.
As the Japanese would say in Elementary School, ピン・ポン ピン・ポン！(ding-dong, ding-dong! Gameshow style bells for the correct answer.) There's an old saying in Shinto Muso-ryu jojutsu according to a senior exponent, "The journey of a 100 shaku (that's an Imperial foot!) bo is always straight. The rest of that journey is up to you." What you learn as a student, you learn 100% up and down. After that, it's your decision what to do with that knowledge.
Well Duh! :woo: I've already made the point Aikido can be taught through the demonstration of form alone as some of the early pioneers in here in the UK seem to have been taught at first. Thanks for emphasising that point once again. I've a theory people all over the world have lost the patience to repeat again and again. It's a symptom of the technological age which spawned the gimme gimme generation. Take off the rose tinted specticles and send Mary Poppins home. The world just doesn't work that way any more. At least not the one I live in. Teenagers hold their hands out and expect to be given what they demand. And if they're not so fortunate they're running around robbing old ladies and terrorising pedestrian precincts with skateboards pretending to be the original goths. And could someone please tell them Kurt Cobain is dead. I've also had the "privilage" of having to teach a few teenagers and hard repetative training with a sense of accomplishment definately wasn't something they were looking for. In the case of the boys, they were more interested in the girls gymnastics club next door. The girls on the other hand I'm convinced held a conversation for five years solid without pausing for breath. I seem to recall a descusion on this very forum about the "true" Aikido once. Don't think we got very far if I'm remembering it right. Now here is a simple fact. Not everybody who studies Aikido is fortunate enough to be able to immers themselves so completly in Japanese culture and get on with living their lives and dealing with the real world. If you want to hold dicussions with those people and make the Aikido community inclusive, as I beleive it should be, then you'll have to meet them at least half way.
Just how far are you actually talking about mate ? For me, I'm only specifically discussing the learning of, correctly understanding and applying a limited amount of Japanese terminology to reinforce the Japanese art we study. Not turning ourselves into pseudo-Japanese wannabies. But, to widen the scope a bit given that you mention 'culture' in your post, studying aikido doesn’t require much absorption of Japanese culture over and above the language (which we're discussing) the wearing of keikogi, perhaps a hakama, reigi and training in what is otherwise accepted to be a dojo. I'm guessing you pretty much do all of that yes ? So what else do you see being discussed in this thread that suggests you need to be any more immersed than you already are, to contribute to discussions being held in this forum ? Regards
Well I train in a style of Martial Arts that is an American Martial Art. Almost every technique is numbered (e.g. #1 punch is a jab, #1 elbow is a rising elbow strike to the front, #1 grab art is an evade a grab and kick them in the groin with a front kick, etc.) as well as having some English name or description. I know some of the same techniques by English name, by some arbitrary number, by a Japanese or Chinese or Latin or other name... But first I have to SEE it THEN I can make the connection to something I've seen before. Even if someone tells me the translation to a technique, I still end up looking it up on Google sometimes just to see a picture of it. Techniques are fairly easy because after a while, I think most of us have seen some variation of just about every technique imaginable. Actually doing the technique in practical application is another story, but as far as understanding what is going on, a picture usually works for me. However, when it is a completely new technique to me, I absolutely do not mind asking for help. Koyo, Dave, everyone here on this site have been very helpful in spelling it out when I am new to something. The funny thing about it is that after asking a few times, people like Koyo actually started to anticipate my questions ahead of time and included a bit of explanation in the original post to help me out. And it really worked. I'm all for a reference of terminology, I don't mind translations included, but I don't expect that everything be spelled out. I'm more than happy to ask for more help AND to Google a bit myself to find a picture or something that might help ME understand something better. I think that your theory has some merit, but I also think that as people get older, they have less patience in general with having to repeat things. Kids seem to love repetitive things as long as they aren't too complex. Things like plyometrics (jumping over things), punching and kicking pads, jump rope, as well as technique. Teenagers are a bit tougher, but repetitive things work well for them too. A lot of teenagers do not want to embarrass themselves, so as long as they don't embarrass themselves with what they are doing in front of others, they don't seem to mind things that much. Edit: As a side note, one of the worst things for a few young teenagers we've had was to bring them up to the adult class. I think at 16 years old it is fine, but at 13 years old it is too much for most. The adult classes I think can be both confusing (not enough explanation for a young mind, and not enough repetition of the exact same thing these days, and it can be really intimidating as the punches are intended to hurt and they are generally not as big as the adults). They really appreciated training with those their own age after that. As people get older, I think they want to learn faster (intellectually) but are not as willing to do repetitive tasks to get there, they like some variety and to test new things out. Of course, once anyone is interested in learning something, they are a lot more willing to do what it takes to learn it right. aikiwolfie, you know very well that not everyone is the same, but I will say that in my experience most of the older people that don't seem to have a problem with doing the same thing over and over again have had a military background. They don't seem to have much problems in first learning the "old ways" before going off on their own path. Just an observation of mine.
What you're describing is simply no more than what the Japanese created for aikido, I guess your art was created in the US thus carries English as its primary language, same said for Aikido and Japanese. Ikkyo (first immobilisation) ude osae (forearm pin) 一教 腕押さえ etc. That would be something called discipline mate, something the youth of today sadly lacks. I was always [and still am] under the impression that aikido is also a martial discipline. Regards
Actually, Ikkyo (一教 ) doesn't mean first immobilisation, it actually means "first teaching". "Kyou" is the On-yomi reading for the character, oshieru (教える ) or "to teach". Ude Osae (腕押さえ ) means either "arm control" or "arm immobilizaton/pin". When I have a free hour after keiko tonight, I'll see what I can do with the glossary. Just a question though, do we include all karatedo & jujutsu techniques in there, or do we keep this purely aikido? I remember wasting hours a year or so back working on the jujutsu glossary only to never see it stickied.
Aikiwolfie - don't be too hard on the kids. I ran classes in Aikido with teenagers who would cause mayhem in school all day. Given consistent, fair and firm discipline they soon loved the training. I also ran a one day workshop with over 50 who were complete beginners. We had a great time, but I know they would not have behaved that well ina normal school class, and some spent their evenings terrorising the town. I don't believe the human spirit and will have changed that much in our teenagers, just the chaotic environment we put them in. I watched a programme recently where they took a bunch of modern techno-age teens and gave them a wartime evacuees education, with lots of physical play and work and a good balanced diet. They hated it at the start (no mobile, no ipod etc) but loved it thereafter. I've seen many kids classes and if well structured, they respond very well. But there's one key to it all - respect. This isn't given just because of a black belt. As a Sensei you earn it, as a student so do they.
Whilst a member of a cadet training team when based at Honnington, we would regularly take youngsters, show them military skills which always included military discipline and they took to that very well by and large. If the teaching environment [of whatever] is disciplined, and structured toward youngster's, if the instructor exudes an aire of authority and the 'rules of the game' are laid out fairly quickly, kids understand the parameters. One sign of a good instructor/coach is the ability to motivate and maintain the desire to learn. Regards
Stricktly speaking this is the Aikido forum. Karate and Jujutsu have dedicated forums. So it would make sense to have an Aikido only Glossary. However the issue of cross-training does tend to crop up fairly often. So it might help to have a broader range of funny looking words to pick from. I'll leave it to you to choose.
I reckon a judicious sprinkling of kicks and punches would be very useful, for which (correct me if I'm wrong here guys) we use the same words as Karate. We also deploy arm locks, chokes and strangles. I may be wrong but very few Aikidoka I meet even know the difference between a choke and a strangle; nevertheless the Judo terms for these would be good to advertise in this way: hadaka jime is one, for example (naked choke, i.e. makes no use of clothing so is a legit Aikido move). Some Aikidoka only know one word for striking arts: atemi. Others know shomentsuki and the jodan, chudan and gedan combinations. Fewer still may know 'metsubushi' ( smashing of the eyes). We use elbow strikes, backfists etc during attacks, so it makes sense to know what the correct terms are, as Aikido usually names its techniques by the attack and the defence, e.g. shomentsuki jodan udegarami. One word of caution, to one who probably already knows )) - udegarami in Aikido is not the same as in Judo. In Aikido we throw someone in udegarami with the wrist back. To thow them in the Judo version would snap their shoulder off! Very few of us know ANY kicking terms and I for one would be grateful for those. ( Except Dave of course, now he's a Shotokan star! ) It's very good of you to take this on. Thanks!
