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god I hate the "peaceful warrior" crap pushed by certain practitioners of aikido. Osensei tells us that the best way to start an aiki is to belt someone in the

god I hate the "peaceful warrior" crap pushed by certain practitioners of aikido. Osensei tells us that the best way to start an aiki is to belt someone in the face. traditional aikido teaches both striking while the opponent is pinned down and completing the movement of joint locks to break bones. most easily understood: would aikido teach the katana if it wasn't about inflicting harm? how many non-lethal cutting techniques do you know?

aphyr 17y ago
Yeah, that's a strange contradiction. It's never enough to cut off someone's hands and cut their jugular; you need to cut clean through the abdomen too. I think various schools approach that in different ways; with Yoshokai, for example, it tends to be a timing and position exercise somewhat removed from actually killing someone. Perhaps both views of the technique are valid.
neilk 17y ago
I studied Aikido for a short time. I was lucky enough to train with some people who thought the whole peaceful warrior thing was basically crap. It was one of the most intense things I've ever done. If you are picking an Aikido dojo, look for one that teaches sword movements; otherwise you're not getting the full experience. Aikido is frustrating because it might require 10 years to become good enough for it to be marginally useful in a fight. However, how often do you really get into fights? If you're an aikidoist, you've basically accepted that you're learning about a beautiful art form. If you want the most effective way to hurt someone, try Krav Maga. If you are the sort of person who is attracted to complex, difficult ideas that make you re-evaluate everything, aikido may be for you. Aikidoists also tend to be professionals. It is sometimes called a gentleman's martial art. (No offense to ladies.) You often encounter doctors and lawyers and artists so on. On the other hand, in any reasonable dojo, none of that matters.
viae 17y ago
O'Sensei's thought and style evolved throughout his life. In his younger days, pre-WWII, yes, he was rough and tumble. Movements were sharper and more direct. Break bones, crush your enemy. He did this frequently while in the Japanese military while serving in China as a bodyguard. As he grew older, post-WWII, his philosophy and style became much softer and more spiritual than the styles he studied in his younger days. This was due, in part, to his age (changing perspective and physical decline) and the influence of the Omoto-kyo. In these later days, the purpose of training with weapons were twofold: help students learn body dynamics and learn to defend oneself against an armed attacker. The purpose wasn't to be armed and gut your enemies, the purpose was to understand the mindset of an armed aggressor, know their movements, and meet their movements without being gutted yourself.
- neilk 17y ago
  Softer in the sense of not attacking directly as much, but still dangerous. I've heard (second-hand) a story about a high-level practitioner who got to spar with O-Sensei and at times he felt like he might not survive.

aphyr 17y ago

Yeah, that's a strange contradiction. It's never enough to cut off someone's hands and cut their jugular; you need to cut clean through the abdomen too. I think various schools approach that in different ways; with Yoshokai, for example, it tends to be a timing and position exercise somewhat removed from actually killing someone. Perhaps both views of the technique are valid.

neilk 17y ago

I studied Aikido for a short time. I was lucky enough to train with some people who thought the whole peaceful warrior thing was basically crap. It was one of the most intense things I've ever done. If you are picking an Aikido dojo, look for one that teaches sword movements; otherwise you're not getting the full experience. Aikido is frustrating because it might require 10 years to become good enough for it to be marginally useful in a fight. However, how often do you really get into fights? If you're an aikidoist, you've basically accepted that you're learning about a beautiful art form. If you want the most effective way to hurt someone, try Krav Maga. If you are the sort of person who is attracted to complex, difficult ideas that make you re-evaluate everything, aikido may be for you. Aikidoists also tend to be professionals. It is sometimes called a gentleman's martial art. (No offense to ladies.) You often encounter doctors and lawyers and artists so on. On the other hand, in any reasonable dojo, none of that matters.

viae 17y ago

O'Sensei's thought and style evolved throughout his life. In his younger days, pre-WWII, yes, he was rough and tumble. Movements were sharper and more direct. Break bones, crush your enemy. He did this frequently while in the Japanese military while serving in China as a bodyguard. As he grew older, post-WWII, his philosophy and style became much softer and more spiritual than the styles he studied in his younger days. This was due, in part, to his age (changing perspective and physical decline) and the influence of the Omoto-kyo. In these later days, the purpose of training with weapons were twofold: help students learn body dynamics and learn to defend oneself against an armed attacker. The purpose wasn't to be armed and gut your enemies, the purpose was to understand the mindset of an armed aggressor, know their movements, and meet their movements without being gutted yourself.

neilk 17y ago
Softer in the sense of not attacking directly as much, but still dangerous. I've heard (second-hand) a story about a high-level practitioner who got to spar with O-Sensei and at times he felt like he might not survive.