Thread: Aikido
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Old 01-20-2007, 07:14 PM   #1
rkzenrage
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hideouse View Post
You Dwellars know about bullshit already, but for any who haven't had enough yet i'd like to take a moment to say that almost all characterizations of this or that school of martial arts instruction or style are simplistic and/or wrong. To call aikido or judo "defensive" is like calling western wrestling purely defensive. The so-called style is a tool, like a gun or a knife is a tool, and can be used aggressively or not as the practicioner pleases.
The trend to call martial ways "gentle" or paths of peace, or non-violent started after Japan lost WW2. Before that terible lesson Japanese nationlists saw these practices as ways to export Japanese culture to the barbaric aliens outside the shores of Japan.While there has long been a philosophical and meditative aspect to Japanese (and other east asian) martial arts, there origins in , and utility in bloody violence is not forgotten by their cultures of origin.
Now that i've got that out of the way, Hooray for FamilyofV for starting aikido! It can be great fun!
True... the way I used it was very different than the way it is taught in dojos across the country.
I was taught by a couple of masters, after hours, specific to my job... just practical application, enhancing what I already knew, in relation to my reflexes-body type, strength, situations, numbers of opponents, etc. They told me that in a few weeks I learned things that took others years to learn.
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