tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2006229495145291280.post6400275243193102002..comments2017-12-07T09:37:52.527-06:00Comments on The Young Grasshopper: Haters Gonna HateOwlMatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01108994768387592855noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2006229495145291280.post-21783123669191820232011-06-16T08:22:16.379-05:002011-06-16T08:22:16.379-05:00But isn't the "meathead ground and pound&...But isn't the "meathead ground and pound" stuff a chess match, too? Someone who has to get out on the mat and struggle against an opponent on a regular basis is going to learn the mental part of fighting as well as the physical, and will probably learn it better than someone who trains in the more traditional ways I do.OwlMatthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01108994768387592855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2006229495145291280.post-35593334889771324512011-06-14T16:58:33.269-05:002011-06-14T16:58:33.269-05:00I have to agree and disagree. A person's disci...I have to agree and disagree. A person's discipline and decision making can overcome almost any obstacle. I don't like the meathead approach of ground and pound.. the strike first and go for it approach. Martial arts is a chess match and purist know this. Judo, Karate, Kickboxing, Boxing, and the grappling arts are just as mental as physical. The edge is only given to the one who uses their head the best.Manic Genius Syndromehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14181862517342380733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2006229495145291280.post-37647834945728845272011-02-20T22:55:45.854-06:002011-02-20T22:55:45.854-06:00Kamil, please let me know how that blog comes alon...Kamil, please let me know how that blog comes along. I'd love to read it.OwlMatthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01108994768387592855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2006229495145291280.post-59446157728307983352011-02-19T11:08:17.939-06:002011-02-19T11:08:17.939-06:00Your blog is quite inspirational. I say inspirati...Your blog is quite inspirational. I say inspirational because it has inspired me to start one of my own. So, thank you for that.<br /><br />Next I want to say that you shouldn't put too much credence in the knuckleheads and barbarians in the world that think might makes right and that if you don't have cauliflower ears, you can't handle yourself. In my experience they are disgruntled people who took a traditional martial art for a few years, followed some undistinguished sensei blindly, never took their training seriously, wondered why they lacked real skill and then resented the traditional schools whole scale.<br /><br />True martial artists don't worry about styles. The baddest muay thai guy in the world might get killed by a sumo wrestler if his thai elbows are being absorbed by kilos of flesh. The BJJ player of 10 years training can get thrown by a Judoka of 2 years training if the Judoka spent all 2 years on that one throw. <br /><br />Ultimately, combat, whether it be fighting or competition comes down to people, not styles...the will, not the skill. I take Karate, have for years, but I remember my sensei saying something that stuck with me to this day. He saw me punch one of my peers in kumite and my opponent doubled over and took a knee. I was both pleased that my timing was sound and troubled that I had hurt my friend and after class I approached my sensei and apologized. He said that in the heat of the moment, Karate can do much damage and cause much suffering, but the ultimate goal must always be not just to win but to win humanely. To win with control, rather than power. He said that Aikido best exemplifies this philosophy by absorbing and redirecting rather than colliding, as I had collided with my opponent that day. <br /><br />Without pursuing that higher standard of combat - combat to control instead of destroy - the martial arts are just barbarism by another name and martial artists are just animals glorifying violence.Kamilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12216057008638038108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2006229495145291280.post-20724920575368221552011-02-18T11:06:59.426-06:002011-02-18T11:06:59.426-06:00Thanks so much for reading and commenting, Kim.
I...Thanks so much for reading and commenting, Kim.<br /><br />I think O Sensei intentionally created an art that (a) was less harmful than its predecessors, and (b) made martial effectiveness only one of a long list of priorities, and both of these I consider obstacles to fighting efficacy. I don't mean to suggest that aikido cannot be an effective martial art; if I thought that, I wouldn't be training it. But traditional martial arts are more than just fighting, and it seems to me that someone who spends his time just learning to fight will probably become a better fighter than someone who spreads his time and effort over the many facets of the tradtitional arts, of which fighting is only one.OwlMatthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01108994768387592855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2006229495145291280.post-81656056318144704942011-02-18T09:50:46.060-06:002011-02-18T09:50:46.060-06:00Hi there Owl Matt! I too practice aikido and am fa...Hi there Owl Matt! I too practice aikido and am familiar with the anti-traditional climate out there. I don't think Ueshiba set out to create a less effective art, and I think you concede this point too readily. Any martial art can be the "most effective" (whatever that means) because they all share the same martial principles (timing, posture, balance, body mechanics, connection, awareness, generating power, etc). I am in the process myself of exploring other arts to see the overlap, and am surprised by the commonalities. Aikido is what you make it: how hard you train, how hard you search for the answers, who your teachers are... but I think it's all there for the taking. If you were so inclined to train in a way to defeat a krav maga or bjj person, you probably could, through the same trial and error method competitive fighters use. Maybe you'd lose a lot of the time at first, fill in the gaps, and develop yourself until you started to win. Most aikidoka simply are not interested in that type of competitive behavior, or in sparring with MMA fighters. Most don't train for that goal. But I don't think the tools you would need are lacking in aikido.Kimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06463089552144925514noreply@blogger.com