JUTSU AND DO

[Brent Yamamoto]

I am not an Akido guy but......

In the old films of Uechiba, when he went in, he often hit very hard with an open hand strike on the way in. Much easier to move someone you have knocked silly.

It seems to have gotten diluted.

Yes, but...

There are different ways to steal the bad guy’s balance. One way is hitting them really hard. Good systems teach this. But good systems also teach how to take balance without hitting. That takes a bit more skill but it’s part of the study.

Lots of different systems teach this stuff.

[cmcampbell]

I agree a very subtle movement can imbalance an opponent. As little a a light finger pull on their clothes can take their center and make further techniques easier and more effective.

In referring to Akido I was more thinking that many practitioners hve made it less effective by ignoring parts of what Uechiba did.

[Brent Yamamoto]

I agree a very subtle movement can imbalance an opponent. As little a a light finger pull on their clothes can take their center and make further techniques easier and more effective.

In referring to Akido I was more thinking that many practitioners hve made it less effective by ignoring parts of what Uechiba did.

No disagreement there.

[rodanvssct]

I don't have much to add, just that some of my Japanese and Okinawan teachers said the same things that Jutsu = combative application. They divided the time periods of fighting arts into classical, traditional and then modern where the jutsu was watered down or removed starting in the traditional era. I once trained with Silate instructor Victor De Thouars who I remember his wife did Aikido. He jokingly said Aikido was fake Silat. I like Aikido, but it is what it is and I learned quite a bit from it.

[wheel]

I had I hard time writing my reply to this post.

[wheel]

My first attempt ended up being a long Post consisting of a bunch of examples from my own training experience trying to explain why I agree with Cabe and my thoughts on the type of environment (Dojo) I enjoy training in.

After I started the Post again getting rid of all my examples I ended up with a shortened Post but with a piece of writing that will have the Tribe scratching their heads thinking: " Why is Elfie stating the obvious, we all know this." And that is exactly the point. You can choose to make training really complicated adding a bunch of DOS`S principals trying to turn Karate into something that it is not. Trying to fit a squire peg into a round hole. Instead of simply using Karate for it`s indented purpose-Teaching you how to fight.

Interestingly you discover a lot about yourself as a by-product of pushing and testing yourself. Forming your own ideas of what you choose to believe in, deciding what is important to you and forming a clear picture in your mind of what you want to achieve through your training-Your Do.

Cheers
Elfie

[Gabriel Suarez]

In similar vein...is pistol shooting a sport, or a combat system?

Many would say both, but that answer assumes the technical execution of one mission is identical to the other and that is simply not true. The guy in the flamboyant shirt with the strangely set-up pistol shooting really fast may be visually exciting and manage all manner of records in that particular sport, but what he is doing is not fighting, and those who think what he does will apply to fighting are either lying in order to promote an agenda, or have not been in many fights as a frame of reference. That frame of reference being that shooting is a minor part (albeit important) of fighting. And the sort of shooting that is done in a fight is far different than you see at a match or (gasp) in a movie.

The same with unarmed combat. The fit Japanese girl doing her tournament rendition of Unsu is visually appealing and physically impressive...but that has only a remote association to what Unsu is, or how its methods are used in a fight. The same for any sporting application of Karate, Jujitsu, Kendo, or whatever.

So leading to another thread...what do you want YOUR karate to be?

[Papa]

So leading to another thread...what do you want YOUR karate to be?

Effective and conclusive.

[Gabriel Suarez]

And while the thread is not about Aikido, and all Tohei-Uyeshiba mysticism aside, I will say that if you don't have the ability to hit people hard, you are not a fighter, you are a dancer. Whatever it is that you do, its got to work on the pissed off gang member with skills, not just the cooperative harmony-seeking hippy in the dojo.

[Brent Yamamoto]

And while the thread is not about Aikido, and all Tohei-Uyeshiba mysticism aside, I will say that if you don't have the ability to hit people hard, you are not a fighter, you are a dancer. Whatever it is that you do, its got to work on the pissed off gang member with skills, not just the cooperative harmony-seeking hippy in the dojo.

Absolutely. And while most of their followers might not agree, I think Ueshiba and Tohei would.